Elco Yachts

RoRoLa

I purchased the yacht RoRoLa and we named her
Gatsby. I am open to any questions you might have.

Lisa Caricofe

Good deal. What are you plans for her? Last I saw her was a little better than a year ago at Jarrett Bay when I was on the way up to South River to pick up an old Elco that I had bought. Before that last I had seen her was in Norfolk when she was having some work done at the same time as the Sequoia. Beautiful boat, but lots of work ahead if you are restoring her.

I wish you all you need to rebuild and enjoy that fine yacht. Sufficient budget and patience, good health and lots of fine weather to enjoy the yacht when finished.

Lisa,

Congratulations, she has a wonderful history and I hope you can bring her back to the shape she was used to when my father-in-law owned her. She has a rich history with my wifes family up here in Norfolk, VA. I'm sure we have some pictures you might be interested in, maybe some other info. Please shoot me a PM.

Gerry-
Norfolk, VA

Belle is a New York Yacht, Launch & Engine Co. build, 77' 1929

Here at EM Crosby Boatworks we have Hull # 3215. A 1940 44" ElcoCruisette - Originally "Persephone", she will be receiving a total restoration to include a new bottom, a repowering, and equipment upgrades. All with an effort to retain her original appearance and details. Among the many challenges will be to locate some of her original hardware details, most likely swapped out during prior restorative efforts. Help in locating items such as the 2 Elco engine instrument panels, the throttle-shift casting common on many Elcos of this vintage and finally the cast bronze port light screens which graced the coach house side ports (6 total) we will post some images as the project progresses.

Here's a picture from Motorboating.

Here's the caption.

This is our old Elco. The boat has 2 names when we bought it. The Betty B III and Suzie Q. When my father purchased the boat it didn't look exactly like this. At an earlier point in it's history there was a cabin forf and the boat was sent to Chris Craft to have the cabin repaired. During those repairs a flybridge was added. The boat had the 2 previous names removed and was given the name Lost Agin. The boat was last seen in the Cincinnati Ohio area in the mid 1980s. I would appreciate hearing from anyone with knowledge of the location of our old boat.

Thanks!

That is a very pretty boat. I have never seen an Elco in that style.

I loved that boat. I wish we had never sold it. When we first bought the boat it had a pair of Norseman marine 6 cylinder flatheads in it. We repowered it in the early 70s with a pair of Chrysler 392 Marine Hemis. That thing would really come up on plane after that. We even pulled 3 skiers at once before. But man they were fighting a wake. Beautiful design and a fun boat!

She was recently sold and is now in Wrightsville Beacj, North Carolina

I have pictures I took of Lady Elin during the 1987 restoration.

When Lady Elin was purchased by James Roddy the boat was named Gatsby.

Hello guys: a friend of mine owns what I thought was a 53 Elco. Is actually a 1941 57 Elco. He bought the boat many years ago in neglected, abandon condition. After Hurricane Irma she have now extensive deck damages. Boat is been even cold molded or fiberglassed over. I told him to give the first choice if he decide to sell it one day. Boat is powered with I believe twin Detroit 8v71 one is seized the other one not been ran in many many years. Current name is Simbad. Do I need to stay away from a wood hull been covered? I restored lot of classic boats for my personal use is my therapy. Any advice or recommendations are welcome. Thanks

Wooden vessels that have had their hulls sheathed in GRP tend to rot from the inside out. Usually happens when a caretaker thinks it better than sistering frames or re-planking. Certainly the cheaper route...