Need info on Badger Boat and Shell Lake Boats

[BadgerBoater]

Greetings! There was a very interesting post on Chetek Boats, which led me to the Land-O-Lakes chapter, which led me to the Peterson Boatbuilders. I recently read an ad in a local shopper for a 14' wood Badger boat, with a 120 hp inboard. I know that there was a Badger Boat in Wisconsin, as they are listed as a manufacturer, but know nothing of their boats. As to the Shell Lake boats, I am familiar with the Peterson's fiberglass boats, but not the other Shell Lake boats. Any info on these two Wisconsin boat makers would be greatly appreciated.

[BadgerBoater]

Greetings! There was a very interesting post on Chetek Boats, which led me to the Land-O-Lakes chapter, which led me to the Peterson Boatbuilders. I recently read an ad in a local shopper for a 14' wood Badger boat, with a 120 hp inboard. I know that there was a Badger Boat in Wisconsin, as they are listed as a manufacturer, but know nothing of their boats. As to the Shell Lake boats, I am familiar with the Peterson's fiberglass boats, but not the other Shell Lake boats. Any info on these two Wisconsin boat makers would be greatly appreciated.

[BadgerBoater]

Greetings! There was a very interesting post on Chetek Boats, which led me to the Land-O-Lakes chapter, which led me to the Peterson Boatbuilders. I recently read an ad in a local shopper for a 14' wood Badger boat, with a 120 hp inboard. I know that there was a Badger Boat in Wisconsin, as they are listed as a manufacturer, but know nothing of their boats. As to the Shell Lake boats, I am familiar with the Peterson's fiberglass boats, but not the other Shell Lake boats. Any info on these two Wisconsin boat makers would be greatly appreciated.

[merlinron]

i had a little shell lake 15'utility runabout way back when i was a teenager. i bought it from a friend's dad for 35 bucks, badly in need of a new deck and refinish. it was mahogany strip planked,polyetser/cloth sheathed from the rub rails down, i don't remember if the deck was originally glassed or canvas covered. i stripped the glass off the sides down to the spray rails, sanded and finished them bright,sanded the all the old paint off the bottom, painted it black. the decking got removed and got new mahogany deck planks milled at school in wood shop, installed them and finished the deck bright as well. painted the sprayrails white and the the rub rails black. cleaned the inside with wire brush and sander, and painted it interlux biloxi biege. she ended up being a pretty little classic looking runabout, got lot's of compliments wherever we went. it originaly had thwart seats that i replaced with small mahogany back to back style seats with a narrow quarter deck between them to replace the athwatrships bracing that the benches provided. i also built in a motor well to and a bit of aft deck around it to beef up the transom. my dad then found an older 40 horse mercury outboard and controls used and we put that on the transom. the manufacturer's tag spec'd that it was rated for only 25 hp, but it handled the 40 just fine.... pushed that little boat around pretty good!. the hull had a very deep front with a considerable amount of hook to the keel aft which made it ride pretty flat all the time. spent many hours skiing behind that little boat. at 14 yrs old,it was pretty much my introduction into working on wooden boats of sorts. shell lake was already out of buisiness by then and in all my years,i haven't seen another little runabout like it.

[merlinron]

i had a little shell lake 15'utility runabout way back when i was a teenager. i bought it from a friend's dad for 35 bucks, badly in need of a new deck and refinish. it was mahogany strip planked,polyetser/cloth sheathed from the rub rails down, i don't remember if the deck was originally glassed or canvas covered. i stripped the glass off the sides down to the spray rails, sanded and finished them bright,sanded the all the old paint off the bottom, painted it black. the decking got removed and got new mahogany deck planks milled at school in wood shop, installed them and finished the deck bright as well. painted the sprayrails white and the the rub rails black. cleaned the inside with wire brush and sander, and painted it interlux biloxi biege. she ended up being a pretty little classic looking runabout, got lot's of compliments wherever we went. it originaly had thwart seats that i replaced with small mahogany back to back style seats with a narrow quarter deck between them to replace the athwatrships bracing that the benches provided. i also built in a motor well to and a bit of aft deck around it to beef up the transom. my dad then found an older 40 horse mercury outboard and controls used and we put that on the transom. the manufacturer's tag spec'd that it was rated for only 25 hp, but it handled the 40 just fine.... pushed that little boat around pretty good!. the hull had a very deep front with a considerable amount of hook to the keel aft which made it ride pretty flat all the time. spent many hours skiing behind that little boat. at 14 yrs old,it was pretty much my introduction into working on wooden boats of sorts. shell lake was already out of buisiness by then and in all my years,i haven't seen another little runabout like it.

