Ever Heard of Revel Craft

[drewpster]

I own a 24' 1968 Revel Craft Revelier with an inboard M273 Chrysler engine and a velvet drive transmission. She has a step down cabin and a hard top. A picture of it is in my gallery. I have only been able to find a very small amount of information on this make of boat. That is to say, I have find one or two for sale on the internet and I recently purchased an old ad page out of a magazine from the 1960's selling Revel Craft boats. If anyone has any information about this make please post or email me. Even if you just remember them as a child.
Thanks

[lakeguy]

I owned a 30' 1968 Revelcraft. They were made in MD. Production stopped in the early 70's. The design was marginal as frames were widely spaced and the bottom flexed in the slightest sea. I had heard that the CG had issued a position statement that owners should be sure to check bottom fasteners regularly.
The boat had a single Chrysler 318 engine. I bought in 1972 and traded it in 1977. I heard it went back to nature in the early 80's. There were models up to 33' and some fiberglass models also. An interesting point is that John Luhrs was listed as the Master Carpenter on the paperwork I filed when I documented the boat.
Lakeguy

[dturner384]

Hey Drewpster!

I just moved my 1968 Rvelcraft to Lake Travis! She was on Grand Lake in Oklahoma for over 40 years! A good friend of mine sold her to me in this "restored" condition!

You've got a great boat! Take good care of her!

Dave

[crash4wd]

i have a 1969 24 revel craft just got her and slowly restoring it and was wondering what prop you run on this boat the one i have doesnt seem to be right


http://i39.tinypic.com/16a1j42.jpg

[dturner384]

Wow! Your boat is in great shape... we both have the 24 ft, Key largo model! The propeller on my boat is a three blade (the original), and I am unshure of the pitch of the blades or type that it is. I rarely see it since the boat stays in the water year round. Did the trailer come with yours?

[crash4wd]

thanks it looks little better now fresh bottom paint new cushions and curtains fresh floor and i just redid the all the wood around cockpit.No its at a marina right now that was my friends trailer he let me borrow when i got the boat.I am not getting the speed i would like to out of this boat do you know what speed you are getting i can only get maybe 15mph but my prop doesnt seem right

[dturner384]

Hello!

It's great to hear from someone with my same boat! Sorry for the late reply, but I've been pretty tied up.

After new bottom paint, my Revelcraft Key Largo, got about 15 mph, but since the bottom has a fresh coat of algae, she only does about 12 mph. The Tach typicall reads 2850 with 2 persons on board at full speed. I don't think there is anything wrong with your prop, and it sounds like we are getting the exact same performance.

Does your boat ever have a strong gas smell when fully topping it off? I'm having a mechanic look at my fuel tank this week. :(

Cheers,

David

[crash4wd]

sorry for the late reply i recently changed the prop to a 14 12 cupped and still wasnt getting speed i want but i had friend look at it and the timing was off we advanced the timing and the boat took off it does 25 now and i going to change the prop again to a 13 13 my tach is wrong so i dont know the rpm but about my tank, my tank was recenly replased so i dont have any prblems with it.

[airbusmike]

We have a 24' Key Largo 1975. My father bought it brand new and is still in the family. We keep it in L.I. it's all fiberglass. Our boat does 27-28 mph with a 260 hp MerCruiser. 4600 rpm. The prop is a 12/11 and works much better than a 13/13. The gas smell is very normal. The vents are where you drive the boat, on the outside. I'll send photos if you like.

Mike

[jimthepilot]

Just aquired a 1959 Revel Craft 16' Convertable. Looking for general info, paint colors, ect. Cant find much at all on Revel Craft boats.

Anyone with any info to share would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

[airbusmike]

They were built in Arnold Maryland. I think production stopped in the late 70's I think. Also, I think the boat you have was called a Revline. You must have the wooden model? I will send you a brochure on your model with a link to it.

[jimthepilot]

Yup shes wood. I believe that your right in that they were called Reveline's too, mine is the 16' "Convetable". Has the original Revel Craft chrome logo on the dash. Also the 1964 Merc 50hp with electric start and an alternator.

I think that I may have found some of the original bottom below the water line color under the current dark green paint> A light almost lime green color?????.

The few black and white photos of similar erra Revel Crafts that Ive seen shows that the bottoms were a very dark color? I am assuming that the rest of the Revel Craft hulls were white? Mine is an off white but there is a whiter white under that.

Did not see any other Revels with any kind of stripes or logo's on the sides?

I have the original canvas top and sides which are a light "mint" green which I is fadded out but in serviceable condition. The steering wheel is an original Revel Craft but it is red?????

So, any info would be great.

I see that your screen name is airbusmike, theres the saying going around, "if its not a Boeing were not going"

You will have to let me know where your working, Im part 91 Corporate her in DAL in a Citation II, King Air 350 and C90.

