Was The Best Barn Find I Have Been On Yet! By Mark DiVincenzo

Barn7Ahhhhhhhh! We all live for moments like this. Fellow Woody Boater Mark DiVincenzo had a great day for sure. It gives us all hope that these sort of barns are still out there!  And a huge thanks to  Mark for sharing with all of us! Thanks Mark.

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Amazing

Thought you’d like to see these photos of a barn find from this past summer 2014 in Western NY, very close to Chautauqua Lake. Friend of a friend called me and let me know there was an old barn deep in the woods that was in danger of falling down and so the township was going to tear down the barn. The barn was hidden from the road but vandals had found their way in.

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My friend called me because he was told there were about 20 old boats in the barn. I spoke to the demo man and he told me he know nothing of old boats and if no one wanted them they would be included with the barn demo.

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So I called my friend Bob Miklos, of Miklos Brothers, to come with me and see what was in the barn. Well, there were about twenty boats in there like they said, among them an 18ft Chris Craft Continental, a Trojan Speed boat, some small cruisers, various old fiberglass boats among others.

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The barn used to be a winter storage and repair facility. There was a stack of original Chris Craft factory shipping cradles and some original varnish cans and bottom paint cans.

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It was like a time capsule in there. I passed on the boats… but Bob Miklos and his brothers pulled quite a few out before the barn was destroyed.

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Was the best barn find I have been on yet.…..Mark

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WOW, thanks Mark!

 

/61 Comments/by
61 replies
  1. Steve Moreau
    Steve Moreau says:

    Simply Amazing!
    Mark with that luck your on the way to find Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Hoffa and the Loch Ness Monster. Pack a video camera with you where ever you go!

  2. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    Nice find!

    Would of had a hard time passing on some of those boat myself. It’s nice to know they were not destroyed with the barn.

  4. Ronald
    Ronald says:

    What a great find, Would like to know what kind of boat is behind the small red/white runabout in one of the pictures? appears to be a wood lapstrake of some kind, tell me thay did not scrap it.

    • Frank Miklos
      Frank Miklos says:

      That is if I remember correctly a 1956 Lyman… No it was not destroyed and is in very solid shape, Here it is loaded on the flatbed trailer… (on a factory cradle).

      • Steve Izant
        Steve Izant says:

        I was so excited to see this. The Lyman was owned by my Uncle, and my cousin put the name on the transom! we had so much fun on that boat and it is loaded with stories! I just happened on your site this afternoon on a search to see if anyone had found it and maybe restored it. I saw the barn photo and knew exactly where it was because I was there 30 years ago. Glad to know it made it out! It used to have a Iva-Lite search lite on the bow. It had a 100hp GrayMarine and I thought it was more like a ’57 or ’58.

    • Frank Miklos
      Frank Miklos says:

      We also got that small red and white fiberglass boat… It is a DuoCraft.. These type of boats were common back in the day but you see very few of boats like this today…

  5. Wilson Wright
    Wilson Wright says:

    Tell me they didn’t scrap the Chris Craft shipping cradles…and the varnish cans ??…Wonder if the labels told us anything interesting. ..And with vintage fiberglass coming in vogue…Looks like there was something for everybody there. Bet Dr. Rot would have salvaged it all.

    • Frank Miklos
      Frank Miklos says:

      We got as many as possible but not all of the cradles… we did get the good ones.. Some of the other items in the barn went elsewhere I think that included the cans unless in a boat…

    • Frank Miklos
      Frank Miklos says:

      Others looked at the whole lot. I guess our bid to remove what we did was the highest… Some wanted one or two boats but would not take as many as we did.. About the cradles some were rotted very badly but I did take some photos of the stencils. There was one falling apart that was from a 19′ Racing Runabout but there was not enough there to take for any reason …

    • Steve
      Steve says:

      I have the only shipping cradle that wasn’t rotted from here at my home. I also have a side tw0 by six side board from the cradle marked p9. If you’re interested, please make me an offer. Whatever was left is buried.

  6. Ed F.
    Ed F. says:

    Open some of that old varnish and spend a couple evenings brushing it on that Continental, and it will look like this. Might have to polish up the chrome and change the oil too. I hope they saved them all but that one in particular is great family boat.

      • Ed F.
        Ed F. says:

        Frank, I have some extra hardware if you need some. I know I have the big vent for the deck and the two little ones for the sides. Iam quite sure I have step pad frames, windshield hardware (and old plexi for patterns) and a gas cap. I know there is more in the warehouse. Let me know what you need and I’ll go look on a warmer day.

      • Ed F.
        Ed F. says:

        Bill, Thanks, I’ll post one more here I don’t want to hi jack the thread. We will be in Tavares with it, look us up if you are there. Otherwise email me and I can send you more pics.

        • Troy in ANE
          Troy in ANE says:

          I got to see a Beautiful example of one of these while I was in Austin.
          Owned by Jan and Ed Ueckert. Unfortunately their boat was in storage or I would have had another story for Y’all. (Actually I may have another story anyway if Matt authorizes it.)

  7. Frank Miklos
    Frank Miklos says:

    This was very cool . negotiating the deal… and it was so much work in so little time to pull as many boats out of here that we did… Some classic glass. And a number of unique wood boats… We even pulled took 2 boats on 1 trailer a few times….

