Just noticed this light...

Am I seeing things or is this a mast light on the center of the windshield? If so, I wonder if it was an option as there are no holes in the divider on my boat.

Does anyone have any literature for these Bell Boys? BB Bob was kind enough to send me some scans of old magazine articles but the resolution of magazine photos is about as piss poor as a newspaper (remember *those*?) Am wondering what deck hardware is original or not...would love to see what the seats and helm looked like originally.

[BellBoyBob]

What you see in the ad picture of the BB 404 express is correct. There was a running light mounted on the center divider of the bridge windshield. The light mast plugged into the base and was removable. The wires were hid under the frame and ran under the head liner to the bulkhead where it exited into the helm box and the switch. Early 1960 models have the running light mounted directly to the cabin top and the hatch also was mounted to the cabin top. It did not integrate into the cabin windshield as the later 1960 models did. You can see the two different configurations in the article reviewing the 1960 404 that I sent to you. Because my bridge windshield is removable,
I opted to mount my running light to the cabin top. Here is a picture of the original helm lay out with the damaged windshield sitting on the cabin top.

Best,

Bob

Thanks for that Bob. Do you still have the original steering wheel and might you consider selling it?

There seem to be more cleats than what I would figure to be necessary and am pretty sure they've been added over the years...will post some photos later, perhaps you can verify this.

[BellBoyBob]

So sorry about my wheel. I destroyed it try to pry it off the old helm shaft. I know you are looking for so much original equipment for your old gal but I really like the look of my Teleflex 5-spoke SS wheel. It has a classic look to it and I think it is more attractive than the original BB plastic steering wheel. As for cleats, what was originally installed were as follows: one center cleat on the forward deck, a left and right bowline guide and two cleats on the gunwales about eight inches forward of the transom. That's it.

Best,
Bob

sorry for making your head explode

Sorry to hear about the loss of that wheel but I can certainly understand how that happened. Yep, not the prettiest thing but original.

Here's a close up of the center windshield divider, turns out there IS evidence of the mast light mounts but this divider has gotten munged up pretty bad.



Check out the original splatter paint under the hatch, this was throughout the interior, at least under the bow and I suspect on the aft of the bulkhead, how might I replicate this without a special spray gun?



I don't know what the name of this style of steering is but it appears to allow for modern cable systems:



There's a missing anchor emblem but only on the starboard side, was this added by a previous owner perhaps?



What appears to be original or added?



Same question as above, I can send higher resolution pix if needed.



Evidence of original center bow cleat (patched holes)



What is this mystery hole? There's an identical although patched one on the port side which begs the question of why was it eliminated and why shouldn't I plug this one too?



Lastly, regarding my helm...it features that lip that seems unique to this boat which makes me wonder if it's original or not. Other than the cutout for the wiring and steering cables it appears that I could flip the dash upside down and it would still look acceptable. Someone glued(?) a plank of teak wood on the backside where the steering hub passes through...a good reinforcement to be sure, but clearly not factory.

[Marvelous]

Same exact helm i was trying to give away that came off my 59' Bellboy. Original except i patched all holes to start with a clean slate.

[BellBoyBob]

The "splatter paint" (I think it is actually called something else but can't remember what...) was applied throughout the cabin and cockpit in the original version. It is a illusion painting device to hide dirt and scuffs. The photo of the top of your port gunwale has aftermarket hardware attached. All that was original was the gas tank cap, the rear cleat and the Bellboy emblem. The"anchor" was not original. The "mystery hole" in the splashwell was for the original brass fuel tubing to exit where it connects to the port and starboard tanks. Those left and right tubes met in the center of the splashwell at a "T", then a fuel hose connected to the engine. Lots of work to do...Time to get started!!! You're going to have one great boat when its finished!

Best,

Bob

Same exact helm i was trying to give away that came off my 59' Bellboy. Original except i patched all holes to start with a clean slate.

