Diaries | Details
This boat's story has been posted by the owner. Please contact the owner with any questions. You may use the form below to send the owner an email.
Updated:
11/19/2004 (20 years ago)
Originally Posted: 11/19/2004
Total Views: 3,434
Owner: Robert Van Dyke
Location: Memphis, TN
Model: 1948 Atom
Length: 14.0
Engine: Graymarine 4-75 Phantom
HP: 75
Hours:
Modify this Diaries Listing
Location: Memphis, TN
Model: 1948 Atom
Length: 14.0
Engine: Graymarine 4-75 Phantom
HP: 75
Hours:
Modify this Diaries Listing
The summer of 1948 was time of sadness on Guntersville Lake in northern Alabama. A young couple had been sharing the piloting in a popular make of inboard that would, if the steering wheel was not securely held, quickly go into a turn. In changing positions neither had the wheel for a moment. The girl was thrown overboard to be instantly killed by the prop, a dreadful accident. As a result, Correct Craft with its careful attention to maneuvering ability became the boat of choice on Guntersville.
In the spring of 1949 I purchased on Guntersville Lake a 1948 14’-0" Atom powered by a 91 cubic inch 45 HP Graymarine. This was a 1948 demonstrator with about five hours on it. The boat was advertised as being great for family water sking. The hull was painted 3/8" fir plywood, with an embossed and stained 1/4" mahogany plywood deck. The stern was plywood with a mahoghany overlayer. In the manner of more expensive boats, it was laminated into a curve. Equipment included stainless steel rub rails, Model T Ford style ammeter and oil pressure guages, 3/4" plywood seating without cushions. Windshield and spray rails were not included. My cost was $850, about half the price of a Deluxe Ford or Chevrolet. The boat was great for beginning skiing, but did not have enough power for serious skiers. The eight gallon gas tank was adequate for a solid half day’s family fun.
Also available for about $100 to $150 more was another demonstrator, a slightly longer Correct Craft with a 162 cubic inch Fireball Graymarine. Using dual down draft carburetors, this engine was catalog rated 90 HP at 4000 RPM. I was told it was the fastest stock production boat available. It was evidently a little too fast, the Fireball already having been repaired after throwing a rod. Gray literature of the time states "Special High Speed Engines operating at 5000 RPM and higher were available but not subject to warranty", the concession being that crankshafts and rods were maganafluxed. I probably should have taken this one instead of the 14’-0" Atom.
I still have the 14’-0" boat, but now with a WWII surplus 162 cubic inch 75 HP Graymarine and a squeezed-in 12 gallon tank. I also have W.C. Meloon’s letter advising me not to put that much horsepower into the 14’-0" plywood hull. He was correct about the power until I installed spray rails to raise the bow on startup and to act as an auxiliary keel in tight turns. Today the Atom is a wonderfully maneuverable and stable hull with no torque on the wheel at any speed, and quite capable of pulling slalom skiers out of the water when equipped with a 11 x 12 prop. Top speed, as measured by GPS is 30 MPH at 3450 RPM. Stainless steel rub rails, which might have scratched pretty girl skiers getting in and out, have been removed and the entire boat is fibreglassed, with all sharp corners above water rounded off.
We have used a 12 x 13 prop to plane at a relatively quiet and fuel efficiant 2300 RPM on a 200 mile river cruise. Coming out of the hole is a bit sluggish. Top RPM with this prop is 2800.
In the spring of 1949 I purchased on Guntersville Lake a 1948 14’-0" Atom powered by a 91 cubic inch 45 HP Graymarine. This was a 1948 demonstrator with about five hours on it. The boat was advertised as being great for family water sking. The hull was painted 3/8" fir plywood, with an embossed and stained 1/4" mahogany plywood deck. The stern was plywood with a mahoghany overlayer. In the manner of more expensive boats, it was laminated into a curve. Equipment included stainless steel rub rails, Model T Ford style ammeter and oil pressure guages, 3/4" plywood seating without cushions. Windshield and spray rails were not included. My cost was $850, about half the price of a Deluxe Ford or Chevrolet. The boat was great for beginning skiing, but did not have enough power for serious skiers. The eight gallon gas tank was adequate for a solid half day’s family fun.
Also available for about $100 to $150 more was another demonstrator, a slightly longer Correct Craft with a 162 cubic inch Fireball Graymarine. Using dual down draft carburetors, this engine was catalog rated 90 HP at 4000 RPM. I was told it was the fastest stock production boat available. It was evidently a little too fast, the Fireball already having been repaired after throwing a rod. Gray literature of the time states "Special High Speed Engines operating at 5000 RPM and higher were available but not subject to warranty", the concession being that crankshafts and rods were maganafluxed. I probably should have taken this one instead of the 14’-0" Atom.
I still have the 14’-0" boat, but now with a WWII surplus 162 cubic inch 75 HP Graymarine and a squeezed-in 12 gallon tank. I also have W.C. Meloon’s letter advising me not to put that much horsepower into the 14’-0" plywood hull. He was correct about the power until I installed spray rails to raise the bow on startup and to act as an auxiliary keel in tight turns. Today the Atom is a wonderfully maneuverable and stable hull with no torque on the wheel at any speed, and quite capable of pulling slalom skiers out of the water when equipped with a 11 x 12 prop. Top speed, as measured by GPS is 30 MPH at 3450 RPM. Stainless steel rub rails, which might have scratched pretty girl skiers getting in and out, have been removed and the entire boat is fibreglassed, with all sharp corners above water rounded off.
We have used a 12 x 13 prop to plane at a relatively quiet and fuel efficiant 2300 RPM on a 200 mile river cruise. Coming out of the hole is a bit sluggish. Top RPM with this prop is 2800.
