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Sportfishing
Birth of the Battlewagon Gallery
Submitted by Jeffrey Moser on Thu, 2007-03-01 01:01
The 1929, 33-foot Wheeler Superplaymate Mariposa was also called the 33 Sportfisherman, as she was designed for that purpose.
A 1947 photo taken from this vessel's cockpit shows a typically spartan flying bridge and bamboo outriggers.
Sport II, a 1936 Wheeler Fisherman, off the coast of Florida. Top speed was said to be 18 mph courtesy of twin Chrysler Crown gasoline engines. Note the composite outriggers.
Elco's 1936 Angler Jacpau III was hand-built in Bayonne, New Jersey. The 47-footer had twin Hall-Scott gasoline powerplants and reportedly cruised at 23 mph.
Hull No. 1 from the Rybovich family, the 34-foot Miss Chevy II, was the first vessel to feature all-aluminum outriggers.
Wheeler's postwar examples of sportfishermen, such as this 1952, 45-foot Sassy Lady, start to show the lines that characterize modern-day battlewagons.
A quick look at this photo, circa 1960, reveals that both men are struggling for room to help the woman in the chair.
In 1951 Merritt's Caliban II appeared in the pages of National Geographic in a story about the growing popularity of sportfishing. That's Allen Merritt standing on the flying bridge.
Merritt's 1961, 37-foot Tuna Teaser is a fine early example of one of today's most revered custom builders.
The latest Rybovich sportfisherman, Coral C launched in 2006. Powered by twin 1,650-hp Caterpillar diesels, she reportedly hits an impressive 50 mph.
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