SEEKING INFO on 1969 TIDECRAFT 15' BAYOU

[satx78247]

New Friends,

As of this afternoon, I'm buying yet another "old school" boat, "for peanuts" to return to stock & fish the narrow waters of south TX.
(The long/skinny hull should be great for our smaller lakes, creeks & rivers, here.)

This one I know little about, except it was built in Minden, LA by Tidecraft in 1969 & the son of the sole owner (deceased) believes that it was called a "BAYOU 15".
The trailer is a period SHORELINE & in good shape.
(The hull looks quite like a "pointed nose" SUPER SKEETER of the late 1960s.)

The little rig is all there & seems to need a few small repairs & an outboard motor.
(Inasmuch as I collect/repair/restore Evinrude, Gale, Johnson & Sea King "Big Twin" OBs, she will be powered by one of my 40HP "Johnnyrudes" of the late '60s.)

In the event that anyone, who is reading this post, knows any information about the 1965-75 TIDECRAFT boats, I would appreciate hearing from you.
A good-quality color photo of the boat when it was new would be nice, too.

THANKS, tex

[feeshrman]

Very interesting. I would love to see some before and after pics of the restore as well as progress pics. Pics of the rig may also jog some memories of other members who can help you with the info for which you are looking. Remember, most of us are guys and are visually stimulated.


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[satx78247]

feeshrman,

Well, let me see if I can gets some photos made by my adult daughter - I no longer even own a camera & frankly wasn't good at photography when I had a 35mm.
(My daughter has a suitable camera & knows how to post photos.)

That said, I'm HOPING to NOT have to do any restoration. = Just lots of soap/water/scrubbing/polishing, plus installing the new battery, outboard motor with controls, attaching the TX numbers & TX/county registration sticker.
(After moving some assorted junk & doing a little general cleaning, it seems that the gelcoat is in acceptable condition, needing only compounding & waxing/polishing.)

yours, tex

[Cray]

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bo...603672069.html
Here is one picture

[satx78247]

Cray,

THANKS. - Unfortunately, that interior (& exterior) photo isn't good enough to see many details except that those are replacement seats.
(What I was hoping was that one of our members has a mid-late '60s Tidecraft that he/she has photographed and/or a dealer photo/brochure AND that has the original Tidecraft seats.)

yours, tex

[Cray]

Cray,

THANKS. - Unfortunately, the interior (& exterior photo) isn't good enough to see many details.

yours, tex

So far that's the only picture I was able to find. One thing I would caution you on is the HP rating on that thing. I know on a lot of the older small tide raft stick steer were only rated for a 20-25 hp motor.

[satx78247]

Cray,

THANKS for the advice. - Given that I collect the old Big Twin OBs, I have any number of HP choices from 10 to 40 HP.

yours, tex

[satx78247]

To All,

This PM about 1430 I talked to Melvin Smith, who is one of the remaining people who worked for TIDECRAFT in the 1960-70 era.

He said that the 1969 flat-bottom hull that I found is called a SKIPPER.- He thinks that he may have a factory brochure that pictures the Skipper.
(IF he does, I will post it here for other early TC folks.)

yours, tex