Larson - Revision history

HandyAndy: added 1959 article

2016-10-31T02:07:39Z

added 1959 article

HandyAndy at 20:56, 18 December 2015

2015-12-18T20:56:14Z

HandyAndy: added 1959 popular boating test report of a larson all american

2015-12-18T20:54:32Z

added 1959 popular boating test report of a larson all american

HandyAndy: added bit about Courtaulds, the Canadian company

2014-03-09T13:36:46Z

added bit about Courtaulds, the Canadian company

HandyAndy: added 1965 bulletins

2014-01-13T01:44:21Z

added 1965 bulletins

HandyAndy at 17:29, 22 December 2012

2012-12-22T17:29:58Z

HandyAndy: added links to other pages

2012-12-22T15:11:27Z

added links to other pages

HandyAndy: added 1962 inboard model info, wood/fiberglass category (1956 All American)

2012-12-03T23:44:50Z

added 1962 inboard model info, wood/fiberglass category (1956 All American)

HandyAndy at 15:38, 4 November 2012

2012-11-04T15:38:00Z

HandyAndy: added model info and fixed boats in use link

2012-11-04T15:37:17Z

added model info and fixed boats in use link

@@ Line 181: / Line 181: @@
 File:Larsona59001.jpg | 1959 Larson Ad
 File:Larsona59002.jpg | 1959 Larson Ad
 File:BHBPHOTO17.JPG | 1959 Larson Falls Flyer [[Mercury|Mercury Mark 58AE]] test
 </gallery>

@@ Line 175: / Line 175: @@
-'''1959 Info'''
+'''1959 Miscellaneous'''
 <gallery>
 File:Larsonb59001.jpg | Part of the 59 Brochure
-File:Larsonb59002.jpg | Part of the 59 Brochure
+File:Larsonb59002.jpg | 1959 Larson News Article
 File:Larsona59001.jpg | 1959 Larson Ad
 File:Larsona59002.jpg | 1959 Larson Ad

@@ Line 161: / Line 161: @@
 File:Larsonp57001.jpg | 1957 Price list, p1
 File:Larsonp57002.jpg | 1957 Price list, p2
 </gallery>

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 In 1957 Paul Larson first began to seriously think about retirement.  He had built the company up over the last 44 years and felt ready for a break.  At this time he sold an interest in Larson Boat Works to Earl Geiger.  Geiger, originally from Cornell, Iowa, had been working with Cargill, Inc. of Minneapolis and brought with him the expertise in handling national accounts.  Not long after, Chuck Gravelle came to Larson as director of sales and marketing.  Together these three formulated the plan to take Larson from a regional builder into the national market.  Gravelle put together the marketing plan and began setting up a true national dealership network.
 <br><br>
-Larson Boat Works entered into licensee agreements with four companies located in Nashville, Georgia; Casper, Wyoming; Ontario, California; and Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.  This gave them the nationwide manufacturing and distributorship that they needed.
+Larson Boat Works entered into licensee agreements with four companies located in Nashville, Georgia; Casper, Wyoming; Ontario, California; and  Courtaulds located in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.  This gave them the nationwide manufacturing and distributorship that they needed.
 <br><br>
 also marked a vast difference in the boats that Larson was producing.  The 21’ Outboard Cruiser was the lone wood holdover tying Larson to it’s past heritage of cedar strip construction.  By 1957 even this boat was slipping from it’s past, using plywood for its hullsides.  New to the lineup were the Surfmaster, Thunderhawk, in both Junior and Senior models, and a restyled Playboy, utilizing the new Thunderhawk Lapline hull.  The All-American was still available in 14’ or 16’ lengths, featuring fiberglass hulls and mahogany plywood decks.  What was remarkable in the All-American line was the list of standard features: a folding top and side curtains; upholstered cushions with backrests; wrap-around windshield with molded base; steering; and a complete set of deck hardware including navigational lighting.  This may not seem so astounding today, but in 1957 this put them way beyond the competition.
@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 [[Owens|Owens Yacht Company]] was on a similar mission.  Their main interest was in the cruiser market, but had entered the runabout market in the early fifties.  In 1957 they built a plant in Tell City, Indiana to produce fiberglass boats.  These would be marketed as [[Cutter|Cutter Boats, Inc.]], a division of Owens.  They hired three or four key personnel from [[Lone Star|Lone Star Boats]], built a couple of molds splashed from Lone Star models, produced some boats and were promptly sued by Lone Star.  There were hundreds of others that were pirating designs from other manufacturers, but none with the financial backing that Owens had.  They were an easy target.  The court ordered Owens to cease producing these boats and pay a royalty on each one that they had built.
 <br><br>
-From this harsh lesson, Owens hired noted industrial designer Brooks Stevens to style a new line of boats to carry both the Cutter and Owens nameplates.  These designs were mated to an outstanding hull designed by Norman Owens, naval architect and son of Owens founder Charles C. Owens Sr. for introduction in 1958.  The first Cutter lineup included three boats: the Jet de Ville, a 15’ runabout; the Como, a 15’ utility; and the Avon, a 17’ deluxe runabout.  Cutter advertising proclaimed that they were built in “America’s largest plant devoted exclusively to producing superior fiber-glass boats!”
+From this harsh lesson, Owens hired noted industrial designer [[Brooks Stevens]] to style a new line of boats to carry both the Cutter and Owens nameplates.  These designs were mated to an outstanding hull designed by Norman Owens, naval architect and son of Owens founder Charles C. Owens Sr. for introduction in 1958.  The first Cutter lineup included three boats: the Jet de Ville, a 15’ runabout; the Como, a 15’ utility; and the Avon, a 17’ deluxe runabout.  Cutter advertising proclaimed that they were built in “America’s largest plant devoted exclusively to producing superior fiber-glass boats!”
 <br><br>
 The dealer network supporting the Owens Yacht Company was based on sales of the large cruisers that they had become famous for.  These dealers weren’t accustomed to selling boats to the outboard market.  Cutter Boats would have to forge their own way into the marine market.  But forge they would, based on the strength of their performance and their strong styling they were making inroads into the small runabout market nationwide.  In 1959 Owens also introduced a line of larger runabouts designed and built by John Norek in California.

