I looked around Google, targeting the windshield with the three braces—two of which are strangely manufactured in a re-curved style. It appears this Higgins was a post-war runabout. The left-side steering was moved to the right side in the 1950s models. Its actual length would nail it down to one model.
Here is the Higgins 17-footer:
I gather that the license plate had corroded away from the frame.
Someone in the Madison, WI area can check this at the boat show, July 31 – Aug. 1st 2015:
Quote:
|
The Higgins Classic Boat Association will be having a Higgins Rendezvous as part of the 10th Annual Madison Area Antique & Classic Boat Show at Madison, WI. We invite you to bring your Higgins boat and join the fun this year as part of this ACBS Glacier Lakes Show. For details, contact: Mark Walters (608) 224-0815 or waltswoodie@charter.net; or www.glacbs.org or Marge Morris
|
During the war, plywood was also used to build troop-carrying gliders and various aircraft such as the awesome Mosquito fighter-bomber. ("The Timber Terror").
The solid appearance of the hull may be due to Higgins' (New Orleans, LA) long experience with plywood—including the wartime PT boats. (Though it's also possible that it's a restoration, lost on a rough Broads day).