When did Schiada start making boats?

OCMerrill · Jun 13, 2008

The other day I was going through some old photo albums and came across our old family day cruiser. My father sold it when I was about 10 years old so I don't remember all that much about it.

Pops said it was a Schiada and they only made a handful of this model that he remembered.

Very similar to a Campbell. Pops bought it a couple years old in 1973. 1970 boat he thinks.

Largest boat on the river back in 1973. People used to give my dad shit about running it on the river all the time.

When did Schiada start up?

I am scanning some pictures for upload now. I suck at this....bare with me.

Yellowboat · Jun 13, 2008

http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/mic_detail.aspx?id=SDA

says 72( thats when, they started having to put hins on boats)... but I'm pretty sure it was 4 or 5 years before that. I want to say like 67 or 68

OCMerrill · Jun 13, 2008

OK so here we go.

440 Chrysler w/ velvet trans. Direct drive and the engine was under the floor at the front seats. The prop was in a tunnel which (as I understand) was not done by any other boat mfg. of that era. Boat had a Jet Boat look in the wake underway.

Check out the Caddy pops would pull it with. Dad would say there just isn't a bigger engine anywhere and he was right. Some of the over heating issues trapped in Rice for 1/2 a day because they would give up no water. Flash floods on rice road. Oh the memories pulling that sucker to the river every other weekend.

Sporting the Kirby Vac! LOL - I do remember the Vette in the garage. My Dad's commuter car from Brea to Hawthorne to work 5 days a week.

At the Echo Lodge beach (our stomping grounds) Check out SUNDANCE.

Front row of Echo getting ready to leave for home.

TBI · Jun 13, 2008

That's bitchen dude :thumbsup

wolfie · Jun 13, 2008

I know the father-in-law painted a couple of boats for Len back in the early '70s. I'll ask him if he knows. He painted one for Nesher and Leach way back when as well.

OCMerrill · Jun 13, 2008

TBI said:
That's bitchen dude :thumbsup

Thanks Bilge.

Pops is laying in the Hospital waiting for the doctors to decide if his Pace Maker pocket is infected or not. He's on day 4 and real depressed about it. I am taking a whole ton of vintage river pics of his boats over tomorrow.

Like yours...his heart is also focked.

Besides that he was pissed about the Lakers.:swear

That's my punky ass in the boat watching pops work it. Funny thing I seem to let my kids do the same thing.

wolfie · Jun 13, 2008

OCMerrill said:
Thanks Bilge.

Pops is laying in the Hospital waiting for the doctors to decide if his Pace Maker pocket is infected or not. He's on day 4 and real depressed about it. I am taking a whole ton of vintage river pics of his boats over tomorrow.

Like yours...his heart is also focked.

Besides that he was pissed about the Lakers.:swear

That's my punky ass in the boat watching pops work it. Funny thing I seem to let my kids do the same thing.

Hope your dad's doing well.

OCMerrill · Jun 13, 2008

wolfie said:
I know the father-in-law painted a couple of boats for Len back in the early '70s. I'll ask him if he knows. He painted one for Nesher and Leach way back when as well.

Great! I would use any info to put the chear on my my dads face. He certainly lived for the river and still does. Turns 70 in a month hopefully away from the hospital.

WTRR · Jun 13, 2008

Great pics. My Dad wore a hat just like that to the river.

Hope your Dad gets better and gets out of the hospital. My Dad is getting his knees replaced the second week of July.

Mondorally · Jun 13, 2008

Cool pics! Send them to Lee at Schiada ([email protected]) - he can steer you in the right direction.

On a side note - this one is on boattrader.com. Seller says its a 1956 Schiada!

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1956-SCHIADA-BOATS-OTHER-92618038

-Justin

OCMerrill · Jun 13, 2008

Mondorally said:
Cool pics! Send them to Lee at Schiada ([email protected]) - he can steer you in the right direction.

On a side note - this one is on boattrader.com. Seller says its a 1956 Schiada!

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1956-SCHIADA-BOATS-OTHER-92618038

-Justin

Thanks. Later today I will email these over and see what he says. I love the vintage stuff.

OCMerrill · Jun 13, 2008

WTRR said:
Great pics. My Dad wore a hat just like that to the river. Hope your Dad gets better and gets out of the hospital. My Dad is getting his knees replaced the second week of July.

Thanks. Hope your Dads knee replacement goes well. My grandmother had this done to both knees at 80 and it worked perfectly.

I have to say it's a real bitch watching your parents age.

Tom Brown · Jun 13, 2008

Best wishes to your Dad.

He is a pimp assed SOB.