[merlinron]

i had a little shell lake 15'utility runabout way back when i was a teenager. i bought it from a friend's dad for 35 bucks, badly in need of a new deck and refinish. it was mahogany strip planked,polyetser/cloth sheathed from the rub rails down, i don't remember if the deck was originally glassed or canvas covered. i stripped the glass off the sides down to the spray rails, sanded and finished them bright,sanded the all the old paint off the bottom, painted it black. the decking got removed and got new mahogany deck planks milled at school in wood shop, installed them and finished the deck bright as well. painted the sprayrails white and the the rub rails black. cleaned the inside with wire brush and sander, and painted it interlux biloxi biege. she ended up being a pretty little classic looking runabout, got lot's of compliments wherever we went. it originaly had thwart seats that i replaced with small mahogany back to back style seats with a narrow quarter deck between them to replace the athwatrships bracing that the benches provided. i also built in a motor well to and a bit of aft deck around it to beef up the transom. my dad then found an older 40 horse mercury outboard and controls used and we put that on the transom. the manufacturer's tag spec'd that it was rated for only 25 hp, but it handled the 40 just fine.... pushed that little boat around pretty good!. the hull had a very deep front with a considerable amount of hook to the keel aft which made it ride pretty flat all the time. spent many hours skiing behind that little boat. at 14 yrs old,it was pretty much my introduction into working on wooden boats of sorts. shell lake was already out of buisiness by then and in all my years,i haven't seen another little runabout like it.

[Andreas Jordahl Rhude]

Badger Boat Corp. was established circa 1965 by George VerHagen. They were located at Black Creek, WI. VerHagen had been one of the founders of Carver Boat in 1954. I suppose he left Carver when they were in bankruptcy proceedings in the early 1960s. Badger made plywood lapstrake boats. They were only around for a couple of years. VerHagen was President, Robert Hubbard was secretary, and Ronald A. Zahn was treasurer according to the "1967 Classified Directory of Wisconsin Manufacturers." It also said they made wood and fiberglass boats.

Pete Thompson told me that after Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co. was sold to Saul Padek (11 August 1966), he and Padek went to Badger Boat after its closure to possiby purchase the equipment and raw material. Pete said the machinery was junk and not worth a penny. He also advised Padek not to buy the plywood because it was a differnt thickness than what Thompson utilized. Padek bought it all in spite of Pete's advice. This had to have been prior to Jan. 1967 because that is when Pete Thompson resigned from Thompson Bros. Boat.

There has been a Badger listed on eBay recently. I don't think it has sold in at least two attempts.

I have only seen one Badger in person. I have never seen any literature or advertising.

Shell Lake Boats of Shell Lake, WI was started in 1904 making small wooden boats and canoes. By about 1955 they had dropped all wooden boats and swiched to fiberglass. They were purchased by Lund Boats circa 1968 amd became a subsidiary. Shell Lake Boats closed their doors in 1980.

I have been collecting Shell Lake "stuff" with the intent of writing a history article. I do have a number of their catalogs. There is a history article at www.fiberglassics.com (http://www.fiberglassics.com) in the "To The Boats" section.

Cheers,

Mr. Andreas Jordahl Rhude

[Andreas Jordahl Rhude]

Badger Boat Corp. was established circa 1965 by George VerHagen. They were located at Black Creek, WI. VerHagen had been one of the founders of Carver Boat in 1954. I suppose he left Carver when they were in bankruptcy proceedings in the early 1960s. Badger made plywood lapstrake boats. They were only around for a couple of years. VerHagen was President, Robert Hubbard was secretary, and Ronald A. Zahn was treasurer according to the "1967 Classified Directory of Wisconsin Manufacturers." It also said they made wood and fiberglass boats.

Pete Thompson told me that after Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co. was sold to Saul Padek (11 August 1966), he and Padek went to Badger Boat after its closure to possiby purchase the equipment and raw material. Pete said the machinery was junk and not worth a penny. He also advised Padek not to buy the plywood because it was a differnt thickness than what Thompson utilized. Padek bought it all in spite of Pete's advice. This had to have been prior to Jan. 1967 because that is when Pete Thompson resigned from Thompson Bros. Boat.

There has been a Badger listed on eBay recently. I don't think it has sold in at least two attempts.

