Seeking resource for fiberglass canoe
- Thread starter ccwh
- Start date
My guess is that you have a canoe from Fluid Motion in Kent, Washington. The information at http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/mic_detail.aspx?id=RFB indicates that they are out of business although the cryptic notes at the bottom of the page may provide some alternative contact information. The last two digits of the serial number may indicate that it was built in 1982. Good luck,
Benson
Benson
pat chapman
Willits biographer
Ranger Canoe
What you have is a Ranger canoe, which is a fiberglass Willits Brothers canoe knockoff. The canoe was developed by making a mold from one of the early Willits Brothers canoes - it even has the bilge keels molded into it. The RFB in the serial number stands for the company that made them - Ranger Fiberglass Boats, in Kent, Washington. They built 17' and 15' models, although I've never seen a 15' version, and they offered a sailing rig as well. For a time they were marketed as Willits Brothers canoes, but Earl Willits put a stop to that when he found out about it!
Ranger Fiberglass Boats went out of business in 2001 (Howard Smith, the owner, had retired and moved to Florida - he is now deceased) and it was purchased by Fluid Motion, LLC which still operates the company as Ranger Boats. John Livingston, the owner, decided he didn't want to build canoes and so sold those molds to Northwest Yachts and Boatyard in Gig Harbor. Northwest Yachts and Boatyard built six of these canoes before going out of business a few years later when they lost the lease to their shop and the owner, Harold Palmer took the opportunity to retire. He still has the forms and has indicated he'd be willing to layup special order canoes if anyone were interested.
It's probably a long shot, but Ranger Boats may have records of your canoe. Find them online at: http://www.martiniboats.com/ If they don't, Harold Palmer may - contact me and I'll send you his phone number.
What you have is a Ranger canoe, which is a fiberglass Willits Brothers canoe knockoff. The canoe was developed by making a mold from one of the early Willits Brothers canoes - it even has the bilge keels molded into it. The RFB in the serial number stands for the company that made them - Ranger Fiberglass Boats, in Kent, Washington. They built 17' and 15' models, although I've never seen a 15' version, and they offered a sailing rig as well. For a time they were marketed as Willits Brothers canoes, but Earl Willits put a stop to that when he found out about it!
Ranger Fiberglass Boats went out of business in 2001 (Howard Smith, the owner, had retired and moved to Florida - he is now deceased) and it was purchased by Fluid Motion, LLC which still operates the company as Ranger Boats. John Livingston, the owner, decided he didn't want to build canoes and so sold those molds to Northwest Yachts and Boatyard in Gig Harbor. Northwest Yachts and Boatyard built six of these canoes before going out of business a few years later when they lost the lease to their shop and the owner, Harold Palmer took the opportunity to retire. He still has the forms and has indicated he'd be willing to layup special order canoes if anyone were interested.
It's probably a long shot, but Ranger Boats may have records of your canoe. Find them online at: http://www.martiniboats.com/ If they don't, Harold Palmer may - contact me and I'll send you his phone number.
Kenneth Matthews
New Member
I have my grandfathers 1979 model still in original and very used condition. In the process of sanding and polishing the gel coat and bringing some shine back into its life.
Anyways my question is: Does anyone have a picture of the old logo? The decal is almost non existent on mine but I can read “Ranger” and “Kent”. Would love to recreate it with paint since a new decal is probably tough to obtain.
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