:thumbsup

OCMerrill · Jun 13, 2008

Tom Brown said:
Best wishes to your Dad.

He is a pimp assed SOB. :thumbsup

Thanks Tom. I will tell him to keep the pimp hand strong.

Outdrive1 · Jun 13, 2008

Your dad was a cool dude.

Hope he gets better.

jetboatperformance · Jun 13, 2008

I have PICS and photocopied pages of Schiadas going back to the early sixties given me by Mike Schiada (nephew of Len) ,whom I met a few years back I also have some original race promos from LB marine stadium from the midsixties as well ! My toe plate serial number on my 69' is # 80 I'll post up some more pics if theres interest Tom (hope your Pops feels better !!)

RiverDave · Jun 13, 2008

Great Thread!! And of course we're interested in seeing them!

RD

Deleted Account · Jun 13, 2008

great looking boat. :thumbsup

SoCal Detail · Jun 14, 2008

Nice pics did everyones dad have a caddie and sideburns? Mine did. Hope your pops feels better. Mark

SoCal Detail · Jun 14, 2008

Mondorally said:
Cool pics! Send them to Lee at Schiada ([email protected]) - he can steer you in the right direction.

On a side note - this one is on boattrader.com. Seller says its a 1956 Schiada!

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1956-SCHIADA-BOATS-OTHER-92618038

-Justin

I was looking at this one, I want a wood boat. Is it a Schiada?

OCMerrill · Jun 14, 2008

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Pops release looks like maybe tomorrow. His body does not want this particular pacemaker and its creating all kinds of issues.

Please throw those old Schaida pics up. My all time favorite boats. One of these days I will have me one.

jetboatperformance · Jun 24, 2008

Sorry folks I've been busy but heres my latest "aquisition" from yesterday kind of like "animal rescue" I'm just a sucker for an Old classic to drag home This 21' Schiada jet hasn't been in the h20 since 87' Its serial# 5 More to follow Tom

Heres a couple of PICs I just found !

OCMerrill · Jun 24, 2008

Thats great.

It appears they built many different styles of boats back in their eairly days.

MissB · Jun 24, 2008

Those are awesome!:beer

TPC · Jun 24, 2008

OCMerrill said:
Thanks everyone for the replies.

Pops release looks like maybe tomorrow. His body does not want this particular pacemaker and its creating all kinds of issues.

Please throw those old Schaida pics up. My all time favorite boats. One of these days I will have me one.

The different drives and motors are always interesting in Schaidas. You see some varried types of drivelines, engines and outboards for sure.

Friend has one with a 427 Chevy and a three speed connected to a V drive.
Not real sure of the advantage of the 3 speed, but interesting none-the-less.

River Lynchmob · Jun 24, 2008

TPC said:
The different drives and motors are always interesting in Schaidas. You see some varried types of drivelines, engines and outboards for sure.

Friend has one with a 427 Chevy and a three speed connected to a V drive.
Not real sure of the advantage of the 3 speed, but interesting none-the-less.

A lot of cruisers with a turbo 400s usually just have 1st gear locked out so its just a 2 speed. My dad had several v drives that still had all 3 speeds hooked up. 1st gear is almost useless other than ideling around.

RiverDave · Jun 24, 2008

Thanks for the pics JBP!!

RD

Zaairman · Jun 24, 2008

I <3 pretty pictures.

TPC · Jun 24, 2008

http://www.schiada.com/schi.html

Cole Trickle · Jun 24, 2008

Cool ass thread

I hope your pops is doing good. When I have kids I am towing with a caddy and getting a pimp ass fishing hat:beer:thumbsup

OCMerrill · Jun 24, 2008

Cole Trickle said:
Cool ass thread

I hope your pops is doing good. When I have kids I am towing with a caddy and getting a pimp ass fishing hat:beer:thumbsup

Thanks. LOL!

He is basically the same dude except all focked up medically.

He would try and ski if he was strong enough.

This Schiada ended up in a slip at Dana Point in 1976 then pulled out, sold and replaced with a 24' Skipjack. Then we learned the big blue as the new to me step mom at the time disliked the river x10. So we fished and fished and fished and now my buddies call and say let's fish and no thanks.

This was back when you had to look at a "Flasher" all day to find schools of tuna down deep. I would much rather look at thong's on the river.

Pops has her OK with the river as long as they stay at the Bluewater.

RiverDave · Jun 24, 2008

Great thread and great pictures!! I have to dig up and scan a bunch of my families old river pics..

RD

PVHCA · Jun 24, 2008

Schiada doesn't make boats, they just splash others!!

