Whoops Is Dora Ready-ish

,
And so the yearly tradition, ritual is still going, but it appears we are ready for the lake time this upcoming week at Lake Dora. Small details are being picked at, and so on. I may even clean the Woodyboatermobile for the trip. …

Milking Wood Does Your Boat Good

,
Well, well, ya can always learn something new. I need to go back a bit. Three days ago, I did a story on Southwind and the rail. I talked about using milk as a powerwashing fluid, and to be honest, it was just a joke about milking the story…

The Old Boats Home Is Under Way And Actually Assisting Folks

,
I know some of you are confused, and sorry, but I do promise it will all make sense. I have to wait longer than I thought to release the info, and so it kinda has become a mess so to speak. So, I am going to just do a shameless plug for…

Snake Mountain, Danenberg’s and Mike Mayer’s Position On CPES,

As you may know by now, okay at least 100 ish of you already know,  we launched a new forum the other day to provide a resource for folks to get real answers from experts on specific topics. Unlike Facebook, where you may be getting advice…

Be Part Of The Teaser, It’s An Easter Egg Hunt

,
Thanks to many of you for trying out the easter egg thing yesterday. For those of you that are there, here, out there. Let's tease the others without giving it away.  So many have asked.. Whats An Easter Egg? Other than an egg that painted…

“Has Anyone Seen My Hull Number”

,
Fellow Woody Boater Brock Horsley has a wonderful model 99 and is trying to find his hull number stamped into the wood on, well the hull. And this has taken a while and worth the effort since.. Wait for it...Here is Brocks note to us. "I…

Changing An Manifold Gasket In One Easy Step!

In order to provide a special service here to many of you over the winter, we are going to a series, randomly on HOW TO Do Things you should be able to do. No micro detail stuff. Just basic stuff. Head gaskets, Carb Rebuilding, etc. Today…

Is Stinky The Most Original Running 16 Racer On The Planet?

Okay, this may be a stretch, but as I was stripping her of her fiberglassed bonds, I was thinking? What the hell, this is all original wood, and metal, and so on. So when it came time to do her chrome, it hit me? This may be one of the most…

Squeezing Out The Pass Gas Special

With all this amazing weather, we had a chance to pull Stinky's engine, to clean up the bilge and fix some manifold issues. And as it turns out, it wasn't the manifold but the gasket which was gone on the edges. The manifold looks brand…

Taking Apart A Clum Switch. A What Switch? CLUM, As in Clumsy.

,
In some early boats, airplanes and a ton of cars, this switch was the thing. There are a bunch of versions of it, but this one is for boats, actually Stinky's original switch. As indicated on the Hull Card a #98 Key that is used that of…

Adding The Pizazz On Stinky

,
Here we go, the fun part. Putting it all back together and sorting out the small stuff. Like buffing stainless parts, and stripping the dash, wheel color etc.  

Here Comes The Blue On Stinky

,
Over the past couple days I have been adding some more color and so on to Stinky, the big problem is of course where to stop. Its getting a tad over done and could dangerously appear that I care. Which of course could ruin the entire Stinky…

Seaing Red At The Global HQ

,
Wayne bomb and I started to put the first coat of Red on and we had to shut the doors cause it was literally blinding us. The intensity of this red is insane. And it feels like varnish going on. And man oh man does it ever lay flat. WOW.…

The Art Of Wet Sanding, Not Our Art, But The Art, Not That Art Isn’t “The” Art.

,
You may think this is going to be some insight on wet sanding. Nope, It's photographing wet sanding. I love this stage of the process. Stuff comes to light. Small little flaws, and you begin to see the hard work done in the prep stage. I…

Starting The Finish Coat – It’s A Wood Boat Thing

,
Yesterday between Zoom calls and trying to make a living, I was able to get the first coat of White on Stinky and some more build coats of Varnish. HEY, think of these stories on Stinky being refinished like you are doing it in real time.…

Thumbscrews? What?

,
You are thinking where in the hell is Matt going with todays story? One, you're thinking? Okay okay.. Yesterday I asked about that hole in Stinky's hatch. And for the life of me I can not figure it out. Makes no sense for a handle, but there…

Another Day, Another Story About Doing Things Another Time Til It’s Right

,
Last weekend things got busy at the Global HQ. Knot That Jeff Gordon brought his new Lyman for some hull work, and Stinky got some more TLC. Okay, some RE TLC, thats RE for REPEAT. I think I have dome everything two or three times. I suppose…

No News Out There? So You Get A Stinky B Story!

