Sea Sprite - Revision history

HandyAndy: added link to Cheetah

2012-11-10T16:40:20Z

added link to Cheetah

HandyAndy at 00:14, 2 November 2012

2012-11-02T00:14:07Z

HandyAndy: added history, model info and fixed boats in use link

2012-11-02T00:13:42Z

added history, model info and fixed boats in use link

HandyAndy: added info about 1964 known boat

2011-04-03T16:48:56Z

added info about 1964 known boat

HandyAndy: added link to Sea Star page

2010-09-29T13:39:37Z

added link to Sea Star page

HandyAndy at 00:45, 1 July 2010

2010-07-01T00:45:59Z

HandyAndy at 00:44, 1 July 2010

2010-07-01T00:44:50Z

HandyAndy: added further history

2010-07-01T00:39:12Z

added further history

HandyAndy at 19:44, 15 June 2010

2010-06-15T19:44:54Z

HandyAndy: created page, added history and brochures from forum

2010-06-15T19:44:32Z

created page, added history and brochures from forum

New page

[[File:SeaSpritelogo.jpg]]

Please contact us to edit or contribute to this page.

Sea Sprite Boat Co., Inc.

600 W. 10th Ave.

Monmouth, Illinois

The Sea Sprite Boat Co. was a continuation of [[Speed Queen|Speed Queen Boats]]. In the undated brochure below, the photo of the Catalina Cruiser model clearly shows a Speed Queen badge.

''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead''
Glastex started building Speed Queen boats in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building Sea Star boats. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.

''Literature thanks to Andreas Jordahl Rhude''

'''1960s Brochure'''
<gallery>
File:Seaspriteb6x001.jpg|1960s Brochure, Page 1
File:Seaspriteb6x002.jpg|1960s Brochure, Page 2
File:Seaspriteb6x003.jpg|1960s Brochure, Page 3
File:Seaspriteb6x004.jpg|1960s Brochure, Page 4
File:Seaspriteb6x005.jpg|1960s Brochure, Page 5
File:Seaspriteb6x006.jpg|1960s Brochure, Page 6
File:Seaspriteb6x007.jpg|1960s Brochure, Page 7
File:Seaspriteb6x008.jpg|1960s Brochure, Page 8
</gallery>

'''1966 Information'''
<gallery>
File:Seaspriteb66001.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 1
File:Seaspriteb66002.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 2
File:Seaspriteb66003.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 3
File:Seaspriteb66004.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 4
File:Seaspriteb66005.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 5
File:Seaspriteb66006.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 6
File:Seaspriteb66007.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 7
File:Seaspriteb66008.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 8
File:Seaspriteb66009.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 9
File:Seaspriteb66010.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 10
File:File-Seaspriteb66011.jpg|1966 Brochure, Page 11
</gallery>

'''1968 Information'''
<gallery>
File:File-Seaspriteb68001.jpg|1968 Brochure, Page 1
File:File-Seaspriteb68002.jpg|1968 Brochure, Page 2
File:File-Seaspriteb68003.jpg|1968 Brochure, Page 3
File:File-Seaspriteb68004.jpg|1968 Brochure, Page 4
File:File-Seaspriteb68005.jpg|1968 Brochure, Page 5
File:File-Seaspriteb68006.jpg|1968 Brochure, Page 6
File:File-Seaspriteb68007.jpg|1968 Brochure, Page 7
File:File-Seaspriteb68008.jpg|1968 Brochure, Page 8
File:File-Seaspriteb68009.jpg|1968 Brochure, Page 9
File:Seaspriteb68010.jpg |1968 Brochure, Page 10
File:Seaspriteb68012.jpg |1968 Brochure, Page 11
File:Seaspriteb68013.jpg |1968 Brochure, Page 12
</gallery>