RiverDave · Jun 24, 2008

PVHCA said:
Schiada doesn't make boats, they just splash others!!

That's news to me?

RD

PVHCA · Jun 24, 2008

RiverDave said:
That's news to me?

RD

Just playing RD, they just happen to be my favorite boat and I was just reading the whole Ultra splash thing at PB. Off the subject, do you remeber the 24ft Schiada OB was for sale by BlackCloud I think, do you know if it's still available?

RiverDave · Jun 24, 2008

BlackClouds (if memory served) is a maroon, black, grey, 24' Schiada stern drive? I think it has a 525 in it?

I'm not sure if it's still for sale or not? I know he had some bites on it awhile back.. I'm pretty sure the boat is at Schiada right now. Give Lee a call and ask him about it?

RD

PVHCA · Jun 24, 2008

RiverDave said:
BlackClouds (if memory served) is a maroon, black, grey, 24' Schiada stern drive? I think it has a 525 in it?

I'm not sure if it's still for sale or not? I know he had some bites on it awhile back.. I'm pretty sure the boat is at Schiada right now. Give Lee a call and ask him about it?

RD

maroon and grey don't remember the black but yes had the 525 and I think he wanted $75K for an 04, I'll give Lee a call.

DogNamedChevy · Jun 25, 2008

PVHCA said:
maroon and grey don't remember the black but yes had the 525 and I think he wanted $75K for an 04, I'll give Lee a call.

Saw Corey's boat at the river last weekend. Very clean, not sure if it was for sale still.

Matt

PVHCA · Jun 25, 2008

DogNamedChevy said:
Saw Corey's boat at the river last weekend. Very clean, not sure if it was for sale still.

Matt

Does he go by BlackCloud on the boards? Your from Yucaipa, have you ever heard of B & G Racing Engines(Corey Hallberg)?

DeltaSigBoater · Jun 25, 2008

OCMerrill said:
OK so here we go.

440 Chrysler w/ velvet trans. Direct drive and the engine was under the floor at the front seats. The prop was in a tunnel which (as I understand) was not done by any other boat mfg. of that era. Boat had a Jet Boat look in the wake underway.

Check out the Caddy pops would pull it with. Dad would say there just isn't a bigger engine anywhere and he was right. Some of the over heating issues trapped in Rice for 1/2 a day because they would give up no water. Flash floods on rice road. Oh the memories pulling that sucker to the river every other weekend.

Sporting the Kirby Vac! LOL - I do remember the Vette in the garage. My Dad's commuter car from Brea to Hawthorne to work 5 days a week.

Very Cool Pictures...

There was no other "Custom" Boat Manufactures that I know of that built tunnel drives during that time. However the key word being custom, I know that Penn Yan Boats excessively used tunnel drives during there production days.

Fast Forward to today a lot of your production boat builders utilize tunnels in order to reduce the shaft angle, lessen the draft, and improve overall performance, with the same power options. The flip side to this is poor handling in close quarters, most often docking.

CambellCarl had picked up an old Schiada V-Drive Cruiser similar to that. Very cool looking but definitely a project.

Sorry to hear about your dad, hope it all works out!

Carl

OCMerrill · Jun 25, 2008

DeltaSigBoater said:
Very Cool Pictures...

There was no other "Custom" Boat Manufactures that I know of that built tunnel drives during that time. However the key word being custom, I know that Penn Yan Boats excessively used tunnel drives during there production days.

Fast Forward to today a lot of your production boat builders utilize tunnels in order to reduce the shaft angle, lessen the draft, and improve overall performance, with the same power options. The flip side to this is poor handling in close quarters, most often docking.

CambellCarl had picked up an old Schiada V-Drive Cruiser similar to that. Very cool looking but definitely a project.

Sorry to hear about your dad, hope it all works out!

Carl

Thanks! I dig these replys. Very informative.

That tunnel drive setup was qurkey my dad said. Tough to back up. If you backed up to fast the engine would fill with water even through the flappers so my dad never really let anyone drive it.

I remember helping paint the boat trailer white right there at Echo with a...brush LOL.

DogNamedChevy · Jun 25, 2008

PVHCA said:
Does he go by BlackCloud on the boards? Your from Yucaipa, have you ever heard of B & G Racing Engines(Corey Hallberg)?

I think he goes by Blackcloud or Blackcloud75? I haven't lived in Yucaipa too long, so I don't know anybody up here yet

PVHCA · Jun 25, 2008

DogNamedChevy said:
I think he goes by Blackcloud or Blackcloud75? I haven't lived in Yucaipa too long, so I don't know anybody up here yet

Not sure if I'm interested or even if he's still selling, just going over the idea of selling my Eliminator to move up into a boat like his. I mentioned B & G Racing just because they are good friends from the river and that Corey just built the motor in my boat. If you ever need honest mechanics for your car/boat etc see them.