[airbusmike]

Yes, I'm a big Airbus fan. A300 to be exact. Even though people call them "Scarebus" I own a Aviation Paper called (The Aviator Newspaper) due to the economy we put the paper into a hold for the next few months. This is something that is a hobby of mine and my family owns a publishing company here in New Windsor, NY. So, when times are better, we will put it back into service. You can check out theaviatornewspaper.com and click our bio's. The website is on hold as well.........Yes, the steering is red on the craft. My father has some old magazines from the 60's and 70's as reference. Most of the bottoms were in black, as well as our boat with red stripes. Like to see some of your photos of your boat. I'll send some of our boat when I get some time.

[jimthepilot]

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=33994&stc=1&d=1249937810

[jimthepilot]

Had her out for the first time last Saturday. She didnt sink which is a great thing! Bottom all patched and very tight now. The Epifanes was still a little tacky in spots as I had painted on the numbers and touched her up on Friday night.

The original speedo still works, was indicating about 24 on smooth water. Planes and steers like a dream, very smooth old girl that just flys. Taking it easy on the old girl in the chops, dont want to be crashing that old wood bottom too hard but she cuts through very nicely at a pretty good reduced speed.

The old Mercury needs a starter so Im having to pull rope her but she runs great. 5 hours of actual run time and she used almost one 6 gal. tank of fuel, not too bad.

Id say that Ive got something here. Shes a great old boat and looks pretty good too now. The open forward window design is wonderful.

[scott99163]

I just bought a 40 footer off ebay. are there really that few revel crafts out there?

[jimthepilot]

I have a 1959 17" runabout and cant find anything anywhere on that boat. Feel free to email me, will be glad to share pics that Ive found of several larger Revel Crafts. Id be curious to see yours as I have ebay alerts to anything Revel Craft and did not get a notice that there was one on there for sale.
jimunderwoodthepilot@yahoo.com

The only thing that I have heard about the larger Revel Crafts is that they flex pretty bad. My runabout is very light weight construction and looks to me like it could have been built a little more heavy duty on the structure. I love the design of the Revel Crafts and would like to find a larger boat to restore.

[airbusmike]

Looks really good! That's the nice thing about wood; you can fix it unlike fiberglass.

[jimthepilot]

Thanks. Sand, caulk, primer, and paint. Just like a shed.

[kraftee]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and I know this is a bit of an older, re-hashed thread, but I HAD to respond here. I am a lifelong boater and am currently national sales manager for a boatbuilder here in Florida that builds 21' - 42' diesel sportfish and 37' - 74' liveaboard trawlers - so I might have learned something about boat construction and design along the way

In the late 60s, when I was about 10, my parents bought a 5-year-old lapstrake wooden Revel Craft 27-footer with flybridge. We had previously owned a 27' Chris and a 28' Owens - both great boats - but my Dad REALLY wanted a flybridge and the Revel was priced right, so... And as an aside - since they sold the Revel, my folks have owned a succession of ten or twelve other cruisers and sportfish boats all of which - to varying degrees - they have loved - that is, except for the Revel Craft.

Yes, the hated Revel Craft. My family still shivers at the mention of that boat. I mean, this was a HORRIBLE boat. A seriously poorly designed and built boat. Not only could you watch the hull flex if you lifted the engine hatch while underway, but the thing was so top-heavy that it threatened to roll over in the slightest beam sea. This boat terrified us kids. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time on the flybridge while underway! I think we owned the "Revel CRAP" for about a year, during which time the alcohol stove caused a galley fire that threatened to consume the boat and we lost the engine in a high current river situation. Saved eventually by snagging a bridge piling. Bad boat with bad luck. As one final measure of the boat's inherent crappiness, the day the new owner was coming to pick up the boat, the entire cockpit deck fell into the bilge!

On top of all that, our next door neighbors found and bought a 30' Revel Flybridge at around the same time. Theirs was a couple years newer and they scoffed at the problems we were having with our 27. Until about six months into ownership when a four-foot section of the BOTTOM fell out of their boat in the middle of Chesapeake Bay. They lost the boat and nearly their lives.

Now I know nothing about the fiberglass Revel Crafts, and I am sure there is probably a market for old wooden Revel Crafts that have survived for the past 40 years - just don't put them in the water! Oh - and don't get me started on Broadwaters. There were some SERIOUSLY bad boats built in them days!

Just my $.02.

ERIC

[crash4wd]

i have 24 ft revelcraft anyone know what trailer to buy or any info about it

[dturner384]

I just put new canvass on the 24ft Revelcraft Key Largo! I think she looks great!

Interesting... all of these aerospace guys here... i work for American Airlines in Dallas!

[dturner384]

Just noticed kraftee's post!

I have had this old gal for almost 7 years, and she is built like a tank, and always starts! I swear the fiberglass is as thick as wooden hulls, and the engine seems like it will go forever!

[dturner384]

As far as trailers go... I have no idea! This boat has been in the water for 40+ years, and probably has had about a thousand bottom jobs.

[jameslewis111]

Just found this thread. To those interested I have some history on this company. It was founded in the fifties by my grandfather, James Lewis, who managed the company until the mid seventies when he sold it. The company went under a few years later. As an aside, he also designed most of the boats and wrote all of the advertisements. "Revline" was the name of a subsidiary owned by the parent company Revel Craft. There were three manufacturing facilities in Maryland and Virginia. True some of the models had design flaws, however the smaller fiberglass boats were pretty good. If I remember any more information I'll gladly share.

