Boeing Mystery Boat (B-29 related)

[Edward Sheetmetalhands]

An acquaintance purchased a rather unique item when an old brick building was being torn down. It has stamped Boeing part numbers on it such as 4-XXXX-X, a B-29 control yoke with Bake-O-Lite center cap, Boeing data plate(s) with the old Boeing logo, very professional job of riveting together, and a quickly detachable top.

I surmise that this might have been put together from salvage B-29's from the Wichita flight line (a bulldozer tore through finished airplanes when the war ended and all contracts were cancelled). Or, it could be a rare optional accessory for a KC-97. Maybe a WIXer can help me solve this riddle and solve the Mystery of the Boeing Boat Appearance in Wichita; 2011. It was last registered in the 60's and has been stored indoors since that time. The owner is searching for a what, where, when, why.

Unfortunately, I do not currently have access to the boat. I have seen a simple Boeing data plate in the group of photos but that photo did not download ok, so I don't have the part number at the moment. I will try to get another copy sent. These are the only two I have so far:




Anyone care to guess what sections of the airplane were used? Those frames look roughly 2 feet apart....

[ZRX61]

Just a WAG, but is that V shaped roof brace at the rear possibly part of the inner wing structure?

[Tiger Tim]

As a wild guess I'd say she was likely made by a Boeing man from surplus raw materials, then at some point he stuck a U-Haul trailer roof on it. I imagine cutting out then torturing B-29 parts into the shape of a boat would be more trouble than building one from scratch, Noah's Ark excepted.

-Tim

[Pathfinder]

I just checked the manual for the A-1 Lifeboat and it says it was molded mahogany plywood.
I assume that your boat is all metal?

Excluding the roof on this thing, could it have been Boeing's shot at building a boat that would have been spec'd to drop from one of it's planes?

I think the roof is an afterthought, and the wind screen looks cobbled together to me.

[Edward Sheetmetalhands]

more photos for the experts, what model of Boeing Nacelle is it?...

[Chris Brame]

The inspection dates of December 1950 would make it more likely B-50 or some variant of Stratocruiser/C-97, maybe?

[Edward Sheetmetalhands]

The inspection dates of December 1950 would make it more likely B-50 or some variant of Stratocruiser/C-97, maybe?

That is a pretty good guess given the time frame. Looking where it says MODEL, it looks like what is showing could be B-47D; possibly the engineering for the propellor turboprop variant. Too bad the top of that data plate was lopped off. It could also be B-29D (B-50), though I would think by 1950 they wouldn't be using the D nomenclature.

An old-timer told me that the part with the data plate looks to be the tooling used to make PCM's (photo-contact mylars).

I am hoping I can get close to it someday and dig up more details. I would really like to photograph the interior construction to see if there are sections of fuselage frames every 20 inches.....

[tom d. friedman]

the boeing center cap is worth at least $125.00, that's no repro rip off of an old home built boat like that!!

[51fixer]

The inspection dates of December 1950 would make it more likely B-50 or some variant of Stratocruiser/C-97, maybe?

That is a pretty good guess given the time frame. Looking where it says MODEL, it looks like what is showing could be B-47D; possibly the engineering for the propellor turboprop variant. Too bad the top of that data plate was lopped off. It could also be B-29D (B-50), though I would think by 1950 they wouldn't be using the D nomenclature.

An old-timer told me that the part with the data plate looks to be the tooling used to make PCM's (photo-contact mylars).

I am hoping I can get close to it someday and dig up more details. I would really like to photograph the interior construction to see if there are sections of fuselage frames every 20 inches.....

It does look to be something from some kind of a print rather than a normal data plate. It is ink applied/etched rather than attached and offers far more info than just a part number.
At least this is what I have seen on parts from numerous different aircraft types. I can't say to specific Boeing practices of that time period.
Possibly made by some talented folks who raided the scrap pile, Boeing Surplus Store or bought materials from some local source that got scrap materials from Boeing.

[bdk]

It looks like it was made from a sheet metal tooling template.

Some engineering drawings called "grid drawings" were made with grids that were 10 inches square. That way when they were printed out you could make sure they were exactly the right size. When photo printed onto a piece of sheet metal from the original vellum, scribecoat or mylar drawing, you had a durable template that you could use for making tooling or inspecting completed parts. This is quite common in the aerospace industry, especially when dealing with flat pattern sheet metal parts.

I suspect what you have is some old surplus aluminum tooling template sheets used to fabricate a boat. "Checked by" is the drawing checker's signature while "Stress Ck" is the stress engineers approval signature for the drawing. Those are all signatures from the title block of the drawing sheet.

Probably old Stratocruiser stuff (or the like) that got surplused when those programs were superceded by other commercial aircraft at Boeing.