How to build a Minimax

[Charlie 13]

Many of us can remember back when we were kids and we fell in love with boats. Most of us that can remember that, can't remember what we had for lunch today or even what day is.
Bruce a friend is building one of the aircraft that I have been making parts for, for some twenty years. He and his partner in this endever(John) had invited me over for some information and help with the project. We were talking about what ever guys talk about when the girls aren't around, and John said that he wanted to get involved with something that he and his son could do together. I knew that he had a cottage up north and that it was on a lake so the next thing I knew I had offered to be the advisor for a father,son and Bruce boat building adventure. I told them of losing my virginity to a four by eight sheet of plywood called a minimax. Mine had a Mark25 on a Mark 20 tower and a friend had a Mark 30 on his.
It was a good thing that both had half inch hooks in the bottom. Well that evening I went home and dug through boxes to find a set of plans for the boat. The next week I meet Johns son "Charlie" he wanted a yellow boat and the number 13 on it. I thought some one had put him up to it to get me to help, but it was true. So here goes. I won't try to get all the photos on the site tonight but will add more threads later.
Charlie #13 With yellow boats.

[atver13]

i wish my dad would do that with me.

[Skoontz]

I remember one of my friends had a brother who made one of them in his garage. Circa 1968. Stuck a 7.5 Merc on it, painted it yellow with black trim. I used to call it the hydro without sponsons. He launches, Sunday afternoon at Pottowatamee Park in St. Charles in August just before school...Planes off, bounces a bit, then levels off and gets to speed...Rounds the turn down by the 13th hole of the golf course, comes back around in front of the park, where, a guy just throttled down in a 21' rear steer Gar Wood barrel back inboard powered by a flat 6 Gray Marine motor....Anyone who has ever seen and old Gar Wood knows the rest of the story....Those things could lay 3' rollers that you could surf on without a pull rope...

So, Richie comes toward the pier and is going to jump the waves....It may have worked if the nose was able to lift over the wave....Instead Stuff! Water rips over the deck, hits Richie and knocks him into the Mercs tank, where, he held on for dear life.... Somehow, his dad told him it was OK to use a regular non returnable boat throttle, so, as the boat plowed through the wave, tossed Richie back, it was still going full throttle....It's kind of hard to steer from the back of the motor, but somehow, he used his feet as rudders and the thing kept flipping around in a circle until the reverb of th Gar Wood waves came off the concrete wall of the park...The boat tossed on it's side and the motor sucked in the Fox River then stopped...

When Richie got ashore ( towed by the Gar Wood making the wake) he was white as a ghost, his mom must have gotten 40 more wrinkles, and his dad poped the plugs, dried out the motor, and they went out again....

I think they got the plans in Popular Mechanics at the time, was a fun dad son project!