-Regards

[sams0001]

Just aquired 1972 24' Revel Craft with a tbird engine that still runs. Want to begin restoring completely to ideal condition inside and out. Any suggestions?

[sams0001]

Very nice craft jimthepilot. Looks like you take good care of her.

[jameslewis111]

sams0001, parts for these boats are usually hard to come by, I would try ebay and see what that turns up. I dont know what kind of condition your boat is in or what she needs, be cosmetic or structural. I do wish you best of luck.:)

[gluesniffer]

I don't mean to "pile on", especially since we have a relative of the Revel Craft ownership on board, but....

I have to echo what someone else posted earlier...Revel Craft and Broadwater...worse and worser!!

Up here on Lake Erie, we had a tragic accident involving a brand-new 30-something foot Revel Craft cruiser about 35-40 years ago.


The boat was being delivered from the dealer in Sandusky or Port Clinton to it's home port around Cleveland, about a 50nm run. It was early in the season and Lake Erie was up to it's usual nasty chop business. The new owner had 3 or 4 friends along, and a small boy, I think the owner's son.

About 10 or 15 miles into the trip, the bottom literally fell out of the boat and it rolled right over. Someone on shore around Huron happened to be trying out a new high powered telescope and witnessed the mishap. The Coast Guard was summoned, but by the time they got to the scene, all but one was lost, including the young boy.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper did a big expose on the accident and Revel Craft itself. I think from this, the Coast Guard was leveraged into putting pressure on the Revel Craft company.

Anyone else remember this incident?

[sams0001]

How unfortunate for that father and son, and friends. 40 years ago I was 12 years old and living in Cleveland Ohio, and fished Lake Erie and Sandusky often. Never heard the story before. However, I have a 24' fiberglass Revel Craft,should I expect the same bottom falling out problems?

[jameslewis111]

The fiberglass models were usually good boats all around, so were alot of the smaller wooden ones. It was mainly the larger wood boats that had problems. About 30' and up. I heard a story of a Revel hitting a navigational becon and splitting the boat down the middle, luckily nobody was hurt.

-Regards

[sams0001]

Hey James Lewis If I remember correctly you are the grandson of the founder is that right? After your response I think you posted an earlier post stating the same info. Thanks again for the info. Trying to rebuild this craft slowly but I realy want to add some color to the lower level and captains area. I think then I will only enjoy it then. Any pros/cons.
Sams

[gluesniffer]

sams0001: If your glass Revel made it this long and hasn't had a structural failure, I would think that you should be in good shape. If you are really concerned, you could always get a survey.

jameslewis111: I appreciate you posting information about your family's old company. Any stories, happy or sad, would be interesting, at least to me.

I've tried to compile a little informal history of a number of long-gone pleasure boat manufactures. I know so little of Revel-Craft, so it would be interesting.

Yeah, maybe some of the wood boats weren't so great, but the glass one's have held up well. I'm sure your grandfather would appreciate the fact that all these years later people are still enjoying working on, learning about and using his boats.

[jameslewis111]

I agree with what gluesniffer said, if ever in doubt ask a professional, this pretty much goes for everything in life. I would love to share some stories when I have some time. I know that after one of his factories burned down in the mid-70's he sold the company to some businessmen who didn't really know much about boats and soon shut down operations. I asked him once if he wished he had stayed in business, he said he had no regrets about selling the company and he was happy about it. It must have been rather stressful for one person trying to oversee every aspect of production. There was another company, Starcraft or something like that, he and few others tried to start up prior to his development of RevelCraft, didn't really pan out. I'll share some more history when I more awake.

-Regards

[jameslewis111]

Hey sams0001, one more thing before I turn in for the night. Yes I am the grandson of the founder, whos name I share. As far as cons, I'd ask if you remember what boat stands for?:)
Also, would you happen to know what particular model your boat is? Just curious.

-Regards

[sams0001]

Hey jameslewis111, can I call you James, or Lewis when responding to post? Its so late please remind me if the meaning of boat is not a whole in the water one puts money in? I've checked my pocket title for model, its not there. Is it located anywhere on the craft? Its a bit of a hassel to go to the safe deposit for documents now. First of the month better. So what about the pros!!!
Regards

[sams0001]

Hey gluesniffer, It is very hard to type your name even harder to say it. Whats up with the name. It makes me think Im doing something wrong. L&GOL (Laugh and gigle out loud). Thanks however for the input about the Revel Craft. I'm working on some before and after pics to share.
Regards Sams

[combo7]

Hi i just bougth a 1972 Revell Craft in need of some restoration the witch my friend and i are starting tomorrow any tips will be aprecieted i'll keep u guys updated on the process..

[sams0001]

Combo 7 thats a great looking craft. Doing engine work this spring gotta go for now. Lets chat again.
Sams

[tpaddack]

I have a 74 24' that I have a question on. Has anyone tried to get the screens out from the window frame? It seems like they were designed to pop out, but I don't want to break anything. Has anyone gotten them out?