At this point he was employing over 100 workers in the two plants.
#PLAYBOY RUNABOUT BOAT FULL#
In a full page advertisement that appeared in the Centennial Section of the Little Falls Transcript dated June 12, 1948, Paul Larson talked about the difference between the two companies and the competition between them and simply stated that he was in the business to build the finest, not to promote one at the expense of the other. The similarity in the design of these two different lines was intentional and effective, but they were two completely separate corporate entities. Immediately following World War II, Paul Larson and Bob Wold, a neighbor in Little Falls, collaborated in another boating enterprise, Larson Watercraft, that would produce aluminum fishing boats. This inboard boat was highly acclaimed at the 1941 Chicago Boat Show, with orders outpacing all ability to produce enough boats, but the onset of World War II would interfere with its success and fate would later deal another devastating blow to the inboard Falls Flyer. In 1940 Paul Larson applied for a design patent on an inboard version of this boat that was granted on April 15, 1941. This boat, initially offered in either 12’ or 14’ length, could be powered by the largest outboards of the day. In 1939 Larson Boat Works introduced the world to the Falls Flyer. There were setbacks along the way, but nothing that Paul Larson and the community of Little Falls wouldn’t deal with and walk away from, stronger from the experience. He was able to compete by building strong, honest boats that provided value. In this part of the country, every area that was lake-rich was sure to have a local boat builder close by, but Paul Larson’s boats went beyond his boundaries. The Larson reputation spread all the way to the Canadian border and beyond. What was good for the resorters, was good for Larson Boat Works. Also booming was the resort trade in the lakes area surrounding Brainerd, 30 miles to the north.
He couldn’t have found a better location. Paul would have to pass right by Paul Larson’s boat shop on their way to the lake. Any of these new lake property owners coming from Minneapolis or St. In the early twenties there was a “cottage boom” in the areas just north of Little Falls and the demand for his boats grew. It was money from trapping that allowed him to buy some woodworking machinery that would help him to increase and improve production. He was also trapping furs to support his family. It was 1913 and Paul Larson started to build boats in any spare time that he could find away from his full time job at the Pine Tree Lumber Company. Others around Little Falls saw this boat and wanted one just like it. He couldn’t afford to buy one, so he designed and built a double-ended boat for his own use. When Paul was 19, he wanted a boat that he could use for duck hunting and fishing. This first boat was a flat-bottomed skiff used to explore sloughs that were close enough for him to pull and drag this new boat to. The materials were found around his parent’s farm, with nails salvaged from a neighboring farmhouse that had burned to the ground. Paul Larson built his first boat in 1905 when he was only 11 years old. But in reality it was actually more like a ride on a rodeo bronco.hang on or get the hell out of its way! As some have said, the marine industry was a wild roller coaster of a ride during this time of uncontrolled growth. Enjoy the story, it is as unique as Paul Larson’s boats themselves. This history, put together with interviews, newspaper accounts, and Larson factory literature all combined to paint the picture as it was.
I’ve tried to condense this to get to the part that is most interesting to me: the fifties and sixties. I would like to preface this by saying that the first part of this history is pieced together from a pamphlet put together by Larson Boats in 1987 to commemorate their 75th year of building boats.
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