TOPIC: I'M SICK!

Friends,

I've been trying to buy a 1958 TEXAS MAID FIESTA UTILITY (NOT the much more common "ski-boat", in good shape & complete with the RARE "bowrails".) in a usable 1958 DAL-PRIDE (made in Dallas, TX for 20 months) "artillery" trailer for 2 weeks, but got NO response whatever from the seller.
(The seller wanted 175.oo for the boat/trailer & a "trashed" Evinrude BigTwin. He lives west of Waco.)

I presumed that the boat/trailer was sold and the seller hadn't told me BUT last night the "seller" responded to my FOUR emails (that said, "Where do I send a cashier's check & when can I pick-up the rig?"), telling me that he NEVER bothered to read his emails & had the boat CRUSHED on Thursday morning for 80.oo in scrap metal.
(After that email, I needed two Alka-Seltzers and/or a STIFF DRINK.)

For those of you who don't know, FIESTA UTILITY boats of the 1950s are quite RARE in "good original condition".- There were FEW made & there are many fewer now.
(The vast majority have had their bowrails removed & the bolt-holes filled, to make the boat into a "runabout".)
This boat needed only some "cleaning-up" and the SEATS repaired.

yours, satx

That IS sad satx, did he mention which scrap yard he took it to? Might be worth a phone call to see if it is truly "too late", maybe they haven't crushed it yet? (I know it's a long shot, but I hate to think of such a fate for something so rare!)

MarkS,

Unfortunately, the seller was still at the yard when they ran it through the crusher & shredded the trailer. - a DAL-PRIDE trailer isn't easy to find, either.
(I'd bet that there isn't a dozen Fiesta Utility hulls left, that haven't been "messed with" or "remodeled" into a "ski-boat".- I've even heard that some dealers "upgraded" the Utility hull, which was really PLAIN-VANILLA, with Fiesta parts & "extra accessories" off-the-shelf, to make extra $$$$$$.)

Btw, the UTILITY doesn't have "port-holes" in the prow.
(IF a person finds a "Fiesta-LOOKING" 15.5' ski-boat, that doesn't have "port-holes", it's likely a "remodeled" Utility. - It would be worth asking if they have any "other parts" lying about.)

yours, satx