    • Frank Miklos
      Frank Miklos says:

      These are two MFGs which were built about 35 miles from the barn… MFG did most of their promotional photos on Chautauqua lake. I believe the larger boat is an Edinboro, and the smaller one is a Corry… MFG named it’s boats after local towns in the area… Edinboro is about 20 miles west of Union City PA where they were built. Corry is about 10 miles east of Union City… POI my wife is originally from Corry…

    • Frank Miklos
      Frank Miklos says:

      Information from the Cornet Boat Club The make is Cornet not the model.. We have found one other in the US The club has none listed but here is a factory photo of the boat… It was available in both stern drive and outboard with the hood… this one was the outboard. plywood construction… Note the hood is missing…

      Designer: Richard C. Cole
      Length: 5,5 m m
      Width: 2,3 m m
      Depl: kg
      Year of build: 1958

      Coronets third model was presented in 1958. It is called alternating 18 and 18 Hardtop Utility Utility Cruiser ads from the Botved Boats in Florida where Ole Botved appeared in the 1950s. The model has the same hull as the 18 Hardtop ago but with the shorter hardtop from 16 Hardtop Convertible and another interior. It is unclear whether the model was also produced the following year. It is possible that from the year 1959 was replaced by or renamed a variation of 18 Then with similar decor.

    • Mr. Lars T. Lindroth
      Mr. Lars T. Lindroth says:

      It’s a Coronet 18 Hardtop Sedan by Botved Boats A/S in Denmark. Nice find. One raced in the 1956 Miami-Nassau race and another one crossed the Atlantic with Ole Botved and Jim Wynne onboard.
      javascript:openWindow(‘/img/?bID=1982&soktraffnummer=1′,”,’resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,top=20,left=20’);

    • Jeffrey Waco
      Jeffrey Waco says:

      The boat pictured here is a Botvod Coronet. They were built in Sweden and were quite unique with their windshield design and the berth arrangement. A nice find.

  12. Brian
    Brian says:

    Dennis at the Antique Boat Center pulled this Canadian built boat out of a barn that was collapsing all around it. Save the boats!!!!

  13. Dick Dow
    Dick Dow says:

    I hope the Evinrude 16′ tri-hull was saved… Those are cool boats, famous designer touches and pretty well built. What a find! I’m glad that so many were saved!

    • Frank Miklos
      Frank Miklos says:

      The Pictured above was saved the second one was not it had much damage.. It was a newer one than the above one… The shame of it the windshield was smashed after the Mark’s visit…. Anyone interested it that boat it is available.. All of the boats we have saved have now moved about 130 miles to the south… Some are available some not for sale until they are restored…

  16. m-fine
    m-fine says:

    While I generally have no issues with woodyboater spelling, I sometimes find the geography confusing. The header says barn find in PA but the rest of the story sure makes it sound like it was in NY, much closer to Chautauqua Lake.

  17. Steve L
    Steve L says:

    It makes me wonder, how so many boats came to be stored there and then forgotten about for all of these years. Surly every boat there has a story to tell.

  18. Frank Miklos
    Frank Miklos says:

    The boats seen in the Woody Boater Header were not saved… The cornet was behind one and the floor was not safe but we got it out without damaging it …
    The boat in this photo was also not saved…

  21. Jordan Heath
    Jordan Heath says:

    A shame about the barn…who is saving the old barns? When all the old barns are gone there will be no more barn finds. Somehow ‘garage find’ doesn’t have the same ring to it although I have found some nice boats in garages.

    • Frank Miklos
      Frank Miklos says:

      The barn was very cool but the foundation had pushed in on the land bridge side… the only way to save it would have been to completely lift the barn build a new foundation and then set it down… This barn was not a timber frame barn .. It had steel framework which also was twisted from the foundation movement. I live in a converted barn and love them. So if you come to my home you will find barn finds but no whole boats inside but lots of cool stuff…

  22. Frank Miklos
    Frank Miklos says:

    Here are photos of the 13 boats that we saved.. Some others were sold before we made our deal.. It was a bit of a struggle to get all the boats in the allotted time… They have been moved the 130+ miles

  25. Rich Marschner
    Rich Marschner says:

    Nice goin’ you guys…there’s a place in heaven for you, right next to the folks who save abandoned cats and dogs from certain death…I know, these boats aren’t alive, but you’ve shown the same commitment.

  26. Ronald
    Ronald says:

    I have thoroughly enjoyed your story and pictures, We also have an old tobacco barn on our ponderosa, about 40×50, I have found out firsthand how expensive old wood barns are to maintain, It is sad to drive around our area to see them falling in but after owning on I now fully understand as rough sawn oak or popular gets expensive as well as labor and then finding someone that still works on them is now a problem in our area.

    Thanks again for the story.

  27. John Baas
    John Baas says:

    Cool…the Evinrude made the cut! Those boats are 60’s cool…and with a motorized tilt-out windshield.

    That whole story and photos is unbelievable. Thanks to everyone involved in the rescue and sharing of the story.

  28. WAYNE
    WAYNE says:

    The whit fiberglass with red stripe is a 20 ft cc corsair
    built by thompson for cc from 64-68 they came with
    eaton or omc outdrives some had 327 v8 inboards as
    i owned one

  29. Bob Miklos
    Bob Miklos says:

    The white fiberglass with red stripe is only the 18 ft. Corsair Sea-V, with the 140 Eaton v8. But I could not find the hull no. to pinpoint the year.

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