FREEDOM MARINE
I think the last boats from the Starfire / Eagle mold were made by Freedom marine Eng & Design in Spokane, WA. I personally saw two of the Freedom Marine Boats in 1992 that were pulled from the Starfire / Eagle Hull mold. The deck was modified for an outboard and there was one version that was for a bass fishing boat. These were made by Howard Toly. Freedom marine also marketed the Mercedes boat. I am not sure if they made the boat, of just marketed the Mercedes boat.
I have a 1982 Freedom Marine Mercedes that was made from the Jolly Roger molds in Spokane, WA. It's been difficult to hook up with any info on these also. Mine has a Mercrusier 454 MAG and Bravo 1 sterndrive. Not many of them here in Shreveport, LA. I'm looking for others with the 7.4L setup and performance/handling info.
Pics of freedon mercedes http://forums.iboats.com/forum/general-boating-outdoors-activities/boat-topics-and-questions-not-engine-topics/9641045-freedom-marine-and-apollo-american-eagle-owners
https://boatdb.net/manufacturer/freedom-marine-eng---design-MVJ.htm
News article about fines in 2003 - https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=20030919&id=ymhWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Z_MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2529,7698235
News article about survival in 1996 - https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-10181350.html
Fiberform Boats
Fiberform Plastics Manufacturing Co.
D.K. Barnes, Inc.
E222 Sprague (Sales office)
Spokane Industrial Park (Manufacturing plant)
Spokane, Washington
According to the 1969 trademark registration, the first use of the "Fiberform" name for boats was June 21, 1957. It was used first in commerce about August 1, 1957. Donald K. Barnes was head of the company.
The following history was provided by Tim Stromberger, a former employee.
Tim said:
I have history on Fiberform boats that were made in Spokane, Wa. I worked for Fiberform from 1969 to 1978. The company was started by Don Barnes in the late 50's. He died about 2 years ago. They were built in Spokane, Wa. During the time I was there they also had plants in Edenton, N.C. and Kelona, B.C. Canada. They built boats from 14' to 33'. The Spokane plant was located in Spokane Industrial Park Building 21 and shortly after I left they built a brand new plant a couple of miles away in Spokane Valley.
I started in Jan 1969 and my job was to grind the edges of the decks after they came to our building from the lamination department. This was always the job that the new guy did. Lucky for me they hired another guy two days later so I got out of that crappy job. I drilled holes for all the deck hardware for a few months and then got transferred to the woodshop. That was the best department to work in since you had to be a craftsman to build the interiors in the cabin boats and you didn't work around itchy fiberglass too much. At their peak production they built 24 boats per day and ran 3 shifts. A few years later I got moved to the new Executive Yacht Division where they built the 28, 31 and 33 foot boats. I built the interiors and also installed the water and AC systems. They were built in the Spokane Industrial Park in Building 21. They started building these about 1975 or 1976 and they must have stopped when Bayliner took over. I left in November 1978 right before the gas crunch came and they laid off many of the workers.
Fiberform has been owned by a few different companies. Don Barnes sold out to US Industries in the early 70's and later started Sunrunner Boats. Later it was bought by AMF who also owned Harley Davidson at the time. It ended up being bought again by US Industries, Inc. who also owned Bayliner. US Industries kept it going under the Fiberform name for a year or so and then phased it out and started building Bayliners in the Spokane plant. By this time the NC and BC plants were long gone. They built Bayliners in Spokane until the 90's and then closed the boat plant. There was a separate building where all the wiring harnesses were built for all the Bayliner plants across the country. It continued building harnesses until about 10 years ago when it was closed. The building is now used as a lumber storage yard.
Fiberform's Edenton, NC facility was the former Chris Craft plant located on Albemarle Sound. People hired there included Jim Vun Kannon. (Yachting, Vol. 133, 1973).
