Thread: filam wooden boat

How big?
What style?
Sail?
Speed boat?

Photos please

Come on, don't tease us like this.

Richard

speedboat with a 202 in it wakeboard tower swim ladder new guages dog clutch and 32 mph nice lookin thing i love the back of a clinker for some reason

Ooo, that's nice. You're going to love that boat when she's finished.

Elsewhere on here, I've posted the link to the Australian Classic Power Boat Association (I think that's the name). Have you contacted them?

Richard

daddles all it need is water

Originally Posted by ibeanonchippy

daddles all it need is water

You mean she's a goer? Good one. It's easy to assume that projects that appear on her all need work but there's nothing like getting a season out of a boat before you have to work on her.

Richard

i actual own a fibreglass filam clinker myself

put some pictures in here skier.i have done some homework and filam havent been made for 35 yrs.i love mine

from what i know they came from geelong.
the model i own is a filam 'ski sport', it is a fibreglass clinker.
we bought it this january of an old guy who had owned it since new from 1964 i think it was, he says it had only done about 20 hours and just sat there and from the condition of it i'd say his not lying.
it has a holden 186 x2 engine in it with twin holleys, my dad has owned about 12 boats and has bought me this clinker as my first boat because now that ill be 16 this summer ill have my full license and he does want me running around in his boat.

story is that the old bloke and is neighbour (dave kincaids father) bought to hulls from filam and then fitted them out themselves, as the neighbour was the owner of the known 'kincaid marine / rolco' (boat parts manufaturer) he fitted the engines out and they then both did the interior and everything exactly the same.

dave kincaids father sold his soon after but the old bloke that we boguht mine off kept it all this time.

its in absolutely awesome condition, i am absolutely stoke, only thing we had to do was new oil, new oil filter, new alternater, new leads and and over all tidy up to ensure it was all safe.

on the gps we have gotten 40mph so far and hoping to get a touch more now the carbies have been done although at the speed with such a small cav plate it gets a little scary, haha

Great to see some still appreciates Filam boats!!
My father Keith Smith and his partner Doug Russell formed Filam Manufacturing Company in the mid to early 50's and the "ski sport" was just one of the products they made.
To my recollections there were two versions of the ski sport. The first was produced until the late sixties and had a flat style deck similar to the pics posted above. The second one was had a much sleeker bow and a "modernised" bulkier deck modeled after the then current vehicle stylings such as the XY falcon with a "shoulder" some 3 to 4 feet forward of the transome.
Looking at the photos above, this model does have a sleek bow entry but also has the flat deck so I am inclined to think it may even be a smaller model called the "Tiger Sport" of which which far less of them were produced so it would be fairly rare today.
I would need to see a well lit pic taken from the side square on to be able to identify which model it is. The original post in this thread says it was a wooden boat however this is not possible as they never made the original ski sport in timber. In stead they extensivly adapted and modified an externally built timber clinker hull to their own specifiations and cast from that.
I note it is fitted with the radially new (at the time) V drive. Many of Filams boats were fitted out with these by Ian Nankervis of Nankervis Marine on the shores of Lake Epaloch.
The factory took up nearly all of the old mills at the end of Old Mill Road in Fyansford and employed up to about 20 people in its heyday. They argueablely made the first fibreglass boat in Australia in 1956 I think. (Savage Fibreglass made one that year too) They made anything from model boats to boats up to 20 feet in length, tractor cabins, agricultural tanks, caravans (plus franklin hatches and wheel covers) and truck bodies.
In late 1972 Filam was bought by Franklin Caravans / Freighter Trucks and Doug Russell continued to do fibreglass in the premises as Russell Fibreglass Industries, later on selling to this to his son Scott Russell who now it however he ONLY deals in industrial applications nowadays.
Sadly Keith Smith died on 28/09/09 but I believe Doug Russell is still alive today.

cheers for the info gronc.so you say mine isnt made of wood and is a tiger?just want to clear that up????????

Umm... I know an easy way to find out if it is timber.
The Filam Tigersport was never made of wood. A cast was taken from a Fisher clinker hull and that cast was adjusted to a slightly different shape and then the casting was used as a mould.
So, if your boat is timber and has a Filam badge on it I would be VERY surprised.

hi,would be great to hear from any FILAM / FRANKLIN owners.weve had a few amongst family and freinds over the years,and i just love the old girls!any takers for a gathering.....oh yeah,sorry i know there not wooden boats.....but i got some of them aswell

and thanks for the info gronc!......would like to hear more if you could add anything.cheers.Ron