The importance of knowing the make and model of your boat?

[Jeepster]

As an owner of a fairly rare vintage boat, a Marina 16 G.T., made by Marina Boats Ltd, a company that closed down in December 1979, I have made it my business to research the company and it's products. I got it contact with it's former owner, Jeff Hemming, now in his eighties and enjoying retirement and he kindly sent me colour photocopies of the remaining sales Brochures he still had for all the various models of boats the company used to sell, about 10 models in all. I like to periodically search the web for other Marina boats, but usually only find them when they are being sold. The odd thing is that most of their sellers have absolutely no idea what make boat they actually have or what it should actually be called...I have seen a Marina 14 Continental being called a Marina 13, a Marina 18 Cruiser being called Marina 16, several Marina 16 G.T's being sold incorrectly as Shetland 535's, another being sold as a Mayland 16 and one particular Marina M17 Cruiser being sold in Germany was being called an Inter 500! I find myself often having to send emails to these sellers to kindly inform them of what they are actually selling. My latest find is a very rare Marina 22 G.T. being sold as a Senior Marine 21! Some of may find this a bit petty but imagine how you would feel if you constantly found the boat you own being sold as something completely different, surely you would want to inform the seller of their mistake too, if only so that the next owner or future owners are not left misinformed about the make and model of their new purchase as well.

 

[rbcoomer]

Have you thought of starting an owners club? You may find that there are other like minded owners who have also collected odd bits of data and sales literature. There are lots of sites you could create a free website initially to gauge interest and once out there, people can find you. I've amassed quite a bit on Fletcher with a similar objective and did contemplate a book to record this history, but time and too many projects unfortunately prohibits at the moment! Sadly, a lot of the history of these brands disappears as those involved first hand retire or companies close, change ownership etc. Moulds also get sold and other boats can get built under different names etc.

 

[CliveF]

Ah yes Dad had a Marina 16 in the 80's White hull, pale blue top, Johnson 40 on the back. Used extensively on Loch Lomond up at Inveruglas

I learnt to water ski behind that and caught my first Salmon when trolling with a British seagull 4hp longshaft.

Ah those were the days great at speed or in the calm but it frightened the living daylights out of us when we went out in a force 6 to rescue a drifting damaged yacht with puking crew.
All ended up safe but i would not go out in it ever again if the waves were more than 1ft high.

Regards Clive

 

[Jeepster]

When a boat is sold, surely it is normal practice for the seller to tell the buyer what make/model the boat is, yes?...As such, I cannot understand how people can end up with boats without having a single clue about who made them or what they are called. When I bought my 16 G.T., from a ebay seller in Reading, he did not know the make or model either and did not put this info in the ad. When I went to pick it up he said he thought it was an Arran 17. There was an Arran 17...It was an exact copy of the Marina M17 Cruiser...The latter shares the same hull as the Marina 16 G.T. but it has a noticably different superstructure. After doing some research I eventually discovered that it was neither an Arran 17 or an M17...it was actually a Marina 16 but at that time I wasn't aware of the G.T. prefix. I only learnt about this prefix after getting in touch with the former owner of Marina Boats Ltd, Jeff Hemming...He sent me colour photocopies of the various Marina boat brochures, with the specs of the different models. The G.T prefix apparently came about because the design was used for group 3 offshore racing in the 70's....Probably because it was relatively light and could take 100hp (twin Crescent Marin 50's side by side were used, followed by twin 55's). It has taken me years to find all this out, but I shouldn't have had to do any research...

 

[rbcoomer]

Boats aren't like cars and no registration/paperwork often means people either have no idea or don't care!

The number of posts on here asking for people to id the hull is testiment to this. Like you, I'd want to know, but others clearly aren't bothered...

 

[Jeepster]

After another long call to Jeff Hemming I discovered that the Marina 23 Super Delux, was almost the same boat as a Senior Marine 23, except for the shape of the side windows and the interior fittings. Marina boats bought a mould of the latter boat from Senior Marine in the early 70's. Another company, Eastwood Boats, did the same...They called their version, the Eastwood 24...All three share the same hull design but they can be distinguished easily by the shape and configuration of their side windows. The Senior Marine 23 has a rectangular shaped window frame along each side, the Marina 23 Super Deluxe has a wedge shaped window frame along each side (getting taller towards the back end) and the Eastwood 24 has a very noticeable bar, running diagonally backwards from the top to the bottom of the side windows, and a couple of feet from the front of the side windows. Very interesting, as I have now found several Marina 23 Super Deluxe's being sold, incorrectly, as Senior Marine 23's!

 

[Tranona]

You have just explained the root cause of identities of boats being lost. As already suggested there is no formal registration requirement for boats so they do not have a formal identity. In the period 1960-1980 the boat industry was full of small firms moulding hulls in often unsuitable premises and selling them to a new market hungry for ways of getting on the water. Often boats were finished off by people other than the original builder, either private buyers or other traders. So the identity was often lost right from the beginning.

In most cases this really does not matter, particularly in small boats as apart from the mouldings, little of the fittings were unique, so many can be refurbished easily. Equally designs were often basic and just copies perhaps modified of existing boats.

In practical terms, although in is interesting for some to try and find the origin of the boat, it is really a question of deciding whether the specific boat on offer is worth buying for your use.

 

[Alabama]

one particular Marina M17 Cruiser being sold in Germany was being called an Inter 500! I find myself often having to send emails to these sellers to kindly inform them of what they are actually selling.

Those are actually Inter 500's, apparently that is what the Marina M17 is called on mainland Europe. I'm a proud owner of one, and it has a nice factory original "Inter 500" chrome logo.