I think the last boats from the Starfire / Eagle mold were made by Freedom marine Eng & Design in Spokane, WA. I personally saw two of the Freedom Marine Boats in 1992 that were pulled from the Starfire / Eagle Hull mold. The deck was modified for an outboard and there was one version that was for a bass fishing boat. These were made by Howard Toly. Freedom marine also marketed the Mercedes boat. I am not sure if they made the boat, of just marketed the Mercedes boat.
I have a 1982 Freedom Marine Mercedes that was made from the Jolly Roger molds in Spokane, WA. It's been difficult to hook up with any info on these also. Mine has a Mercrusier 454 MAG and Bravo 1 sterndrive. Not many of them here in Shreveport, LA. I'm looking for others with the 7.4L setup and performance/handling info.
Pics of freedon mercedes http://forums.iboats.com/forum/general-boating-outdoors-activities/boat-topics-and-questions-not-engine-topics/9641045-freedom-marine-and-apollo-american-eagle-owners
https://boatdb.net/manufacturer/freedom-marine-eng---design-MVJ.htm
News article about fines in 2003 - https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=20030919&id=ymhWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Z_MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2529,7698235
News article about survival in 1996 - https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-10181350.html
Fiberform Boats
Fiberform Plastics Manufacturing Co.
D.K. Barnes, Inc.
E222 Sprague (Sales office)
Spokane Industrial Park (Manufacturing plant)
Spokane, Washington
According to the 1969 trademark registration, the first use of the "Fiberform" name for boats was June 21, 1957. It was used first in commerce about August 1, 1957. Donald K. Barnes was head of the company.
The following history was provided by Tim Stromberger, a former employee.
Tim said:
I have history on Fiberform boats that were made in Spokane, Wa. I worked for Fiberform from 1969 to 1978. The company was started by Don Barnes in the late 50's. He died about 2 years ago. They were built in Spokane, Wa. During the time I was there they also had plants in Edenton, N.C. and Kelona, B.C. Canada. They built boats from 14' to 33'. The Spokane plant was located in Spokane Industrial Park Building 21 and shortly after I left they built a brand new plant a couple of miles away in Spokane Valley.
I started in Jan 1969 and my job was to grind the edges of the decks after they came to our building from the lamination department. This was always the job that the new guy did. Lucky for me they hired another guy two days later so I got out of that crappy job. I drilled holes for all the deck hardware for a few months and then got transferred to the woodshop. That was the best department to work in since you had to be a craftsman to build the interiors in the cabin boats and you didn't work around itchy fiberglass too much. At their peak production they built 24 boats per day and ran 3 shifts. A few years later I got moved to the new Executive Yacht Division where they built the 28, 31 and 33 foot boats. I built the interiors and also installed the water and AC systems. They were built in the Spokane Industrial Park in Building 21. They started building these about 1975 or 1976 and they must have stopped when Bayliner took over. I left in November 1978 right before the gas crunch came and they laid off many of the workers.
Fiberform has been owned by a few different companies. Don Barnes sold out to US Industries in the early 70's and later started Sunrunner Boats. Later it was bought by AMF who also owned Harley Davidson at the time. It ended up being bought again by US Industries, Inc. who also owned Bayliner. US Industries kept it going under the Fiberform name for a year or so and then phased it out and started building Bayliners in the Spokane plant. By this time the NC and BC plants were long gone. They built Bayliners in Spokane until the 90's and then closed the boat plant. There was a separate building where all the wiring harnesses were built for all the Bayliner plants across the country. It continued building harnesses until about 10 years ago when it was closed. The building is now used as a lumber storage yard.
Fiberform's Edenton, NC facility was the former Chris Craft plant located on Albemarle Sound. People hired there included Jim Vun Kannon. (Yachting, Vol. 133, 1973).
JOLLY ROGER | DONZI | GLASTRON CARLSON | APOLLO BOATS
AMERICAN BOAT COMPANY | CENTURY BOAT COMPANY
If you find inaccuracies or have anything to add please do not hesitate to contact us by clicking here.
Copyright Terranean Image, LLC © 2016
Copyright Terranean Image, LLC © 2016