Jenks Craft ??

[just_cruisin]

Hi All,
Have recently completed a custom build of a 26" centre console. Have heard the hull design is related to an early Jenks Craft / Mustang. I am after any info regarding the design, as am interested in its history. Any pics, adverts, articles would be great.
Have attached a couple of pics of our baby for reference.

Thanks, JC

P.S was de-railing another thread so i thought i would start my own.

[Brumby]

Potent looking machine there JC, what size is that Mercury and what sort of numbers are you seeing? Thanks for posting the pics - always good to see a classic hull being put to good use.

Cheers
Carl

[snelly1971]

Few Jenks Pics

[Blackened]

G'day

I just loooove the look of your rig, very sleek... seems to be doing 100mph sitting still.

Dave

[Wahoo]

fine looking rig JC 8-) , that 250 on the back must that thing hoot :o


Daz

[Wahoo]

JC just had another look at them pics, are you in Cairns?

[just_cruisin]

Thanks fella's
Snelly thats great, the lines haven't changed much. From what i have seen, the addition of a plaining plank to the keel (7" long x 30cm wide) has been the only addition to the running surface. Obviously a totally deck etc...
Brumby, its a Verado 250hp, 50 knots has been a fairly good number for us. Still prop testing and playing with engine heights. 35 knots is a good cruising speed.

Anyone else with anyhting, please reply.

Thanks

[snelly1971]

Alot of Abalone divers used them years ago..especially on king and flinders Islands....The one i posted the pictures of had a top speed of 90 km...It was fitted with twin 130 yamiie 2 strokes..

[just_cruisin]

Crackerjack, yer mate one is in at the sugar terminal & one out at yorkeys before a light tackle tourny (first run with the hardtop, riggers etc..)
Snelly, thanks again, around 50 knots with twin 130's. Not bad. Ours has been constructed using klegicel foam (no ply) so shee is nice and light, although have a 250L forward ballast tank for great chop punching ability.

[brush]

GOODAY, JC. There were a heap of Jenkscraft on Port Phillip Bay in the 80's
Wonderful Deep Vee for offshore.mainly with big Mercruiser Sterndrives in them. You have created a Magic Center Console Unit , Well Done.
Cheers Brush.

[just_cruisin]

Brush, thanks for the comments, yer the only jenks craft i had seen was a sterndrive. Funny that because our original plan (had actually purchased the gear) was to run a 454 mercruiser thru a bravo 3 leg. Would have lost too much fishing room, so sold the stuff and bought a verado, couldn't be happier.
Well actually...... another 250hp wouldn't go astray on those calm days.

[Brumby]

Transfer image from V19 thread....

Saw this for sale a couple of months ago.

[brush]

Hey JC, Racking my old brain!!!! You may like to follow up on this. Norm Jenkins had Graham [Noddy] Williams of Huntman / Nova /orginal Mustang, build the Jenks 25 for him. Both were ex Victorians. Norm still lives in Paradise Waters on the Gold Coast, Noddy I think still has a shed at Gold Coast Marine Centre. in Bruce Harris' old yard . Hope this is a help if you want some history. Norm was very proud of his 25.
Cheers Brush.

[snatchy]

i saw you carving your way back into yorky's a few months ago. very nice boat.

I think Legend Marine in Cairns have just bought the mould for this hull, or at least something that looks very similar. if you don't know the guys at legend already, i suggest you could go down to speak to rob, colin and nick about those hulls.
(Legend are 2 doors down (towards the big roundabout) from Sharplift in portsmith. Cook st i think?)

[3rd degree]

Thats a wicked looking boat JC!

It sure would make for a short run out to the reef!

Cheers

Jim

[just_cruisin]

Snatchy, yer mate my bro just sold his share in the molds. Alot of hard work went into them too. That is the same shed we built our's out of in 05/06.
Small world hey!

3rd degree, sure makes for a fun run too! mind you the waverider bouy off double has been up to 2.5-3 metres in the last couple of days and it looks like it will be that way for the next week or so. bugger!!

Brush, cheers mate!

[bill91817]

Hi Guys
Could be be mistaken but unless there are two boat builds called "Jenks" - Jenks was a WA built boat - there used to be two here (i thought) at our yacht club in Fremantle- until one day they were both on the hardstand and I realised one was a ThomasCraft (WA built boat) -they are exactly the same below the chine - I later found out the 25 Jenks was in fact the hull from the 24 ThomasCraft - the pic in the thread above (from v19) is actually a THomasCraft hull and topsides- the one further up with twin Yamaha's is a Jenks. They are fantastic boats (both Jenks and THomasCraft) and a Jenks 25 used too (may still) hold the speed record for the Fremantle to Rottnest crossing (which is a pretty rough crossing!!). I dont think many Jenks were produced somewhere around 20 I have been told.
JC great job -boat looks great - i have seen about 5 jenks before but never a centre console!

[just_cruisin]

bill,
Thanks mate, very interesting. Got to love this site. Would never had thought so many fella's have had a go at making this hull design there own.
The Freemantle to Rottnest crossing story rings a bell. Have heard the hull was used as an offshore racer with twin mercs, and was a dominent force, your story confirms this.
As a matter of fact, the first boat my brother built out of the mold with the sports deck (believe it on not, different to all others shown here) has gone on to win the Cairns to Cooktown race a couple of times (rough conditions on the day), so she still has it.
Ours is the only centre console layout I am aware of, we made our deck and console molds, but with the amount of info arising who knows?

[Richard Reid]

hi guys. most jenkscraft were sterndrives. We had a special build outboard model built by Norm jenks which was in 1978 with was powered by a 200hp Johnson, which we used as a show boat for the Melb boat show...It was a all white runabout model