TOPIC: WOO-HOO!!!! FOUND MY '61 RED FISH on a SHORELINE

Friends,'

Due to some "unforeseen circumstances", I've been away from the FG forum for quite a while. Nonetheless, I've returned like a "bad penny".

Today was my LUCKY DAY, as I found a 1961 RED FISH Offshore 1702 on a nice/galvanized SHORELINE trailer, "for peanuts" sitting in a junkyard & looking "unloved".
(Everything but the fore/aft facing bucket seats are there & in good physical condition, except that the "Red Fish emblems" on the aft sides are missing. - Other than the seating & "soft trim" items, she mainly needs a general cleaning, repainting of the deck, replacement of seats, replacing the battery, mounting the 2 OB motors & some small amount of repair to the trailer/replacement of the 2 tires. = EASY RESTORATION. )

The hull is identical to the 1961 Red Fish OFFSHORE 1704 that is pictured in the FG Library, except the decks are (& will remain) FLAME RED, rather than TOURQUOISE..

She will be returned to factory stock, powered with a pair of 40HP "year correct" Johnnies & will be "named": DARLA'S FANTASY.
NOTE: I'm seeking a pair of RED FISH emblems if anyone has any for sale or knows of a source.

Should "redfishpirates" happen to see this thread, PLEASE PM me.

yours, sw

Great find for you. Happy days! Pictures anyone??

63 Sabre,

THANKS. = Once I get 4 decades of Texas dirt washed out, the assorted junk thrown away & get it LOOKING just a little cleaner, I'll ask my daughter to make some "BEFORE" photos.
(I don't even own a camera.)

Fwiw, I've looked for a while for a vintage open utility, that I wasn't afraid to tale "out on the salt" to chase Cobia & (on nice days) out to the rigs & to the artificial reef, south of Rockport. = For a 17 footer, this is a BIG, beamy hull, as it's 75 inches abeam & 38 inches deep at midships.
Also I like the idea of TWO outboards, in case something untoward happens to one of them.
(20+ years ago, I was a guest on a 20 foot cruisette with a 150HP (and 2YO) single OB that DIED out at the rigs. = A "friendly shrimper" towed us home.)

"Color me" PLEASED at finding this rig.

yours, satx

Congratulations on your find and for getting back here to tell us about it. I remember your search so you could get back to some salt water fishing! Best of luck on your restoration!!

Dr. Go,

Your kind sentiments are appreciated. = This, as I said, will be an easy restoration.
("Miss Terri", our local upholstery "guru", will do the seating & "soft" side trim & I'll do most of the rest.)

I'm thinking that I'll ask her to do the seats in a red/white/blue "Lone Star" motif, with embroidered Texas Stars.

yours, satx

I know all things take time, but I will be looking forward to pictures as she comes together. The best one will be of you in your twin rig posing with your first saltwater catch! The fish will be waiting!!

For emblems try vintage boatworks Bakersfield calif, he has a good quality new ones,,Ive had good luck Bill

bilnan1,

Do you have the address & phone number for "Larry"?? = He is, or at least used to be, a member of the forum.

I tried several WWW search engines with ZERO luck.

Larry, if you are reading this, PLEASE PM me.

yours, satx

To ALL,

Friends, do any of you KNOW who made the fore/aft facing "lounge-style) seats for RED FISH in 1961??

yours, satx

Sent you an email.

Larry
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Larry,

As best as I can tell from looking at photos of the RED FISH OFFSHORE 1700 series that is the CORRECT emblem for the Port/Starboard aft sides of my boat.

Inasmuch as I received ZILCH from you, I have emailed you from my gmail.com address..

yours, satx

Dr. Go,

I'm looking forward to the day that a guest aboard says the classic line, "You're going to need a bigger boat."
(Remind you sometime to tell you about the afternoon that a juvenile TIGER SHARK boarded our boat without the Master's consent. - Before he was "invited off" our boat, he ATE a tacklebox & took an about 9-inch radius bite out of one of the seats. = "Quite exciting" is an understatement.)

yours, satx

Oh my - my adrenaline jumped just reading that. I can’t even imagine the real life situation. Only time I salt water fished was in Port Aransis for sheepshead. The ones that have black stripes and looks like they have human baby teeth, but we were on one of those very large steel tourists fishing boats right outside the jetty. My son of 9 years old out fished me. He got 5 and lost 3. I got one. Loved it. The only sketchy times on the water was skiing on the Tangipaho river in Louisiana and the seeing gators and cotton mouth snakes in the area the next few days. So then I skied on Lake Ponchatrain to get out of the bayou... then my cousins tell me how shallow it is and that they do occasionally have sand sharks. Wasn’t sure if any of that was more dangerous than skiing on a river in the Midwest that had septic systems empty into it, junk cars, furniture, refrigerators, bicycles, shopping carts and even discarded guns and a dead body in a suitcase. We didn’t see the dead body, but I did see a box of dead puppies floating near shore under the bridge. I was 10-18 during those years and that was just normal that few people respected that river. Mucky silt up to your knees... couldn’t even see your hand 6 inches under the water... but that is where I learned boating and skiing... NO SHARKS in the river NOR in the boat!!! You have quite a story that one likely never forgets. Maybe you need some of that Shark repellent that Batman used in the 60s.