,
Seems like things are kinda slow out there in Woodyboaterville, so again, you get more Stinky stuff. And today with a celebrity appearance to rack up the rating points. Mr B. Hey, he's available and not on strike. So it is what it is, and…

Open Up A Can Of Whoop Ass With Art’s Seam Cleaning Tool.

,
Today we have a gift from the god's of Chris Crafts past thanks to Art, yes our art, not the other art with is just there to look at. Where as our Art actually does something, and well. Okay, nice to look at. Anyway Art shared with me his…

Dang! Stinky Is Getting Kinda Snazzy

I knew in my mind that the varnished wood transom would add a little sumth'n sumth'n but to think it is a far cry from feeling it. That simple tweek added some real punch and accented the lines so much better. I sweat these little 16's are…

Stinky Under Glass

,
Since the day we found Stinky in a dairy barn in Georgia, the never ending tension of leave it alone, or restore it has been gnawing at me like every rodent that did so to her in her 50 year hibernation.  She is no doubt a wonderful poster…

Another Crappy Story From Woody Boater.

,
We got this fun report in from long time fellow WoodyBoater Tom Gruenauer regarding a new project barn find. I had to wait because of all the amazing perfection coming out of Michigan this past week. Somehow I love the contrast of Toms new…

The Art Of The Race By “Knot That Jeff Gordon”, Starring Tommy Beatley

, , , ,
We have weeded through over 400 photos and about 35Gigs of footage, and today we are going to show some of the crazy artsy and behind the scenes images from the big Beatley Edwards Reshootout. The race footage is going to take a little time…

Live-ish From In Lake Huron, Yes, I Said In.

And just when you think that the entire Classic Boat universe is on Gull Lake, but what about IN the Lake? A huge thank you to fellow Woody Boater Drew Regan for this report from Hessel. Take it away Drew. My daughter and I were enjoying…

KAKI Rules The Waterways In Reedville

,
Yesterday afternoon we had a chance to get KAKI the poster boat for the Reedville Show on September 9th running and take rides. As you may recall from the countless posts,  KAKI is a 1954 Montgomery Wards Sea King, and we got the matching outboard…

Meet Nannet, The Reason The Woody Boater HQ Is Here.

, , ,
Every now and then the universe reminds you of why you have made the decisions you have made. Good and yes, bad. The bad part is called Anxiety in my universe. And trust me, I have my fare share of it. With all my craziness, things go wrong.…

While Waiting On More Boat Show Stuff. A Zipdate!

, ,
So while folks have been having fun all over the planet, here in Reedville between Zoom calls Wayne Bomb and I were able to do some more touches on Zip, repair the docks around the Railway for the show, and sweat.. Sweat, sweat, and more…

Trouble In Paradise, Soft Toast, And Zip…Trailer

, ,
Well, okay, if you were trying to get on Woody Boater this AM, there was some sort of crash, not on our end, but in Server land. And thank you for all the notes. Anyway, on top of that. Getting boats to go out and play at Clayton was an…

No Clayton Report, So You Guessed It. ZIP!

,
Yesterday was spent learning, and failing how to make a windshield for Zip. We also cleaned out her insides, a bit, and well. Went through some plexi. I do have a 1/4 piece I found at the hardware store. Was used as Covid shield stuff and…

Well.. F***ING, F&^# F &^#% @*@()@ ))@(#&#^%$%$ ^&#&# @&# F FFFFFFFF!

,
Well. today on the surface you may think its a repeat of yesterdays story, ohhhh but it isnt. It's kinda of a conceptual thing, in a small way you can feel the feeling I had yesterday around 10AM.  So? What happened? Well, I decided to…

The Zip Zipper Process As Requested, And Tick Tick Tick!

,
  Yesterday was the calm before the work storm, so I had to hammer away at Zipper, or loose momentum. And we all can relate to that. Anyway, I got TimeBomb's Cover done, and the deck primed and painted. BUT, thankfully I had to strip…

Sweating The Details

,
If you were following the comments yesterday, we were working out a zipper design for zip. I was of course sweating like a French Whore In Church..  The Boatress's favorite say'n.. Anyway. I was, and cleaning up the Mercury Outboard with…

Fresh Paint On Zip. Embrace The Life She So Well Lived.