I have only seen one Badger in person. I have never seen any literature or advertising.

Shell Lake Boats of Shell Lake, WI was started in 1904 making small wooden boats and canoes. By about 1955 they had dropped all wooden boats and swiched to fiberglass. They were purchased by Lund Boats circa 1968 amd became a subsidiary. Shell Lake Boats closed their doors in 1980.

I have been collecting Shell Lake "stuff" with the intent of writing a history article. I do have a number of their catalogs. There is a history article at www.fiberglassics.com (http://www.fiberglassics.com) in the "To The Boats" section.

Cheers,

Mr. Andreas Jordahl Rhude

[Andreas Jordahl Rhude]

Badger Boat Corp. was established circa 1965 by George VerHagen. They were located at Black Creek, WI. VerHagen had been one of the founders of Carver Boat in 1954. I suppose he left Carver when they were in bankruptcy proceedings in the early 1960s. Badger made plywood lapstrake boats. They were only around for a couple of years. VerHagen was President, Robert Hubbard was secretary, and Ronald A. Zahn was treasurer according to the "1967 Classified Directory of Wisconsin Manufacturers." It also said they made wood and fiberglass boats.

Pete Thompson told me that after Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co. was sold to Saul Padek (11 August 1966), he and Padek went to Badger Boat after its closure to possiby purchase the equipment and raw material. Pete said the machinery was junk and not worth a penny. He also advised Padek not to buy the plywood because it was a differnt thickness than what Thompson utilized. Padek bought it all in spite of Pete's advice. This had to have been prior to Jan. 1967 because that is when Pete Thompson resigned from Thompson Bros. Boat.

There has been a Badger listed on eBay recently. I don't think it has sold in at least two attempts.

I have only seen one Badger in person. I have never seen any literature or advertising.

Shell Lake Boats of Shell Lake, WI was started in 1904 making small wooden boats and canoes. By about 1955 they had dropped all wooden boats and swiched to fiberglass. They were purchased by Lund Boats circa 1968 amd became a subsidiary. Shell Lake Boats closed their doors in 1980.

I have been collecting Shell Lake "stuff" with the intent of writing a history article. I do have a number of their catalogs. There is a history article at www.fiberglassics.com (http://www.fiberglassics.com) in the "To The Boats" section.

Cheers,

Mr. Andreas Jordahl Rhude

[BadgerBoater]

Thanks to you both for the information - it was helpful!

From the information listed on the WDNR boat manufacturers web site, there is a Badger Boats listed, but the address shown is in Exland, WI. I am assuming they picked up on the name and they, too, are out of business.

BTW - the Fiberglassics web site is great! After looking at some of the finned boats of the late 50's, I was relating some of this info to a co-worker. He told me that a friend of his has an old fiberglass boat, with fins, behind his garage that he wanted to get rid of. Me thinks I'll have to check into this a bit further.

Again, thanks for the info!

[BadgerBoater]

Thanks to you both for the information - it was helpful!

From the information listed on the WDNR boat manufacturers web site, there is a Badger Boats listed, but the address shown is in Exland, WI. I am assuming they picked up on the name and they, too, are out of business.

BTW - the Fiberglassics web site is great! After looking at some of the finned boats of the late 50's, I was relating some of this info to a co-worker. He told me that a friend of his has an old fiberglass boat, with fins, behind his garage that he wanted to get rid of. Me thinks I'll have to check into this a bit further.

Again, thanks for the info!

[BadgerBoater]

Thanks to you both for the information - it was helpful!

From the information listed on the WDNR boat manufacturers web site, there is a Badger Boats listed, but the address shown is in Exland, WI. I am assuming they picked up on the name and they, too, are out of business.

BTW - the Fiberglassics web site is great! After looking at some of the finned boats of the late 50's, I was relating some of this info to a co-worker. He told me that a friend of his has an old fiberglass boat, with fins, behind his garage that he wanted to get rid of. Me thinks I'll have to check into this a bit further.

Again, thanks for the info!

[Andreas Jordahl Rhude]

Grab that classic 'glass boat. They are starting to gain in value and respect at classic boat shows.

Bob Speltz has a little more than one page devoted to Badger Boat Corp. of Black Creek, WI in volume IV of "The Real Runabouts" book, inlcuding some pictures from a 1966 brochure.

Andreas

[Andreas Jordahl Rhude]

Grab that classic 'glass boat. They are starting to gain in value and respect at classic boat shows.

