Meet Baby Chick IV – 25 Sportsman Photo Album Barn Find
BABY CHICK IV in a boathouse. Note the rare top! And yes, The frame to the tp is with her, no Zippers!
As promised, we asked the owners if they had any old snap shots. OH YA! Gotta love some rich family history. Including the time Baby Chick IV got rear ended. OUCH. And yes, baby Chick is still on the transom. More on that after “The Extraction” Here we go with some cool family photos.
This could be near us for sure. The water way looks very familiar.
Dock Fishing 25 Cents
Timeless lines. These earlier Post war Sportsman are wider than the newer ones. MmmmA dryer ride.
She was delivered in Newport News and the name is because the family owned Chicken Farms.
Not sure of this location. Looks Like DC? But could be alot of places. Rappahannock River etc.
And then there is this. How cool that they captured the adventure. I am not sure who or which car hit what. These two vehicles were in the book with the wreck shot.
The scene at The Rustic Inn
Looks like an old Dodge.
Thats not good. Convertible.. Ford?
EEEEEYOUCH. The good news is it was all repaired. As we dig through her it will be cool to see how that was all repaired.
Stay Tuned. So much more milking to happen. The Extraction? Cleaning? Wondering? Parts? What To Do.. Oh think Mini Series!
Wonderful photos. I have never been able to get any history at all on my boats much less great stuff like this.
I can’t believe that I’m one of the earlier commenters. Still suffering from jet lag. My body thinks its noon. There is nothing like old family boating pictures. Very Cool ! Unfortunately from looking at the the accident pictures, people got hurt bad. Particularly the 46-48 Ford. If you look at the pickup ( looks like a 47 Ford to me). The driver side windshield is broken Remember this was the days before seat belts, sholder harnesses and other modern safety equipment.. Its is great that the boat got repaired, and used for another 20 years. Every picture tells a story. Take more pictures of her Matt.
Wow, Im jealous of your discovery!. Ive been accused of being more of a boat curator, than user so I really enjoy the discovery, acquisition, and researching the history of a find!.. Ill always ask about history and photos, and have found the sellers appreciate that their history will stay with the boat. They usually spend extra time reliving the great times they had…. tho it did backfire once and one seller backed out of a killer deal for me, saying it brought back too many good memories to part with the boat. My interest and enthusiasm DID inspire them to restore the boat tho… +++
the boat would be a great addition to the Railway as a “work in process twin to WECATCHEM.. and having a reference boat . Looking forward to the milking..
Truck is a Ford, the convertible is a post war Plymouth.
Great pictures.
Great find Matt, keep the stories coming. Steve and I have something in common, just bought this 25’ after a 55 year field slumber.
Very nice find Charlie ! I would love to see more pictures ! Here is the completed 1937 with green boot stripe. I also have a 1937 22 footer .
steve
It , “The barn find” was meant to be. Matt you are blessed ! I have been there a few times . The resurrection of an old boat is fun , but takes a little time and a lot of money . The last one I restored was a field find. 25 foot Custom
3rd picture down looks like the windshield is missing.
Folding windshield
Not unless it was special ordered with one. The other pictures show the stock fixed windshield.
That’s sooo Cool to have old pictures of the being used. Just shows how proud the owners were of the boat since it took more effort to take pictures back then rather whipping out our smartphones with instant results these days.I’m sure there’s a lot of great stories yet to come.
BABY CHICK IV, any idea what the previous boats were? It may be worth your time to search the property for more boats. Look under the chicken feathers.
I just aquired the very 1st boat I ever had a chance to drive. It was in a chicken coop for the last 20 years. 1st day outside in a long time.
Picture….
Picture back in the day with my parents and brother
great pics, really love those vintage shots!
John in Va
I think this is the boat gods saying a little thank you for your years of dedication in promoting and helping maintain our hobby. I look forward to the many stories that I am sure will come from this barn find. How many people find a complete 25’ sportsman in there virtual back yard. It was meant to be.
Matt, any idea who hit what in the accident? It looks like the car and truck might have had a head on hit but how did the boat get nailed in the stern? Are the photos from the same accident?
Oh boy this is going to be fun.
I don’t know who hit what in those pictures but those vehicles didn’t get that damage from directly hitting a wood boat.Transom damage looks minor,rudder and prop untouched?Looks like convertible rear ended the truck,sending truck into boat?even at that scenario, truck looks like a hard hit. Remember thats an old truck, not some softee like we have today.Note advertising on door: Williams Neon.
Matt… it seems you are not saying much!
25’ Sportsman with green leather! My favorite.
Looks like the pickup truck was the one that struck the boat transom as the protrusion of the hood appears to match up with the hole in the transom. Also, there appears to be a horizontal line across the truck’s fenders which lines up with the bottom of the boat. And if you look at the arc of the “Baby Chick IV”, its a flatter arc curve than in the boathouse picture with the canvas convertible top. So I would surmise the Sportsman was repaired by then and the shipwright who did the repair changed the arc of the name at that point. The convertible may have rear ended the truck but I would have thought more damage would have been done to the truck. Looks like the convertible dove under the truck under hard braking which took out the cars sheet metal right around the headlight and above that. The truck doesn’t show much damage. The convertible couldn’t have hit the boat otherwise it would have taken out the rudder and prop shaft based on the damage pictured. Looking forward to the series. Will it be on NetFlix??
I think “MR. TURBO” is closer to solving the cunundrum, if you look at the picture w/the pick up The rear driver’s side tail gate seem higher than passenger side. As in the car hit the truck. But look how high the boat sits on that trailer. I don’t think the truck hit the boat. I think someone backed the boat into something to cause that damage. Like someone else said. Thats some thick steel from back in the day…….Andy C. Nice boat.