REINELL info STILL LOOKING.........

Many moons ago I posted a plea for help in unearthing ANY Reinell brochures, advertisements, pictures, production numbers, etc.. from the late 50s to early 60s. I was hopeful that someone may have stumbled onto something from an old dealership or a boat show. There has got to be something..... But I've yet to see it. The only thing I have found is a couple very rare postcards that I purchased some time ago.

Does anybody have anything????

Please help!!

Bruce

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

Reinell Literature

Bruce -

I have a fair variety of early Reinell brochures, ads, etc., but they're all from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940's...when the company was in its heyday, building wooden boats.

My impression is that by the late 1950s and into the early 1960s, the company was losing money and was in general chaos--and all company records were reportedly destroyed late in the game, probably including a lot of leftover brochures (that might otherwise have made their way into the collector market). As the company started to circle the drain, I suspect they cut way back on production of promotional materials, too, so that could be another reason why we see little evidence of their final models.

Many long-standing companies that had focused on building wooden boats had trouble transitioning into glass-boat production. My impression is that Reinell had more angst than most, and that employees and management lost heart (as well as profits) during their brief experience with fiberglass boats.

The Reinell company that exists today, based in California, has nothing to do with the old Reinell that went belly up in Marysville, WA.

- Marty

Thanks Marty - I'm still hopeful that someone will unearth something. I'm aware that the original company was gone by the mid 1960s - I believe. Everyone liked to burn records too. I have yet to see any printed material for the Jetflite of 1960. Not even one photo or mention of it anywhere. I don't know of anyone who has. A number of us have wondered about how many of the Jetflite might have been built. I found the Reinell builders tag embedded into the hull glass of my Reinell. I can barely make out what looks like "30" rubber stamped into the tag. The topsides has the same tag, and the numbers match. That boat must have cost a lot to produce - the hull is very complicated, and there is a lot of trim attached with a million nuts & screws. They must have lost money on it like crazy. No idea what it sold for either. Sure would like to find anything -

BTW - there is a nice 1940s Reinell brochure on Ebay right now - the seller is located in your area. You should check it out. Just type Reinell and scroll past the pile of boat covers - you will see it. It is a booklet in V nice cond.

Bruce