@@ Line 170: / Line 170: @@
 File:Larsona59001.jpg | 1959 Larson Ad
 File:Larsona59002.jpg | 1959 Larson Ad
-File:BHBPHOTO17.JPG | 1959 Larson Falls Flyer test
+File:BHBPHOTO17.JPG | 1959 Larson Falls Flyer [[Mercury|Mercury Mark 58AE]] test
 </gallery>
 '''1960 Info'''
@@ Line 191: / Line 192: @@
 File:1960larson15.jpg | 1960 Brochure p15
 File:1960larson16.jpg | 1960 Brochure p16
-File:BHBPHOTO38.JPG | 1960 Larson Sea Lion
+File:BHBPHOTO38.JPG | 1960 Larson Sea Lion [[Mercury|Mercury 800EL]] test
 </gallery>
@@ Line 205: / Line 206: @@
 <gallery>
 File:Larsona64001.jpg | 1964 Larson 166 Ad
 </gallery>

@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 brought another banner to Larson Boat Works.  The sweepspear side stripe became standard on all but the most economical models.  In an effort at becoming somewhat more conventional, the Falls Flyer was offered with white hull and decks with Pirate Red, Marlin Blue, Light Tahitian Blue, or Tigershark Black trim.  The lapstrake bottoms were gelcoated in alternating colors along each strake.  1959 was also the first year of the Pla-Mate, an entry level 14 footer giving Larson-quality to the first time boater.  The big news was the 25’ Cruisemaster.  Early reports alleged 25 boats built with orders for another 100 already on the books.  In actuality, 2 were built.  Larson was looking for a plant to build these new cruisers when the business leaders of Little Falls caught wind of this need.  Not wanting jobs going to another town, they collected the necessary money locally to grant a loan to Paul Larson  to build this new plant across the Mississippi River from his main plant.  This new plant became fully operational on April 22, 1959.  With sales of the runabout line going completely berserk, Larson threw the new plant into producing the All-American lines, leaving the Cruisemaster for a later production date (a date that would never come).
 <br><br>
-In early 1960 the Brunswick Corporation bought Owens Yacht Company.  Brunswick had attempted to buy [[Chris Craft|Chris-Craft]] but was outmaneuvered by the Shields group.  In buying Owens, Brunswick felt that they had a good catch, for considerably less money than the buyout of Chris-Craft would have required.  Owens was to concentrate on the cruisers that they were best known for while the runabout market became a secondary issue.  John Norek was still turning out a few Owens runabouts from his [[Crystalliner]] plant in California.
+In early 1960 the Brunswick Corporation bought Owens Yacht Company.  Brunswick had attempted to buy [[Chris Craft|Chris-Craft]] but was outmaneuvered by the Shields group.  In buying Owens, Brunswick felt that they had a good catch, for considerably less money than the buyout of Chris-Craft would have required.  Owens was to concentrate on the cruisers that they were best known for while the runabout market became a secondary issue.  John Norek was still turning out a few Owens runabouts from his [[Crystaliner]] plant in California.
 <br><br>
 brought many changes to the Larson line in Little Falls. The Thunderhawk was dropped.  Labor intensive production techniques combined with slow sales brought it to its final conclusion.  Larson instead was attempting to meet demand for the All-American line, now selling at an all time high.  They had their finger on the pulse of what middle America wanted, and knew just how much they were willing to spend to get there.  The buying public wanted all of the extras that Larson was including as standard equipment, and saw the value that Larson was delivering.  An integral part of this success was Larson’s national dealer network, second to none in the industry.

@@ Line 141: / Line 141: @@
 '''Model Information'''
 <gallery>
-File:Larsonbb001.jpg|1958 to 1959 Larson outboard models
+File:Larsonbb001.jpg|1958 to 1959 Larson outboard boat models
-File:Larsonbb001.jpg|1960 to 1962 Larson outboard models
+File:Larsonbb002.jpg|1960 to 1962 Larson outboard boat models
-File:Larsonbb001.jpg|1965 to 1967 Larson outboard models
+File:Larsonbb005.jpg|1962 Larson inboard boat models
-File:Larsonbb001.jpg|1968 to 1971 Larson outboard models
+File:Larsonbb003.jpg|1965 to 1967 Larson outboard boat models
 </gallery>
@@ Line 239: / Line 240: @@
 [[Category:Strip]]
 [[Category:Fiberglass]]

@@ Line 130: / Line 130: @@
 I would like to sincerely thank Dick Eich, Chuck Gravelle, Earl Geiger, John Monahan, Dennis Casey, Bill Tritt, the late Lem Larson, and especially Al Hegg for their willingness to participate in endless interviews helping me put real meaning into this story.  I also have to pay a debt of gratitude to the late Bob Speltz, who taught me that knowledge is nothing if it is not shared.
 <Br>
@@ Line 221: / Line 230: @@
-[http://www.fiberglassics.com/site-search-3?ordering=newest&searchword=Larson Larson Boats in Use]
+[http://www.fiberglassics.com/index.php?searchword=Larson&ordering=newest&searchphrase=all&limit=20&Itemid=88&option=com_search Larson Boats in Use]