Anyone familiar with Bonwitco?

ADF

ADF

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Hi all,

I am looking at buying a Bonwitco 'with' 400 from eBay, just wondering if anyone has had any experience of these boats or similar boats. Any advice/experience would be greatly appreciated :)

Thanks!

$_57.jpg

Believe the plate says it is a 400c number 110.
 
OK. Robust. Heavy for a tender. Very dry. Plane easily with smallish HP. Good ones as rare as RH poo. Point being that it was a perfectly correct post for PBO.
 
I had A With 300 which I repaired. They have a double skin with closed cell foam between. Quite heavy but very robust and plane easily, as already mentioned.

Excellent boat. Always keep a high value.


With2.jpg



With1.jpg
 
Very popular in Argyll with locals. Used as workboats after the tourists switched to more exotic craft, e.g. Ribs. Ours was early 1980's and is still around, in the water all year I think.
 
Hi
I have two and love them, neither are in any way new. I have the 200 which is an older version of the one which is photographed above. It is a great wee boat, used to have a 9.9 on it and could do 20knots, now have a 4 on it and use it as a tender sometimes when taking larger things out to the boat, only criticism us that it is heavy on the shore

I also have a 440cc which is larger, has a 40hp on the back and is the business, we love it. Wee enough to handle well in close quarters, easily launched etc but also is great on the sea, feels very safe and keeps up fine with similarly powered ribs, can't recommend it enough.
 
If I remember correctly, the 400 was a 14' 6" boat, quite heavy but would - for the time - take quite a big engine (eg 40HP). The early ones had wooden gunwales and the buoyancy was in the floor. Later ones had a double skin with buoyancy rather better arranged (the early ones had a tendency to turn turtle when swamped).

Very popular at Salcombe - they were built in Kingsbridge. Have a word with Wills Marine there who used to be the builders.

They were moulded from a Norwegian range of boats - which could not be imported because of restrictions imposed by the then Labour government (in the Harold Wilson years). For their type, they were a premium product, and continued in production until quite recently - I think the modern equivalent (the 375) cost several £K.

My parents had a 450 - a more lightly built but longer version - which cost £145 in 1968 (the 400 was dearer).
 
Very collectable. and steal-able. I bought one off EBay and took it to Windemere and registered it for the lake. A lake Warden looked at it and announced that it was probably stolen as there was no manufacturers plate. I think he was jealous because he had not got one.
I sold it on Ebay.
 
Some of them are ex-coppers and naturally suspicious.
Quite how removing the manufacturer's plate leads him to that assumption I don't know. My new boat doesn't have a plate. Gosh, it must be stolen.
 
I have a Bonwitco 375. Absolutely fantastic piece of kit. Very big beam for its length completely stable, unsinkable and generally bulletproof. Very well built and they hold their value well. Mine has a 25hp Mariner 2 stroke and will do 24 knots. We use it as a tender when on our mooring or just for messing about with the kids and going to the beach. Two friends also have them and love them. I've yet to see a better built boat the same size.
 
On my 300 I found there was some water sloshing about inside.
Very difficult to get out. Take out that little plug on the inside at the top of the stem on the inside. Turn the boat upside down. Then raise the stern as high as you can manage. It takes some time to drain out.
 
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