Bob Speltz has a little more than one page devoted to Badger Boat Corp. of Black Creek, WI in volume IV of "The Real Runabouts" book, inlcuding some pictures from a 1966 brochure.

Andreas

[Andreas Jordahl Rhude]

Grab that classic 'glass boat. They are starting to gain in value and respect at classic boat shows.

Bob Speltz has a little more than one page devoted to Badger Boat Corp. of Black Creek, WI in volume IV of "The Real Runabouts" book, inlcuding some pictures from a 1966 brochure.

Andreas

[jbaflyer]

FYI, I have a 1954-55 Wisconsin Carver runabout constructed of ply mahogony. An old man in Pulaski Wisconsin gave it to me a few years ago. It had been sitting under a tarp for 30 years, everything intact, just needing wood restoration ie strip/varnish. There are even the orginal Pulaski, WI chome carver emblems on the side, amazing and serials. I am currently at 90% complete restoring. I only need to do the seat cushions and re-attach the chrome. The original horn, light, steeringwheel, everything is still on it. Most of the stuff I did not even have to replate. The only thing I am missing is the bow light lens, which is broke, and the stern light pole. I upgraded the deck from a vinyl to a true mahogony plank, which is beautiful. I had the every last nut and bolt restored on Johnson Super Sea Horse 40hp motor, and it is flawless. I must say she does look beautiful. I believe I am the only person with one of these that exist. I have searched everywhere, contacted Carver Yaught, in hopes they would have archive information, nobody seems to know anything. I can find nothing on the web other than a boat from time to time in the 1960s being sold and wish I could find more information on the runabout. I reside in CA now, but I am going to register it in Pulaski WI, to keep it authentic. I only wish I had lakes as nice out here. When I am finished in a couple months I will launch a website dedicated to old carvers, in the hope others will find their way to it. Thanks for the information above it helps in my search.

[jbaflyer]

FYI, I have a 1954-55 Wisconsin Carver runabout constructed of ply mahogony. An old man in Pulaski Wisconsin gave it to me a few years ago. It had been sitting under a tarp for 30 years, everything intact, just needing wood restoration ie strip/varnish. There are even the orginal Pulaski, WI chome carver emblems on the side, amazing and serials. I am currently at 90% complete restoring. I only need to do the seat cushions and re-attach the chrome. The original horn, light, steeringwheel, everything is still on it. Most of the stuff I did not even have to replate. The only thing I am missing is the bow light lens, which is broke, and the stern light pole. I upgraded the deck from a vinyl to a true mahogony plank, which is beautiful. I had the every last nut and bolt restored on Johnson Super Sea Horse 40hp motor, and it is flawless. I must say she does look beautiful. I believe I am the only person with one of these that exist. I have searched everywhere, contacted Carver Yaught, in hopes they would have archive information, nobody seems to know anything. I can find nothing on the web other than a boat from time to time in the 1960s being sold and wish I could find more information on the runabout. I reside in CA now, but I am going to register it in Pulaski WI, to keep it authentic. I only wish I had lakes as nice out here. When I am finished in a couple months I will launch a website dedicated to old carvers, in the hope others will find their way to it. Thanks for the information above it helps in my search.

[jbaflyer]

FYI, I have a 1954-55 Wisconsin Carver runabout constructed of ply mahogony. An old man in Pulaski Wisconsin gave it to me a few years ago. It had been sitting under a tarp for 30 years, everything intact, just needing wood restoration ie strip/varnish. There are even the orginal Pulaski, WI chome carver emblems on the side, amazing and serials. I am currently at 90% complete restoring. I only need to do the seat cushions and re-attach the chrome. The original horn, light, steeringwheel, everything is still on it. Most of the stuff I did not even have to replate. The only thing I am missing is the bow light lens, which is broke, and the stern light pole. I upgraded the deck from a vinyl to a true mahogony plank, which is beautiful. I had the every last nut and bolt restored on Johnson Super Sea Horse 40hp motor, and it is flawless. I must say she does look beautiful. I believe I am the only person with one of these that exist. I have searched everywhere, contacted Carver Yaught, in hopes they would have archive information, nobody seems to know anything. I can find nothing on the web other than a boat from time to time in the 1960s being sold and wish I could find more information on the runabout. I reside in CA now, but I am going to register it in Pulaski WI, to keep it authentic. I only wish I had lakes as nice out here. When I am finished in a couple months I will launch a website dedicated to old carvers, in the hope others will find their way to it. Thanks for the information above it helps in my search.