RyanPartridge · Jun 26, 2008

Last summer at Marine Stadium I met Chuck Schiada(Len's brother). He ended up giving me his card and told me to give him a call sometime and he'd try to dig up an old t-shirt he had laying around. I recently came across his number and gave him a call and he graciously invited me up to his house in PV. I spent a couple hours yesterday with Chuck and he told me stories and showed me some serious history. He showed me an old photo album that was stuffed to the gills with pics, newspaper clippings, old Schiada catalogs, you name it. Bitchin' old race trophies galore!

One of the first photos in this album was of him and Len building a wood boat that he pointed out saying, "That's the first boat we ever built." Remembering this thread, I asked him what year it was and he thought for a minute and said he'd have to guess around 1951. They launched that boat in Newport and some guy saw it and begged them to sell it right then and there. So they figured they'd just sell it and build a new one, and the second boat ended up selling before they even finished it, and that's how it started.

Later, he threw in an old tape of home movies with 50's race footage from Long Beach. Marine Stadium had nothing but oil rigs in the background. The boats were bouncing all over the place and he was telling me about racing before they had cavitation plates. And how even the early ones, you couldn't control. You'd just adjust them however you thought was best, and that was it, they were fixed.

All in all is was pretty mind blowing. I saw so much cool stuff and heard so many stories that I was in awe that I was even there. Sitting here now I'm struggling to remember everything I saw yesterday. I wish I could've been able to take photos to share with all fellas here because I know you guys would've really dug this stuff, but I think it would have been out of line for me to ask.

I left yesterday with a killer history lesson and a bitchin' t-shirt(OG graphics from '66)!

Zaairman · Jun 26, 2008

Awesome story Ryan :thumbsup Sounds like an amazing time.

RiverDave · Jun 26, 2008

RyanPartridge said:
Last summer at Marine Stadium I met Chuck Schiada(Len's brother). He ended up giving me his card and told me to give him a call sometime and he'd try to dig up an old t-shirt he had laying around. I recently came across his number and gave him a call and he graciously invited me up to his house in PV. I spent a couple hours yesterday with Chuck and he told me stories and showed me some serious history. He showed me an old photo album that was stuffed to the gills with pics, newspaper clippings, old Schiada catalogs, you name it. Bitchin' old race trophies galore!

One of the first photos in this album was of him and Len building a wood boat that he pointed out saying, "That's the first boat we ever built." Remembering this thread, I asked him what year it was and he thought for a minute and said he'd have to guess around 1951. They launched that boat in Newport and some guy saw it and begged them to sell it right then and there. So they figured they'd just sell it and build a new one, and the second boat ended up selling before they even finished it, and that's how it started.

Later, he threw in an old tape of home movies with 50's race footage from Long Beach. Marine Stadium had nothing but oil rigs in the background. The boats were bouncing all over the place and he was telling me about racing before they had cavitation plates. And how even the early ones, you couldn't control. You'd just adjust them however you thought was best, and that was it, they were fixed.

All in all is was pretty mind blowing. I saw so much cool stuff and heard so many stories that I was in awe that I was even there. Sitting here now I'm struggling to remember everything I saw yesterday. I wish I could've been able to take photos to share with all fellas here because I know you guys would've really dug this stuff, but I think it would have been out of line for me to ask.

I left yesterday with a killer history lesson and a bitchin' t-shirt(OG graphics from '66)!

Awesome story! Must've been a very nostalgic, and memorable experience!

RD

RyanPartridge · Jun 26, 2008

It was awsome. I still can't believe it.

BTW, the boat with the checkered paint I saw a few photos of in his photo album, he said they had a few of those boats(yellow w/checkered sides). The one he had a bunch of photos of was called Your Move.

OCMerrill · Jun 27, 2008

That is just awesome. Great share Ryan. Cool shirt you got there.

jstnoc · Jul 10, 2008

PVHCA said:
Does he go by BlackCloud on the boards? Your from Yucaipa, have you ever heard of B & G Racing Engines(Corey Hallberg)?

Its Corey not from Yucaipa from Norco/Corona. Ill give him a call and see if he will sell. I tried to buy it from him a year ago. Parting with a nice Schiada is like selling your left nut. Not too many do that.

RiverDave · Jul 10, 2008

Ryan are you going to be in Parker this weekend?

RD

When did Schiada start making boats?

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