This week we received an urgent e-mail from fellow Woody Boater Sheena in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho… One of our favorite places to go Woody Boating in the Pacific Northwest.

Sheena and her husband Andy recently found a rare 1949 Globe Mastercraft that she plans to restore as her personal winter-ish project. However their first (of many) challenges is to locate some information about the Globe marque, specifically the Mastercraft model for reference during the restoration. Because the company had a relatively short life, Sheena is having a difficult time finding information and asked Woody Boater to help her reach out to the community for assistance. Here’s Sheena’s request…

Hello Texx!

I recently acquired a 1949 Globe Mastercraft that I will be restoring. I am having the hardest time finding any information on the company/boat. I found the ACBS Rudder article and a old Sports Illustrated article on the company but not much more. So I thought I would ask if you happen to know anything about them or could help us locate more information? I really appreciate your help and I love Woody Boater!

Thank you!! – Sheena

P.S. I started a little blog so my friends and family could check out the progress. There are lots of pics on it if you would like to see the boat.
http://smallboatendeavor.com/

Thanks Sheena, let’s put it out there and see what happens.

Sheena (literally) picked up the Globe Mastercraft recently and brought it back to it’s new home in Coeur d”Alene, Idaho.

And after closer inspection it appears to have much of the original running gear and once it was cleaned up, you can still see the two-tone decks which, according to Bob Speltz in Real Runabouts II, was a unique design feature of the Mastercraft model.

And as they began disassembling the boat, their restoration challenges become more evident. But considering that its a 60 year-old wooden boat, Sheena is not discouraged.

Sheena mentioned that to date she was able to find some information in a copy an ACBS – Rudder magazine and also an article in Sports Illustrated.   She has also posted a request on one of the Wooden Boat Forums as well, hoping to gather some information.  The article she was referring to in Sports Illustrated is a very well written article entitled High-seas Hot Rods written by Ezra Bowen. This is a great story worth reading about designer Brooks Stevens and his infuence on Post War boat designs. Here’s an excerpt from the story… (You can click here to see the entire Ezra Bowen story)

The Globe Mastercraft, designed in 1945, was, according to Stevens, the first successful auto-styled boat ever put out on a production basis. As the original drawing at the of the page shows (in Ezra’s story), the Globe picked up and developed the idea of the convex sheer line, wrap-around windshield and integrated hardware, and introduced a number of other new concepts as well, all of which, when molded together, added up to a speedboat that was years ahead of the competition.

“The crash-padded cockpit,” said Stevens, “was certainly the first of its kind in a production boat. So was the styled plastic steering wheel. This was also one of the first uses of two-toning in major hull areas, rather than the random strip planking of different tones that was popular at the time. And we definitely pioneered in the curved, airfoil rub rail. You’ll notice how it widens as the tumble home of the boat narrows down and how it goes all around the stern.

“This whole line was introduced at the New York Boat Show in 1946, and again at Los Angeles later the same year. At Los Angeles we won a prize for the best contribution to boat design, or something.”

Here are a few photos of an original Globe Mastercraft brochure which we found in the Woody Boater archive. These are from a story that Matt wrote in September 2009 about another very cool, perfectly restored 1949 Globe Mastercraft “Wiki Wiki” owned by fellow Woody Boaters and our good friend’s John & Kim Kadimik. You can see that original story by clicking here.

Here are a few recent photos of “Wiki Wiki”, this one from September at the 2011 ACBS International Show in Geneva Lake, Wisconsin. John & Kim heading out of the harbor in “Wiki Wiki” to do some cruising on Geneva Lake.

And a few more shots of “Wiki Wiki” from the 2010 Clayton Boat Show in upstate New York.

Here’s your “Mission” Sheena… If you choose to accept it… and hopefully what your Globe Mastercraft will look like one day!

So if anyone out there has any information on Globe Mastercraft’s that they would like to share with Sheena, you can comment below, or contact us here at Woody Boater (texx@woodyboater.com) or directly at Sheena’s new Blog http://smallboatendeavor.com/

Good Luck Sheena – It looks like an exciting winter-ish project!

Texx

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