Wolverine stories

This message was sent to Brian Fogarty at his Wolverine website by John Sexton

It has been a desire of mine for many years to restore an older runabout. I was fortunate enough to locate this 1958 Wolverine boat in Wooden Boat magazine. The boat was locally owned by Chris Draper of Hellertown, PA and I acquired the boat in April 2012.

This Wolverine boat was in Mr. Draper’s family from 1962 to 2012. Chris’s father purchased the boat second hand in Greenfield, N.H. and his family used it for water skiing on Sunset Lake. The boat sat dormant from 1972 to 1998. Chris relocated to PA where the boat could be seen on Lake Wallenpaupack.
According to Wolverine specs from The Wagemaker Co. of Grand Rapids Michigan, this boat is a model 6143 Fleetline, 14 ft. in length with a beam of 66”, transom width of 53” and transom height of 15 ¾”, seating four.
The boat did not have a manufacturer’s plate on the transom, however it did have the name “Jasper” (perhaps the builder’s name) and “6-14 Spec” written on the underside of the deck. Interestingly, the hull had the numbers 3964 embossed on the forward portside, 4090 on the forward starboard side and 6906 on the transom.
The 14 footer was showing signs of age. The deck was delaminating and the inner and outer stems were dry rotted. The keelson was delaminated, there were two broken stringers, the seats were cracked and the seat risers and rub rails were rotted.

Fortunately, the hull and transom were solid. The boat came with every piece of hardware, including the windshield, starter/choke plate and a 1955 25 HP Johnson motor.
I invited Chad Brenner from Classic Restoration and Supply in Philadelphia to confirm my plan for restoration. He was in agreement to gut the boat of all interior parts and put it on station molds. I began all repairs to the framing members - a new inner stem, port and starboard stringers, and new keelson. Along with new seat risers and outer stem, once the boat was structurally sound again, I coated both inside and out with two healthy coats of CPES.

After much research, I decided to cover the hull from the waterline down with 6 oz. of fiberglass cloth. I chose George Kirby paint (pea green) for the boat bottom, despite dissent from my family. The color is beautiful.

Before fitting out the interior, I coated the inside with six coats of Captains 1015.

Repairs were made to the seats, along with a new Sapele Mahogany forward deck. After 7 coats of Captains 1015 and 4 coats of Kirby pea green on the exterior, I began re-trimming the boat with re-chromed hardware (re-chromed at Wade Technologies, Phila., PA).
The original 6 volt electrical system was maintained and upgraded with a new wiring harness.
The antique motor (1955 25 HP Johnson reconditioned by American Outboard Motor Salvage of Cordova, MD) will be used for power.
I am looking forward to its first launch this spring.

John Sexton, Drexel Hill, PA

This message was sent to Brian Fogarty at his Wolverine website by Bill Shattuck

This is the story of Bill Shattuck's Wolverine. A friend with whom I had owned and restored a 1935 Chris Craft runabout moved back to the area where I lived around 1982. In the garage of the house he was purchasing was a boat and outboard that had obviously been stored in there for many years. My friend's wife would not let him purchase it from the owner so he informed me that, being a single man, it way my duty to do so. I thought it a very interesting boat and didn’t let the opportunity pass. However, I had no good place to store it as my 1959 Chris Craft ski boat had dibs on my modest one stall garage. The boat deteriorated after being stored outside for several years. In 1986, now married with a new son, I moved a block away to a larger home with a two and one half stall garage and hung the boat up in the rafters where I pretty much forgot about it in the busy life of raising a young, growing family. Fast forward about nine years and my two young sons noticed it hanging there and asked what it was. It then became a father and sons bonding project to restore it to useable condition and take it from our home in Western Michigan to the very popular antique boat show held annually in the small Upper Peninsula town of Hessel. The year before we had begun what would become an annual boys only weekend centered around the boat show. In that first show the boys helped me show and sell our 1935 Chris Craft which got them hooked on old boats. The pictures I am including are from the year we restored the boat. Since then it has gotten little use but I still smile ear to ear every time I uncover it and think about how my two young sons sat in the Wagemaker at the boat show and went into such detail and pride explaining everything about its history to the show goers while I watched from an adjacent dock.

