Interior Sleuth

One of the intentions of the Michigan trip was to purchase lumber, but quality supplies were low.  After some discussion, it was suggested we buy the interior kit.  Two ladies who used to sew the original interiors for the factory now make the kits sold thru A&A Marine.  When the Century plant closed in Manistee, the ladies were able to acquire the original Century patterns.  They also have access to the original die-electric stamping machine to make the embossed Century logo on later model boats.  With the kit purchased, we just needed to figure out the original interior colors if possible.

The interior was redone and “re-styled” in mustard yellow and white.

The stripe in the center should be narrow and vertical, matching the king plank as shown in the drawing from the original sales literature.  Also, the seat bottoms should be three individual cushions, not one-piece bottoms, and some sort of end cushions possibly?

Careful removal of the coverings revealed the original tan and cream colored upholstery still present under the incorrect recover job.

The original covers were dirty, stained and faded, but a protected area of the front seat back was found and sent to A&A Marine to match for the kit.  A noticeable color change between the exposed and un-exposed area is clearly evident.

Also, piping is not evident in the seam between the colors, nor was it removed during the recovering.  The original seams are tight and the backside of the seam reveals no remnants of piping being cut off.  The ceiling panels and crash padding are the original material that has been painted and are originally tan as well.

Traveling

I visited a friend in Michigan Oct 28 thru Nov 5.  It was a working vacation, learning from the best in the boat restoration business.  It was a great trip and I learned a lot about wooden boat restoration.  While there, I got to visit A&A Marine and rummage thru the parts storage area.  I purchased the self-bailer assembly, missing from the Sea Maid.

The thru-hull fitting has a flapper that faces aft.  When the boat is moving forward the flapper opens and allows the siphon tube to draw out water from the bilge.  When moving slowly or backing up, the flapper closes to keep water from entering the boat.

The siphon tube sits just above the inner bottom and is held off the bottom by four feet cast into the end fitting.

Even though when restored the boat will have a true “5200” bottom with an inner ply and planking, the self-bailer will be installed for originality, along with a 6-volt Lovett bilge pump just in case of an emergency.

History and Research

Collecting information from various sources to document “originality” of the boat is a time consuming process.  Century production records are basically non-existent, most burned in a 1970 factory fire.  Our Sea Maid does not have an identification plate and appears to have never had one.  The transom plank is stamped with the hull number “49Q66”, 49 indicating a 1949 model year, Q indicating a 17.5’ Sea Maid, and 66 indicating the 66^th boat produced that model year.

Searching the Internet for information on the various parts has uncovered some interesting documents.  The engine is a Chrysler M-27 Crown.  The 1949 Century catalog lists 7 engines options were available, one being the Crown 115 hp with an advertised top speed of 38 mph.  The following service bulletin documents the production date of the engine between 2-9-49 and 1-21-50, appropriate for the boat.

Other locations for stamped numbers or identification marks have been found. The model identifier Q is stamped on various frame components, but no other serial number stampings are found except on the seat frames.  The seat frames are stamped Q along with a production number, the rear seat frame stamped 66 and the front seat stamped 70.  So, if 49Q70 is out there, can you check to see if you have 66’s front seat frame?

1949 Century Sea Maid 17.5'



In July 2010, we extended our vacation after hiking Mount Whitney with a trip thru Lake Tahoe to look at a 1949 Century Sea Maid 17.5'.  The boat had not been in the water for about 40 years and will need a complete restoration down to the frames.  The owner had purchased the boat a few years prior, took the engine apart and then lost interest.  By August we had negotiated a deal and brought the boat home. 

All fittings, hardware and engine have been removed and stored.  Our 1951 16’ Century Resorter needs a new bottom and at least a new lower transom bow first.