'''1969 Information'''
<gallery>
File:Seaspriteb69001.jpg|1969 Brochure, Page 1
File:Seaspriteb69002.jpg|1969 Brochure, Page 2
File:Seaspriteb69003.jpg|1969 Brochure, Page 3
File:Seaspriteb69004.jpg|1969 Brochure, Page 4
</gallery>

[http://www.fiberglassics.com/site-search-3?ordering=newest&searchword=Sea+Sprite Sea Sprite Boats in Use]

[[Main Page|Back to Main Page]]

[[Category:Illinois]]
[[Category:Fiberglass]]

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 Robert F. Smith later operated a company called "[[Classic|Classic Boats, Inc.]]" in the 1970s at 1 Roselle Road, Roselle, IL 60172 in Chicagoland. He also owned Smith Marine at Berwyn and Sequoit Harbor Marina (boat dealerships). Earlier he and his father owned [[Dunphy|Dunphy Boat Corp.]] in Oshkosh and drove it into the ground. In 1984 he bought Sea Sprite Boat Co. of Crescent City, IL.
-Smith eventually had his fingers in many other boat-building firms which he operated under the umbrella of United Marine Corporation, including Moomba, Skier's Choice, Sea Sprite, Sea Raider, Cheetah, Renken, and others. Mark Twain may have been one of them.
+Smith eventually had his fingers in many other boat-building firms which he operated under the umbrella of United Marine Corporation, including Moomba, Skier's Choice, Sea Sprite, [[Sea Raider]], [[Cheetah]], [[Renken]], and others. [[Mark Twain]] may have been one of them.
 Smith filed for chapter XI bankruptcy on 25 April 2002 with $97 million in claims against him and his businesses!

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:14, 2 November 2012
Line 19:		Line 19:


−	''History by Andreas Jordahl Rhude''	+	''History by Andreas Jordahl Rhude'' <br>
	Sea Sprite was a marine dealer founded at North Webster, Indiana in 1962. In 1968 the company was purchased by Melvin Redeker who had been selling his [[Bee\|"Bee Boat" fiberglass boats]] to Sea Sprite and Jayhawk. At that time he started making boats badged as "Sea Sprite" at Crescent City, IL.		Sea Sprite was a marine dealer founded at North Webster, Indiana in 1962. In 1968 the company was purchased by Melvin Redeker who had been selling his [[Bee\|"Bee Boat" fiberglass boats]] to Sea Sprite and Jayhawk. At that time he started making boats badged as "Sea Sprite" at Crescent City, IL.

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 Glastex started building [[Speed Queen|Speed Queen boats]] in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building [[Sea Star|Sea Star Boats]]. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.
 [http://www.fiberglassics.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2920&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a Additional history]
@@ Line 79: / Line 100: @@
-[http://www.fiberglassics.com/site-search-3?ordering=newest&searchword=Sea+Sprite Sea Sprite Boats in Use]
+[http://www.fiberglassics.com/index.php?searchword=Sea+Sprite&ordering=newest&searchphrase=exact&limit=20&Itemid=88&option=com_search Sea Sprite Boats in Use]

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:39, 29 September 2010
Line 16:		Line 16:

	''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead'' <br>		''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead'' <br>
−	Glastex started building [[Speed Queen\|Speed Queen boats]] in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building Sea Star ~~boats~~. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.	+	Glastex started building [[Speed Queen\|Speed Queen boats]] in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building [[Sea Star\|Sea Star Boats]]. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:45, 1 July 2010
Line 17:		Line 17:
	''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead'' <br>		''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead'' <br>
	Glastex started building [[Speed Queen\|Speed Queen boats]] in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building Sea Star boats. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.		Glastex started building [[Speed Queen\|Speed Queen boats]] in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building Sea Star boats. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.
		+
		+
		+	[http://www.fiberglassics.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2920&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a Additional history]