 

[Alabama]

From the HISWA paper boat show 1974 edition.

Notable things in the (Dutch) description: The hulls were built under Lloyds supervision and had a SBBNF certificate of seaworthiness, the boat is rated up to 115HP (i read elsewhere that the Marina 16 GT was rated up to 100HP and the M17 up to 70HP) and it weighs a mere 350 kilo's (dry weight)

The boats probably were re-badged to Inter 500 to reflect the name of the Dutch company that were selling them at the time ("Internaut") and i have seen both 16GT's and M17's badged as "Inter 500" so there is no distinction there.

 

[Jimfife]

As an owner of a fairly rare vintage boat, a Marina 16 G.T. that I have just recently bought I was wondering if there is anything you can tell me about it thanks

 

[Jimfife]

Hi I have recently bought a marina 16GT wondered if you can tell me anything else about it please thanks

 

[QBhoy]

It’s always been one of my pet hates...it seems that any small 15-18ft cabin cruiser from the 80’s is advertised as a Shetland these days. Marina 16, microplus, mayland all prime suspects.
Similarly, any small speedboat from a certain vintage must be a fletcher. eBay is full of such adverts. The boat geek in me often has to stop myself correcting the seller, haha.

 

[Jimfife]

Hi I know for a fact its a marina 16gt just would like to know more about it that's all

 

[QBhoy]

There is someone on here that knows a fair bit about them and thinks a great deal of them. There was info on them being raced and performing well or similar. I’ve been on one with a 50hp. I thought it was a very unstable thing compared to a Shetland of same size. Just an opinion.

 

[Jeepster]

Hi I know for a fact its a marina 16gt just would like to know more about it that's all

Hi Jim, I have just found your message as I haven't been on here for a while. Not sure what else you want to know about the Marina 16 GT but I might be able to help you.

 

[Jeepster]

From the HISWA paper boat show 1974 edition.

Notable things in the (Dutch) description: The hulls were built under Lloyds supervision and had a SBBNF certificate of seaworthiness, the boat is rated up to 115HP (i read elsewhere that the Marina 16 GT was rated up to 100HP and the M17 up to 70HP) and it weighs a mere 350 kilo's (dry weight)

The boats probably were re-badged to Inter 500 to reflect the name of the Dutch company that were selling them at the time ("Internaut") and i have seen both 16GT's and M17's badged as "Inter 500" so there is no distinction there.

WOW! Thanks for posting the old ad. After speaking to Jeff Hemming, I discovered that the two versions of the Inter 500 were illegally made Dutch-built copies of the Marina 16 GT and Marina M17 Cruiser, and the Arran 17 was an illegally made British-built copy of the Marina M17 Cruiser. Neither companies had Jeff's permission to use his copyrighted designs...Jeff knew about it but he could not afford the time or money to take the offending companies to court, so they were just left to get away with it. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so the fact other companies thought Jeffs design was so good that it was worth stealing it, must have given Jeff mixed emotions...He was probably secretly proud about it, whilst being angry at them for having the cheek to do it without asking him first. I don't suppose you know when the Dutch stopped building their copies of the 16 GT and M17 Cruiser by any chance? BTW, if you do a search for the Inter 500 it shows a Polish-made boat of completely different hull design: https://thumbs.img-sprzedajemy.pl/1...er 500's these days, but to their own design?

 

[Jimfife]

Hi Jim, I have just found your message as I haven't been on here for a while. Not sure what else you want to know about the Marina 16 GT but I might be able to help you.

Hi jeepster anything you can tell me about it would be much appreciated

 

[Jeepster]

Hi jeepster anything you can tell me about it would be much appreciated

To save hours of typing, simply visit my Marina Boats Ltd page on facebook, where you can find the detailed history of the company, and it's fate...Here is the history page: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=170803770205071&id=170763240209124&__tn__=K-R

 

[manonafence]

does anybody know if the Marina 16 gt has a double hull??please

Ah yes Dad had a Marina 16 in the 80's White hull, pale blue top, Johnson 40 on the back. Used extensively on Loch Lomond up at Inveruglas

I learnt to water ski behind that and caught my first Salmon when trolling with a British seagull 4hp longshaft.

Ah those were the days great at speed or in the calm but it frightened the living daylights out of us when we went out in a force 6 to rescue a drifting damaged yacht with puking crew.
All ended up safe but i would not go out in it ever again if the waves were more than 1ft high.

Regards Clive

 

[manonafence]

hi

would you know if the marina 16 gt has a double hull? thank you

When a boat is sold, surely it is normal practice for the seller to tell the buyer what make/model the boat is, yes?...As such, I cannot understand how people can end up with boats without having a single clue about who made them or what they are called. When I bought my 16 G.T., from a ebay seller in Reading, he did not know the make or model either and did not put this info in the ad. When I went to pick it up he said he thought it was an Arran 17. There was an Arran 17...It was an exact copy of the Marina M17 Cruiser...The latter shares the same hull as the Marina 16 G.T. but it has a noticably different superstructure. After doing some research I eventually discovered that it was neither an Arran 17 or an M17...it was actually a Marina 16 but at that time I wasn't aware of the G.T. prefix. I only learnt about this prefix after getting in touch with the former owner of Marina Boats Ltd, Jeff Hemming...He sent me colour photocopies of the various Marina boat brochures, with the specs of the different models. The G.T prefix apparently came about because the design was used for group 3 offshore racing in the 70's....Probably because it was relatively light and could take 100hp (twin Crescent Marin 50's side by side were used, followed by twin 55's). It has taken me years to find all this out, but I shouldn't have had to do any research...