Note that the boat is a 1941 Wagemaker with a 1941 Johnson KD15 outboard which I am 100% certain, by the transom wear pattern, was the only engine ever used on the boat.
Bill Shattuck

This is for members of Wagemaker Wolverine boats and items related to them. If you have any stories and pictures on your Wolverine, Cadillac or Elgin boats and would like to share your stories and pictures of your boat on this web site. If you would like to be on this page, Please contact me at mbbfogarty@aol.com
Thanks,
Brian Fogarty

This message was sent to Brian Fogarty at his Wolverine website by Dianne Morrison
We found this Cadillac in Michigan. I bought a house boat on ebay that was rotten ,after driving 3 days to pick it up.
So I saw an aluminum boat that had been donated to the museum that the guy owned and I said, I'll take that boat. It was an original 1957 Cadillac Coronado. I was only familiar with Feathercrafts, so with hesitation brought
the caddy home. It took a year working on weekends to shine her up and get a 1957 Evinrude Lark running to put on her. All the seats are original and in great shape. We had a few chrome pieces rechromed Just wanted to keep her
original. We took her to a Feathercraft meet on the Clinch river in Tenn. last week for our maiden voyage ande she ran great. Went for a 40 mile run, along with 6 other feathercrafts and everyone loved her.....she is quite a head turner!.
Dianne Morrison

This message was sent to Brian Fogarty at his Wolverine website by Theresa Broadwater
Our Cadillac story. We have owned an aluminum StarCraft runabout for 25 years, we love aluminum, so easy to maintain. We ventured into antique boat ownership with a 1965 16ft Lyman outboard. It has since moved to our sons garage and possession. I joked that I had seen a cute older aluminum runabout and it would me perfect for me when the StarCraft was being used for skiing ( a big family hobby).
Well that same son was at an auction and saw the Cadillac and called to say he had found "Mom's Boat. Of course we had to check it out and it was just too sweet to leave behind. It came home in need of a good cleaning, paint, seats and just a little bit of repair. The original Lark motor was also available and it came home too. Sorry to say that an inexperienced mechanic worked on it before we got it and we can't seem to keep it running. We replaced it with a similarly aged Johnson and have had no trouble since.
I made the seat cushions. We had a windshield made, but we were not satisfied with it. We found a new-old stock windshield in Benton Harbor and like it much better.

We named her "Rock and Rye" for my favorite Faygo flavor, another (Michigan made product) we plan to take it to the Toledo Antique Boat show in August.

I am attaching before and after pictures except for the newest windshield addition.

Theresa Broadwater

This message was sent to Brian Fogarty at his Wolverine website by Gary Metal

I just purchased a "barn find" (dry stored) from the family of the original owner 1957 Cadillac Bar Harbor with a 1957 Johnson Javelin 35hp motor and 1963 Tee Nee "tilt" trailer. The boat is 100% complete with all chrome, stainless and trim. The boat was equipped with the original gas tank, lights and horn and wiring. The wood is in incredible condition with no rot or missing pieces and the original upholstery is intact. The boat appears to have been re-varnished at some point and the owner went over all the trim with varnish which had a "pickling" affect and may have protected the trim over the years to some degree. My goal is to do a "show quality" restoration and I want to insure I do not make any mistakes along the way. I would like to verify the boat, motor and trailer date of manufacture. I have found some numbers and was hoping you might be able to help me determine the facts. Cadillac Bar Harbor Ply-Lap: 14 foot (I have a picture of the Ply-Lap stamp in the transom on the starboard side). The hull number stamp is A4900 but I can not find any information to confirm this indicates 1957 manufacture. I have also found an aluminum "bow tag" stamped 3673 and I am not sure what that means. Johnson Javelin: 35hp Motor, Model RJE-19, SN# 1608567. I have verified that the serial number indicates 1957 manufacture. The motor appears to be in great shape and we will try and bring it back to life this week. Tee Nee Trailer: Equipped with the tilt feature, the title indicates a 1963 model. I have been able to find the serial number but not a resource to indicate year of manufacture.The boat is like a "reference manual" and I have taken hundreds of photos which may be useful to anyone trying to do an "original" restoration.
regards,
Gary Metal

Underside of bow, wood is in great shape, all wiring original cloth wire and some lamp cord below by Gary Metal

Bow tag, have not seen anything online to indicate what this number signifies below by Gary Metal

I have yet to see the Ply-Lap mentioned as a “model” in the product line-up. by Gary Metal

Johnson Javelin 35hp, SN confirms 1957 by Gary Metal below

Interior is very complete, I would like confirmation from someone that this material is original by Gary Metal below

After a good wash and removal of most of the trim by Gary Metal below

Console is complete including glovebox door, electric start, Attwood steering wheel, ski mirror with horn visible though windshield. by Gary Metal below

It appears that the previous owner varnished over everything including trim and chrome by Gary Metal below

Just arrived home, not washed, untouched for 30 years by Gary Metal below

When you click the our restoration project link below it will show a story by Deon Potgieter
our restoration project - here is some information on our restoration project till date. We're still in the early stages of disassembling everything, so nothing too exciting at this stage. We know very little of the boat, and bought it about five years ago from the Fire Marshall in a small little town in central Louisiana. Provided by Deon Potgieter

Purchased my first Wagemaker Wolverine (1956 16.5ft). Looking forward to enjoying much time on it this summer as well to meeting other fellow owners. owned by Brandon Wabeke below