New member introduction

Hi everyone, I wanted to do a formal introduction as I hope to eventually join the club and be a participating member of this forum. My wife and I recently moved back to the Seattle area after being away for about 17 yrs. I am a UW grad and she grew up in Kent until we moved away. We have settled back into Kent again and have enjoyed being back in the NW (thou the rain has been tough to get used to again).

I have grown up around boats but those were either flat bottom ski boats with large motors or larger cabin cruises. We have been wanting a boat for a number of years, (was looking at vintage chris crafts runabouts to go with my 48 Woodie but just never found the extra cash to do it or the time was wrong when we did have it, but since moving back I started looking at smaller classic fiberglass boats as we now live on a small lake.

As much as I am new to this site, I am as new to being a boat owner. Last weeking we took the plunge and bought a 14 ft 1959 Reinell (model ?) with a Johnson Super Seahorse 35 (year unknown) sitting on a newer trailer (the original 1958 trailer was rusted so bad the previous owner removed the fender pods (like Tee Nee) and rims and scrapped the rest. I plan to paint the trailer and install the fender pods and solid steel rims to give it a more classic look

The boat is in good condition but has had a few small holes (looks like might have had folding top) that have been filled. The electric start is not working (the starter spins but does not seem to spin fast enough) so I am not sure what to do but need to find someone that knows these early motors. It starts pretty easy with the pull start but I need to get it fixed and tuned. any recommendations on who is good at working on these please let me know.

Since the boat has not almost no time on the water over the past 4 yrs my goal is to get it ready for opening day and enjoy the summer cruising the lakes and water ways.

I went to the FG website first but I can not tell if it is still active (it seems it has been undercontruction for some time) but found a link to this place which is great since it is a local group.

Well enough, here is my new pride and joy








If anyone has any info on this type of boat, brochures I would love to learn more about them. I all I know is Reinell a local company that has gone through different owners. The internet does not seem to have much info about its earlier history.

Ken aka Boones

[Tim McCrain]

Welcome!

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Beautiful Jetabout, Ken...

Ken -

Welcome to the forum, Ken...and we look forward to having you as a regular, paid member of the club.

You've found an exceptional example of Reinell's Jetabout model, powered by one of the more desirable vintage outboards--the Golden Javelin. You can have the motor serviced by Norm Boddy of Edmonds, a long-standing member of the Antique Outboard Motor Club and professional who specializes in under-50hp motors. Norm's shop number is (425) 670-0840; he'll be able to fix your starter, and any other problem you have with the motor.

I assume that you've read our history of the Reinell company on this website. There isn't a lot of additional information available, although I've just come across a great collection of older Reinell brochures and ads, going back to 1930. (We'll post them on the website, alongside the article, in coming weeks.) We've restored a bunch of Reinells, and we also have a Jetabout model--a nasty project boat, not a nice one like yours.

The Jetabout was one of two tailfin runabouts built by Reinell in the late 1950s--the other one being the Jetflite model, whose transom area resembled a 1959 Chev, with the sideways teardrop "taillights." I personally think the Jetabout was one of the most attractive tailfin runabouts built, but many folks obviously prefer the more radical-looking fins featured on some other boats.

- Marty

Ken,
Welcome!! What a beautiful boat you have!! We hope you'll join us and show us that beauty in person.

[westerner]

Welcome to the forum Ken. Hope you'll join us. Great group and great people. Your boat and motor are beautiful, good find!

[Helmar]

Welcome Ken.
Sweet looking little Reinell for sure.

[FINS]

Ken. Welcome. I did get your message from FiberGlassics today, but see that you found us here before I got a chance to answer you. I love the Reinell and if the bug bites you, I have a few more that I would be happy to sell you .

Marty is right with Norm's as far as the outboard goes. I know he and Chuck have had great luck with him. I have also used Hilton Outboard Repair in Tacoma with great results. They tuned a 1958 35hp Evinrude for me and charged less than $100. They are along side Highway 16 right by the Rainers field.

I look forward to meeting you and see your great boat in action! Hope you will join us for Opening Day! We need more big fin boats!

Brian

[halffast32]

Howdy!

Welcome back to the Great Northwest! That is one good looking classic. We look forward to meeting you and checking out that fine machine! Gordon & Cheryl

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Great Find ! Welcome !

Wow! What a nice Reinell! I think that's a 1958 Johnson Javelin. Great find, all round nice combination, boat, motor and trailer.

Welcome to Northwest Classic Boat Club

McSkagit

[Skagitguy]

Ken, Welcome to NWCBC ! Your Reinell is one very nice boat. Hope to see you on the water for opening day. I myself have a boat with fins...just look at those babies ! lol. Best, Chuck

[Steve_Kiesel]

Welcome to the forum Ken. Love those fins. Like everyone else said, that is a sweet looking Reinell. Can't wait to see it in person. Have a good one.

thanks everyone for the kind welcome. its greatly appreciated.

Now here are a few questions to show my lack of knowledge

1. what ratio of mixute do I use for the fuel and is there a preferred brand?

2. where do I look on the motor for info to determine the year and model?

3. I have heard that registration is from May to May, is that true?

4. As a newbie to boats, how about some things to know about opening day festivities

thanks

[Steve_Kiesel]

Ken, I can help with #2. Do a Google search for Johnson outboards. I did a search for "Johnson outboard serial number" and came up with this:

http://www.obparts.com/years/index.html

There were other hits returned also. From those you should be able to find the year of your motor. Good luck.

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Your Reinell and Outboard

You will probably want to run a 50:1 mix, but I'd ask Norm Boddy if he has an alternate suggestion. Some people recommend 40:1 for older motors, even if 50:1 was the official spec. I don't know about particular brand recommendations for oil--just be sure it's TCW-3 (I think that's the designation, from memory).

You should be able to find a small brass plate down under the cowl of your motor, with the model number and serial number. I suspect your 1958 Johnson Javelin is model RDE-19C, or something close to that.

Yeah, WN numbers usually run June to June.

Everyone in the club sincerely hopes that you will join our group in parading through the Montlake Cut on Opening Day. We'll have a pretty large fleet this year, and lots of logistical details will be posted here on the forum as we get closer to May 2...but suffice to say that our group of boats will rendezvous at the south end of Lake Union at around 10:30-11 a.m. on Saturday the 2nd, before cruising into Portage Bay--the holding area for boats waiting to start in the parade. The past two years we've been fairly close to the end of the parade.

Parading through the Cut is an absolute hoot, with folks lining the shores...and especially the thousands of festive spectators aboard boats along log booms just beyond the Montlake Cut. Our boats receive a warm, hearty welcome from spectators, and it just feels good to be part of a fleet of classics in the parade...especially because so many of the boats were built here in the Northwest, and bring back so many great memories for parade spectators.

In you want to learn more details, go to the Seattle Yacht Club's website and click on Opening Day 2009.

The only other detail is that you'll want to become a regular, paid member of the club between now and Opening Day, since that's one event where we require membership in order to participate. (Part of the reason is that Opening Day is a huge public event, and our club liability insurance only covers paid members....not a big concern at most of our events, but Opening Day involves a lot of maneuvering around other boats--not part of our club--so it's a good occasion to make sure everyone's covered by insurance.)

- Marty

marty thanks for the added info.

As for becoming a member, I plan to do that by the end of the month.