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
-The Sea Sprite Boat Co. was a continuation of [[Speed Queen|Speed Queen Boats]]. In the undated brochure below, the photo of the Catalina Cruiser model clearly shows a Speed Queen badge.
+The Sea Sprite Boat Co. was a continuation of [[Speed Queen|Speed Queen Boats]]. In the undated brochure below, the photo of the Catalina Cruiser model clearly shows a Speed Queen badge. This brochure may date to 1964 as an example of this exact model has been found titled as a 1964 model year.
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ''Literature thanks to Andreas Jordahl Rhude''
-'''1960s Brochure'''
+'''Possibly 1964 Brochure'''
 <gallery>
 File:Seaspriteb6x001.jpg|1960s Brochure, Page 1

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:44, 1 July 2010
Line 16:		Line 16:

	''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead'' <br>		''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead'' <br>
−	Glastex started building Speed Queen boats in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building Sea Star boats. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.	+	Glastex started building [[Speed Queen\|Speed Queen boats]] in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building Sea Star boats. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.
−
−
−	~~''History Thanks to Andreas Jordahl Rhude'' <br>~~
−	Sea Sprite was a marine dealer founded at North Webster, Indiana in 1962. In 1968 the company was purchased by Melvin Redeker who had been selling his "[[Bee\|Bee Boat]]" fiberglass boats to Sea Sprite. At that time he started making boats badged as "Sea Sprite" at Crescent City, IL. He had 115 employees at the peak period and was makng 13 boats per day. He sold the firm in 1984 to Robert F. Smith. Smith owned it until 3-4 years ago when a bank seized it. Apparently some of the molds are still sitting outside the former factory complex near Watseka, IL. Previous to starting to make Sea Sprite boats in 1968, this man was partner in [[Bee\|Bee Boat Co. of Paxton, IL]]. Both had started out with [[Crownline\|Crownline Mfg. Co. in Onarga, IL]]- departing in 1959 to start Bee Boat.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:39, 1 July 2010
Line 17:		Line 17:
	''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead'' <br>		''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead'' <br>
	Glastex started building Speed Queen boats in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building Sea Star boats. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.		Glastex started building Speed Queen boats in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building Sea Star boats. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.
		+
		+
		+	''History Thanks to Andreas Jordahl Rhude'' <br>
		+	Sea Sprite was a marine dealer founded at North Webster, Indiana in 1962. In 1968 the company was purchased by Melvin Redeker who had been selling his "[[Bee\|Bee Boat]]" fiberglass boats to Sea Sprite. At that time he started making boats badged as "Sea Sprite" at Crescent City, IL. He had 115 employees at the peak period and was makng 13 boats per day. He sold the firm in 1984 to Robert F. Smith. Smith owned it until 3-4 years ago when a bank seized it. Apparently some of the molds are still sitting outside the former factory complex near Watseka, IL. Previous to starting to make Sea Sprite boats in 1968, this man was partner in [[Bee\|Bee Boat Co. of Paxton, IL]]. Both had started out with [[Crownline\|Crownline Mfg. Co. in Onarga, IL]]- departing in 1959 to start Bee Boat.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:44, 15 June 2010
Line 15:		Line 15:


−	''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead''	+	''History Thanks to Lee Wangstead'' <br>
	Glastex started building Speed Queen boats in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building Sea Star boats. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.		Glastex started building Speed Queen boats in Tinley Park, Illinois in 1953. In 1958, looking to expand, they moved to Monmouth, Illinois. The company was sold to Felt Enterprises in 1961 and around 1963 they changed the name of the boats to Sea Sprite. By 1967 there were differences between two factions of management with one group moving to Crescent City, Illinois and continuing the Sea Sprite line and the group staying in Monmouth building Sea Star boats. Confusing? You bet, but not any more confusing than the rest of the industry at that time. The Sea Star boat plant closed in 1981 when the Felt's sold the boat building operation. In 1982 they were back at it again building Mach I boats, sold in 1991. In 1993 they formed Envision Boats, still in business today. That's about all I know about them, anyone else have more? I'd like to hear more about William J. Horvath, founder.