Dr. Go,

Fwiw, the record for the longest into freshwater that a man-eating shark is known to have ventured was a BULL SHARK of >100#, that was caught in a gill-net about 1100 MILES up the Mississippi River.
(Btw, Bulls are the MOST dangerous of all the man-eaters. What the Bull lacks in size, he more than makes up for in ferocity, tenacity & pure cussedness. = A 10-footer/600# is a BIG Bull, though there are records of female Bulls of over 1,000 pounds being caught in nets in South African rivers.)

yours, satx

Didn't receive an email from you, but, re-sent the one that I sent you yesterday.


Larry

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Larry,

THANKS for the PHONCON. - Sent you an email, too.

yours, satx

satx - I had seen on a tv special about those mean bull sharks heading up rivers into fresh water out east. Not a big fan when I want to swim and ski. Hope you never have another shark encounter, but if so, it will be no match for the Red Fish twin rig!!

Dr. Go,

Inasmuch as I'm a "shark hunter", I'm hoping that I do get another shot at a BIG Tiger. - Otoh, I'd sooner it wasn't aboard.
(Bring them alongside, tail-rope, roll them onto their back, photograph, measure, tag, release & wave "ADIOS". - IF one of us is lucky enough to have someone who's qualified to take tissue samples, that is done too. )
Btw, I haven't killed a shark (other than an occasional bonnet-head for dinner) in nearly 40 years. = Most of the bigger sharks grow so slowly that they should be preserved for the future.

yours, satx

Makes me glad to have put my salt water excursions behind 54 years ago.
Would like to see some pictures of your new baby and how you rig it for sharks. Sounds like you have a way of keeping the adrenalin running.

63 Sabre,

As I've said elsewhere, I don't even own a camera but I'm planning to have my adopted/adult daughter make before, during, completion & in use photos for the forum.
(Noemi is a quite talented photographer.)

My shark rigs are all "old school" 6/0 PENN SENATORS on 50 pound class PENN "STAND-UP SLAMMER" rods.

Our usual technique (IF you can actually call, it a technique) is chumming with a combination of chicken blood & ground-up oily fish & "putting out" large (about 10# is usual) live fish under balloons IN the chum slick. - Normally, we fish ONE rod per person, as IF the sharks arrive, nobody can handle more than one rod at a time.
(I lost an expensive rod/reel once, while trying to fish 2 rods.)
IF we get "a big old girl" on line, the other two rigs are reeled in until we have released her.
(Nearly all species of sharks have females that are considerably larger than the males. Often, 2X as large.)

YEP. Catch & release shark fishing is EXCITING & occasionally FRIGHTENING. =====> Once we get the "new to me rig" completed & well-tested, I'll invite you down to "meet a toothy Texas gal, up close & personal".
WARNING. Fishing for big sharks from a small boat is as ADDICTIVE as booze or dope.
Otoh, IMO fishing for sharks out of a kayak is just: NUTS. = Several species ATTACK boats regularly.
(A local cafe in Port Aransas has a "sit-upon 17' kayak" hanging from the ceiling that has a 15" radius bite, most likely from a BIG Tiger, taken out of the hull. - I don't know how the fisherman came out from that incident.)

NOTE: We only use carbon steel wire leaders & hooks, as they will quickly rust away, if we lose a shark away from the boat.

yours, satx

Larry,

Fyi, I just got a message from my email provider that your email address rejected the email that I sent you. = SORRY.

yours, satx

hi satx...tried emailing you from your profile but no luck...I do have a pair of used emblems...john

redfishpirates,

Sent you an email this PM. 10JUN18. Call me IF you have a minute, as I stay up LATE (at least until 0200) most every night.

yours, satx

sorry didn't get it....redfishpirates@centurylink.net will be out of town next 4 or 5 days...thanks john

redfishpirates,

Sent you another email to address above.

NO RUSH.

yours, satx

Friends,

Fwiw, I'm STILL looking for the correct/restorable seats for the OFFSHORE.

Any leads from within a reasonable distance of DFW or San Antonio (or somewhere in between DFW & San Antonio) would be helpful & appreciated.
(Terri, the local upholstery guru, doesn't like being rushed, so I need to find seats SOONER rather than later.)

yours, satx

To All,

Update as of 2200, 14JUL18: The gentleman, from the Red Fish dealer that I mentioned earlier, says that there were only 54 total OFFSHORE, with 1702, 1704 & 1706 variations, combined. - Given that the serial number is: TA1754, this hull just may be the last one built.

yours, satx