I differ to beg yours lacked the lip as I recall...below is another view of mine

The "splatter paint" (I think it is actually called something else but can't remember what...) was applied throughout the cabin and cockpit in the original version. It is a illusion painting device to hide dirt and scuffs. The photo of the top of your port gunwale has aftermarket hardware attached. All that was original was the gas tank cap, the rear cleat and the Bellboy emblem. The"anchor" was not original. The "mystery hole" in the splashwell was for the original brass fuel tubing to exit where it connects to the port and starboard tanks. Those left and right tubes met in the center of the splashwell at a "T", then a fuel hose connected to the engine. Lots of work to do...Time to get started!!! You're going to have one great boat when its finished!

Best,

Bob

You're probably thunking of Zolotone which is the stuff they used to paint car trunks with...reminds me of when Bugs Bunny would brush on plaid paint LOL

The above gunwale pix are only of the starboard side so either you're mistaken or you're wrong HAHA If I understand you correctly, the air scoop things (sorry!) that vent gas fumes from around the fuel tanks aren't original? Dare I remove them? Seems you can never be too safe when it comes to venting fuel vapors.

Do you have any pix or illustrations of the T fittings and how this was mounted/attached to the splashwell? I see no other holes or hardware other than a small bit of hardware dead center but on the forward side of the splashwell (in the cabin area if that makes sense to you)

The piece of Teak behind your helm is probably not original but it just replaces a piece of plywood that was used to stiffen the panel for the steering installation. Both my Sedans have a piece of plywood behind the dash to stiffen it. The control mounts on your Lark are just standard Johnson Evinrude mounts. B

[Marvelous]

Okay it looked the same from the inside (sorry my mistake) all i know is mine was the original from 1959! Thanks for the correction-

I differ to beg yours lacked the lip as I recall...below is another view of mine

No problemo! The thing is that this helm is the exact same blue as the rest of the boat, so either it's original or that color is a standard one which is (was) easily matched. I've seen many manufacturing anomalies such as this, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that even though this is different that other BB's it could still be original.

Do you still have that by the way? Any other BB specific trim bits you want to get rid of? Thanks!

[Marvelous]

Yes i put it in my shed and also has the aluminum steering (bezel)? which is near perfect. I could not toss it away so it is in waiting for anyone that may want it.

[BellBoyBob]

BB

Your helm is original BB, I am quite sure. The fairing and the shape is identical to John Kelly's and mine. I suspect the "lip" of yours is there because I think there was an I/O version of the 1960 404 line. The lip on the instrument side of the box probably was added to accommodate a larger gauge cluster or frame necessary for the larger, four-cycle V-6? They may have literally been running low on the other version the helm boxes and popped that one on instead. It looks too much like the other box to be anything other than BB. The wood doubler might have been replaced because of rot? Hard to say.
As for your after-market hardware, consider how old the boat is. Owners will invariable add things they feel are necessary over the years. My dad's (mine) 404 express had no vent scoops or cleats other what I have described in an earlier post. Someone added yours to vent the tank hold in the gunwale wall. I added mine because I wanted to thoroughly vent the enclosed bilge area. I re-directed my fuel tubing so that they now enter the bilge where I installed a fuel/water separator filter. Also in the bilge area are two 12v batteries with potential for spark. So, for safety reasons, I vented the area and added a blower. I have seen boats go "kaboom" after filling up with fuel. Not pretty!
The photo here shows the stern of the BellBoy with the original brass fuel tubing coming out of those two "mystery holes" you describe in your splashwell. Easy to plug when you get to that part of your restoration. By the way, do you have your transom end caps? They are missing in your photos! Also included is a photo showing mine. Hope you have them!!

Bob

Thanks again Bob. Yep, I have the transom end caps...took them off to polish them thinking they were aluminum, turns out they must be Zamac or some type of pot metal as they won't shine up, guess they were chromed.

Your last photo won't enlarge when I click on it...learn to drive the internet! LOL