Herter's 12' Hudson Bay

[Ryan84*]

My neighbor has had this 12' Herters boat that he would sell me for very cheap. I have always liked the look of the boat and the mobility of the 12 footer around home with all the small lakes. I think I'm going to buy it and hook up the old Johnson 4 hp. Anyone know anything about Herters? I know it came from waseca but can't find much info on the web.

Please advise.

Thanks,

Ryan

[bogwalker]

In their day they were top of the line.

[delcecchi]

In their day they were top of the line.

Just look in their catalog and they would tell you that they were the very best.

They did great until they had a little bad luck with endangered species act.

[Ufatz]

Herters made pretty crude but very durable outdoor stuff in some instances. They also sold some pretty awful junk too. The boats were often built like tanks, with the very primitive fiberglass materials and techniques of the day. If you have the right model you may have a boat that will last another hundred years. But it may need a 300HP outboard to get it to move. Ha!!

What the heck-check it out. Fill it with water to see if it leaks. Check out seams including gunnels and transom. Let us know what you find and we'll help.

[Ryan84*]

Bought the boat and water tested it. (Awesome buy) The 4 hp really moves that boat. Really impressed with the herters. Well built and seems like it will last forever.

[bogwalker]

Good deal. Enjoy!

[Ufatz]

Okay Ryan. Have fun. If a 4hp "really moves" that boat you must have either an aluminum or a later vintage glass boat. The early Herters were pretty crude and weighed a ton.

Get out there and git 'em!!

[Ryan84*]

Its a later vintage glass boat.

[Ryan84*]

Not going to break any speed records thats for sure, but if I want to go water skiing, I'll hook up the 7.5 Johnson.

[Heartman]

You'll love it, and now you own a piece of sporting goods history.

[Ryan84*]

Thanks, that was the main reason I bought the boat.

[uffdapete]

In the 50's & early 60's Herter's was the Cabelas of the day. The early Gander Mtn and Cabela's companies would appear to have used the Herter's model to some degree. I believe the founder was George Leonard Herter.

In their hayday they sold a WIDE variety of outdoor gear with much of it having their own private label and "World Famous" was frequently the first 2 words in the product description, along with "Model Perfection". For whatever reason the quality of many of their products went down toward the end of their "reign".

Their mail order catalog was probably what generated most of their sales. I did visit their store in Waseca and there was also a store in Glenwood named Ruhr American that handled a lot of Herter's stuff.

I purchased quite a bit of gear from them in the mid 60's including decoys, calls, traps, etc. I still have and use a very high quality leather rifle case from them. Also have a few books from them, like "How To Get Out of The Rat Race and Live on $10 a Month". Some of their stuff was "out there"!!

[Ryan84*]

Thanks for the info.