Ancarrow Aqilifer, Aquilifer Mark-I, Patrician, or Praetorian! - Page 24

"A rose by any other name..."

This is the Holy Grail of inboard Finned boats! Note the Gentleman with the tie. The boat he is seated in presumably has available options including, Twin Cadillac "Dual-Quad" V-8's of 300hp each, a power Chrysler convertible top, power side windows, safety glass, heater, and air conditioning among other amenities. At nearly $30,000.00 so equipped in 1959, you could have purchased a large home, or a fleet of 50 ordinary 15 foot outboard runabouts, or perhaps six or eight nice Buicks. Nothing Exceeds Like Excess!

There is a great deal of information available on this company founded by Newton Ancarrow on a dare, as an article from the day tells it. Popular boating said he wanted to buy a fast boat, and for the seller to guarantee it's speed. When no guarantees were made to back up the sellers boasts, it was recommended to Newton that he should build one himself if he thought he could do any better. He decided to show them up and did just that. It sounds a lot like the famous Ferrari vs. Lamborghini dare to me. Money was apparently no object. All Cadillac Crusader powered Aquilifers were Guaranteed to do 60 mph or your money back! I do not know how many were made, but it wasn't many. I know of just two Ancarrows that survive.

The green boat shown is the Ancarrow Patrician and is beautifully restored. I believe the windshield and instruments are incorrect. I have old contact information available concerning an unrestored Aquilifer (top boat in the bottom photo). No Aquilifer Mark-I (power top, etc.) is currently known to me, however.