Here are a few pics of the 1960 Clipper I have. I forgot to take a good before pic of what she looked like before I started striping the varnish. The closest I have are after I stripped her. I included some with her in the water and on the restored trailer. The one in the water is with the 1959 "Fat Fifty" original motor that grandpa bought. The one on the trailer is after I put an Evinrude "1962" 80hp. I took a 1967 80hp and put it in a 1962 housing so it would be closer in age to the boat.
The story behind her is that my grandfather bought her brand new. He only used her for a few years before he passed away from cancer, so my dad bought her from my grandmother. We used her for most of the 70's on Lake St. Claire then on Houghton and Higgins lake. She's been in a garage all her life. The last time she was registered was in 1980 but I know she hadn't been in the water since then. Dad passed in 2008 and my stepmom asked if I wanted her and of course I said YES!!!!!!!!!!!! I grew up on that boat, learned to ski on her so I had to bring her back to her glory. i completely resored her, stripped the varnish and stain, inside paint etc. I re-stained her, put on 12 coats of Epiphanes and repainted the interior. I wet sanded the hull and buffered her out to get rid of the chalky gelcoat. I think she came out great. I also restored the steel trailer. It's an AJAX from Warren Michigan, they aren't made anymore. I also have a couple of pics of the convertible top with the side curtains and back cover. These were taken before I repainted the "Fat Fifty" cover and redid the trailer. I sill hadn't replaced all the snaps with stainless so the cover is very droopy looking, since it's not fully snapped down. By Bob Ulrich below
The story behind her is that my grandfather bought her brand new. He only used her for a few years before he passed away from cancer, so my dad bought her from my grandmother. We used her for most of the 70's on Lake St. Claire then on Houghton and Higgins lake. She's been in a garage all her life. The last time she was registered was in 1980 but I know she hadn't been in the water since then. Dad passed in 2008 and my stepmom asked if I wanted her and of course I said YES!!!!!!!!!!!! I grew up on that boat, learned to ski on her so I had to bring her back to her glory. i completely resored her, stripped the varnish and stain, inside paint etc. I re-stained her, put on 12 coats of Epiphanes and repainted the interior. I wet sanded the hull and buffered her out to get rid of the chalky gelcoat. I think she came out great. I also restored the steel trailer. It's an AJAX from Warren Michigan, they aren't made anymore. I also have a couple of pics of the convertible top with the side curtains and back cover. These were taken before I repainted the "Fat Fifty" cover and redid the trailer. I sill hadn't replaced all the snaps with stainless so the cover is very droopy looking, since it's not fully snapped down. By Bob Ulrich below
This is a 1959 new Empire line by Wagemaker Boat Co. and Lee Wangstad below
This is a 1955 ad for a new planet at Frankfort, New York by Wagemaker Boat Co. and by Lee Wangstad below
If you have any stories and pictures on your Empire Boats and would like to share your stories and pictures of your boat on this web site. This page is to inform people about how many types of ( Empire Boats ) were built for a teaching, commentary, and research purposes only.
If you would like to be on this page, Please contact me at mbbfogarty@aol.com
Thank You!
Brian Fogarty
Thank You!
Brian Fogarty
This is a 1959 Empire ( Wagemaker ) Boat test drive by Wagemaker Boat Co. by Brian Fogarty below
This is a 1957 Empire boats by Wagemaker company. Empire boats was part of the Wagemaker and Cadillac family.