By Alan & Liz Wardsworth, Inland Empire Chapter
If you have been following the saga of our 1963 Belmont, you probably won’t believe it ended up being a successful summer of boating!
Belmont produced luxury runabouts from 1956 to 1966 before they converted to fiberglass flat bottom racers. Most Belmonts have Cadillac power but founder, Smitty Weeks, used whatever he could get his hands on in the Fresno, California area. That included many speed parts.
Belmonts were not cheap. This 1963 boat cost $5,500 new — without any options. About 65 were produced during the 10 year run with only about a half dozen are still remaining on the water today.
We purchased the Belmont in April of 2020 and then the pandemic hit. I was kept busy trying to just get it running while the nation slowed to a stop. As best as I could tell the Belmont had not been on the water since 2016 and it’s last boat show was in 2005. It had previously won several awards but it’s restoration documentation had been lost.
The engine, after sitting for five years, fired right up but that was short lived because the oil coolers failed and filled the engine and transmission with water, followed by the fuel system which sprayed a mist of vapor in the engine bay. The rats nest of wire was just scary.
I ended up going through the entire boat before putting all the pieces back together and finally getting the Belmont back on the water in 2024. We missed the Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene boat shows but we did make it to the Dry Rot Show on Priest Lake and were able to put 15 hours on the lake with no issues. We made a few more trips to various lakes before we put it away for the winter. There are just a few remaining issues to work on before next season.
The best part about having a rare boat like a Belmont is having the only one at the boat show and talking to the crowd that shows up to hear the big 390 Caddy fire up!
Very rare and beautiful boat. Congrats for getting her back on the water!
My family was looking for a great ski boat that was also a casual racer in 1968. Finalists were Belmont, Keaton, Dan Arena XL21, and Besotes. We settled on Besotes and collaborated with George and Charlie Besotes to build one to our specifications. It celebrated its 55th year at Lake Tahoe with me this summer. Fondly remembering the old days when those with Belmonts, Arenas, and Besotes would gather for some friendly early morning skiing and racing!
Your family chose well.
I have a 1961 completely restored Belmont. It was originally brought to Lake Tahoe by my father for his commercial boating business. Apache X is her name and she is kept at Sierra Boat Company.
Lucky my father was a good friend of Smitty Weeks…..got a used 16 foot Belmont with a 289 Ford flathead while in high school. Great fun…..then I discovered Sangers & Kindsvatters……blown 394? Olds……99 mph dragboat on the Kings River! (dried up and blown away now…….)
Beautiful boat,. You are in a beautiful part of the country to enjoy boating as well. We love Sandpoint and the people there.
Al Olsen, Hartwell Georgia
Love those big Cadillac engines. Big torque and great sound !