Identification needed for cowels

[JayMac]

Can anybody tell me what these came off from??
Thanks,
Jay

[Miss BK]

Can anybody tell me what these came off from??
Thanks,
Jay

Looks like it came from an inboard hydroplane

What size is it?

[Miss BK]

If it's a really big one...

[JayMac]

Cowel shown is 8 1/2 ft long, 31 inches wide, cockpit opening 3 ft long, 25 inches wide, 14 inches tall
Frong Cowel not shown is 5 1/2 ft long, 3 ft wide, 7 1/2 inches tall.
Thanks
Jay

[Geezeracer]

I've downloaded the picture to rotate it and dial it in a little so it's easier to see. Given the dimensions you've provided I'd guess this to be for a '60s 266 hull. Through the '50s three classes (225, 266 and 280) ran 16 foot hulls, but the cowl, at 14 ft total is too big for those.

Starting about 1960 though, APBA increased hull length for 266 to 18 feet as a safety move, and that's a length this cowl would be about right for. I couldn't tell you the make though...I know it's not a Jones, no fins there, or Lauterbach, different style fin, but it does look a lot like a really big version of Farmer's 136/145 cowls.

John

[JayMac]

Hi John
Thank you for fixing the picture, and the information on it. I know nothing about hydros, these have been in our barn for over 20 years, if I send you a picture of the front cowel would it help to tell you if it's a farmer's ?
if you want to see it it would be easier for me to e- mail it to you , I have problems with posting pictures as you can see.
Thank you
Jay
( e-mail)mcintyre@ sover. net

[Geezeracer]

Well, about the same time I bailed off the site after my reply I remembered that most Will Farmer boats had a fin styled more like a Lauterbach Valerie has pictured above...the B&W picture. So now I know I've seen that pointy fin, but don't remember what I saw it on on.

Seeing the front cowl wouldn't make a lot of difference. The total length of the two is 14 ft, so that means a boat 18 feet or better. The style is for a conventional hull (driver behind the engine) and by about 1967 those were starting to fade away. So the match is limited by period and style as well as size to a big boat built from maybe 1957 to maybe 1969 and that means a late series 266 or a 7-Litre.

I've added another picture. This one's a 20 foot7-Litre conventional. It was Ron Jones first inboard, and was entered in the Gold Cup in '57 as "Whiz-Ski" with a seven foot long extended tailfin to technically qualify at the minimum length. Wally didn't have the Packard figured out yet and it failed to qualify, but later with the Packard muscled up and re-named "Redskin", it was a multiple national champion in 7-Litre. This is the size and style of boat for your cowl, and you can get a feel for the size of the boat by comparing it to the folks standing next to it.

John