Sea Camper  1968 - 1974

In 1968, a friend approached Otis and Don Borum, asking them if they would build a boat for him. The boat would be 24' long, and have the practicality of a house boat, and the agility of a deep V hull boat. (the house boats of the time were simple barges with camper trailers on them) The Borums agreed to take on the task. On a Sunday evening in 1968, Don drove to the local VW dealership, picked up a brochure for the 1968 VW Westfalia camper, and used it as the inspiration for the cabin of the Sea Camper. 543 Sea Campers were built, all but 100 were shipped to Lankersham Motors in Hollywood,California and sold for around $50,000. The manufacturing rights to the Sea Camper were sold in 1974. The new owners produced the boat for several years, but were never quite able to match the Borum quality and workmanship.

A promo shot taken in December 1969, on the St. John's River, jacksonville, FL

Don Borum personallyl tested every Sea Camper before it shipped. "It was such a complicated design, we just had to.."  Every Sea Camper that shipped to california, was fully loaded, including a flying bridge. This one is soon to be shipped to CA.

Above: Sea Camper's being built   circa 1970 Right: A magazine add, circa 1974.  note this one doesn't have the flying bridge

One of what I think is one of the coolest pictures of the collection, This is a promo shot of the Sea Camper, depicting the many uses of this versital design. Everyone in the picture was an employee of SeaCamper, or associated with the company in one way or an other. Don Borum is pictured as "The Captian", (center and kneeling) The picture dates around 1973