Carlton World

[CarltonHendricks]

Scott…oh my gosh what a hoot…you really got a laugh out of me…I need a get-up like that…

Ron…Thanks for asking that…I always ask the same question with these steering wheels…I’ve yet to find a wheel with markings you could research…so there isn’t any science to it…no one has published on it…I’m still learning the ropes but basically you have to ask questions as to where it came from…and gather as much intel you can before buying…As for this one…There’s no makers marks to prove its from a Gar Wood boat but the engraving is very unusual…and over-all it has an unusual look….intuition said I could regret not getting it even though it was pricey….seller told me later that the collection he got it from was in Springfield Ontairo Canada…which is right there in the Great Lakes region, sort of the motherland of early powerboating…Gar Wood…Hacker…Chris-Craft…Dodge… were all there in that region…Not to mention the renown Canadian boat builders of the Muskokas region of Ontario… Port Carling, Ditchburn, Minett-Shields, Greavette, and Duke…As for the difference between an automobile and boat steering wheel…I asked one classic boat authority this question about my wheel: Is there any way to tell for sure it’s from a boat?....He wrote back: “Many boats used automotive wheels, so it probably was from a car manufacturer. Whether or not it was ever in a car, who knows”…I could see that in some instances…but for those high end powerboats that went to the mega-rich of the day…I might speculate special wheels were made…After this post you’ll be noticing every antique steering wheel you see LOL…