The Legacy of Andrew J. Higgins

By Jeff and Renee Davey, Glacier Lakes Chapter

This obsession began when we were restoring our 1947 19-foot Higgins known as Covergirl.  We kept seeing a 23-foot Higgins named Foxy Lady winning numerous awards and knew that we had to have a boat like this!  After a lengthy search, we found a 1949 23-foot Higgins named Basil and purchased her from a minister in Iowa.

After closer inspection, we found cracked frames, a rotten keel, damaged sides and a completely oil soaked bottom needing replacement. The entire windshield was missing, but even so, this boat was intriguing and the 18 month restoration began. Piece by piece the frames were replaced with white oak with two coats of West Epoxy. The rotten keel was removed and replaced as well. Damaged sides were repaired and we then flipped the boat to replace the bottom with ½-inch mahogany plywood also coated with West Epoxy on both sides.  

After flipping her upright, teak and holly flooring replaced the original wood and vinyl. New seat bases and a custom red and white upholstery replaced the original spring seats. Norton Boat Works in Green Lake, WI helped design a custom mahogany windshield more sleek than what would have been original but still carrying some of the Higgins lines.

The frames, keel and engine supports were beefed up to support modern power. We replaced the original straight 8 Chrysler Royal with a 6.2L Merc Cruiser I/B 350 hp and moved the engine 10-inches forward to allow ample room to move around in the rear cockpit seating area. The original shifter and floor pedal remain in the boat just for looks, a Morris control is mounted on the left side for modern operation. All chrome was sent in, making the hardware really sparkle!  We kept the original red white Higgins color theme but changed the side striping to the new style swoop found on many of the later Higgins.

We gave this boat the name Jeffery Dave in recognition of the 1st wood boat Jeff’s parents bought in the early 60s, a Dunphy named after him when he was 10 years old. The Jeffery Dave has attended the 2019 International Show in Port Huron, 2023 International Show in Bay Harbor, where she was judged in the 1st Resto-mod category. Jeffery Dave has been on Lake Huron, Gull Lake, MN, Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay, WI, Walloon Lake, MI, Lake Charlevoix, Upper and Lower Chain of Lakes in Northern, WI, Minocqua Chain and Green Lake, WI along with other smaller lakes and rivers. She has proven to be quite seaworthy and a very comfortable boat for spending a day on the water.

Today no Higgins production records exist, everything was lost in Hurricane Katrina. However, by hull numbers, we think that approximately 18,400 boats were built in Louisiana between the end of WWI and 1963 when Higgins manufacturing ended. We can only speculate because the latest hull number we are aware of is 18,400.

When these boats were built, the estimated life expectancy was only ten years because they were made of mahogany plywood and rotted easily. We believe only approximately 300 boats are still in existence due to what we see at shows and chatter among owners and the Higgins Classic Boat Association memberships.

Currently we are in the process of restoring a 1947 23-foot Higgins Sports Speedster that we will be taking to the 2024 International Show in Gull Lake. After that we will be restoring a 1957 18-foot Magnum.

We keep finding and saving one boat at a time, hoping to keep the Andrew J. Higgins Legacy alive for future generations of boating enthusiasts!