, ,
Its one thing to strip all her paint off, and another to lay on some nice flat primer. But oooffffff. Nothing brings out a life well spent than a fresh coat of paint. And Semi gloss to boot. Boat! There is a certain desire to repair it all,…

Nautolex White Vinyl Boat Flooring On Ebay!

,
We interrupt our normally scheduled abuse of the english language, and sophomoric humor to make you aware of some White Vinyl Flooring for sale on ebay.  Ya, you may not have a boat that is in need of this stuff. So after this LINK HERE ON…

Proof That The Sequel Is Always Worse Than The Original

,
Yesterdays story still has me cracking up, and shockingly I am not reporting from the Burn Unit. We were able for a brief attempt to get her started again. We did figure out how to open the points again, but couldn't find a feeler gauge,…

Vintage Outboard Camp On Beautiful Lake Gonnablowyouup

, ,
Yesterday started out as a bit of a bummer. Lots of work calls. But later in the day, Peale called and wanted to try and get the Sea King started. Well.. That created a small party at HQ, and man oh man, I haven't laughed that hard in a…

Pitching A Tent While Varnishing

,
Yesterday, we applied the 4th coat of that golden goo, and man oh man, she is starting to really pop. Each coat is some sort of religious experience. There is the sanding, and then the flowing on of gold, and then an equal time of just looking…

Varnish Dancing, Oh, It’s The Way To Go.

,
Thanks for all the outboards yesterday, the more we look at the Sea King 14 footer, the more we are thinking that a large 25HP may be to much weight for the boat.  Along the way while varnishing the Sea King, a certain rhythm has emerged.…

Looking For A Sea King Outboard For The Sea King Boat. Here King, Here King!

,
Every time I hear Sea King, it reminds me of the Henny Youngman joke.. My wife’s cooking is fit for a king. "Here, King!" As you may recall about a month ago, my friend Peale Rogers got a very cool barn find out of his Aunts garage. We…

What To Do With A Time Capsule? Oh, It’s Not That Simple

,
Fellow Woody Boater Dan Overbeek sent us all this note, and, well, instead of emailing everyone, calling them and sending letters with some old pics, I decided, hey, why not milk a post out of this. And so today, you get to express your…

Hole Filled, Now The One In My Head Needs Fixing.

Thanks for all the comments and advice. Yes, its a mess up there, yes there is an issue of moisture on the ceiling, and yes I should remove the the roof and replace. Sweet Pea sits outside and for years was just parked and a lot of that moisture…

WARNING, FOUL MISSPELLED WORDS USED – You Gotta Be F#$%^ing Kidding Me. Really?

,
Yesterday the weather here was perfect. But where was I? In front of my computer, and lots of distractions. Okay, work. But I had a small window to run over to HQ and sand and paint. And yes, from what you see in the lead image, this .."THAT"…

We Have Color At HQ

, ,
I am at the stage now of paint and varnish. No more gooo, and sanding. goo and sanding. Yes this still needs a second coat and some smoothing out, but I feel hope.

I Can See The End..ish… Oh, Who Am I Kidding.

Gotta say, Sweet Pea has done a number on me this year. WECATCHEM and Stinky and well, all the fleet is still just parked, while Sweet Pea gets her new cabin roof. AND to top it all off... Thats a pun to amuse myself. Anyway, to top it all…

Fiberglassing For The First & Last Time I Ever Do This Myself.

,
When this job started I asked a bunch of folks if they knew how to do fiberglassing, the answer was, ya, I did it once but kinda forgot. Then they would run away like I had Covid. What could be so bad? Well, here is the truth.…

While We Battle The Cache Issue. I Give You “The Ghosts of Epoxy”

It's official, doing fiberglass work is a pain the any part of your body that is effected by crap that never ends. Now to be clear, I am sure I am doing it wrong. At least with just wood, there is a bit of naturalness in there. This fiberglass…

Stripping At Sunset – An Odd Moment Of Peace

,
Funny thing, when I mention stripping paint, and worse fiberglass, people run away. It can be a job, and kinda never ending, dirty, and a mess. BUT, and maybe this is my glass half fullness outlook on life. Last evening, I found myself out…

Zip’s Babe – The Rich-Line Graphic, But Why? Well Maybe?

,
Yesterday it was raining like a son of a B, so I could not work on Sweet Pea, and spent some more time on stripping ZIP. As I was scraping away, and seeing white where white is supposed to be and red,, and then Red in a place that was kinda…