On Golden Hopatcong Last Gasp!

tahyer gasp 8Thanks to fellow Woody Boaters Seth, Tommy and Bob for taking out Thayer IV for a wonderful last gasp on Golden Hopatcong. This Thayer IV for those new to this is the main picture boat used on the film On Golden Pond. And there she is on the lake doing what she does best, Golden Ponding!

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Perfect water and color

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Tommy works it like Norman

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Gotta love those little snaps. Gods in the details

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Wow, what a great shot Bob

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Leaving the Marina

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A study in Mahogany and fall colors

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A perfect last gasp day, if there is such a thing

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Thayer Gasp

The famous compass

Thanks to Bob Kays and his trusty camera and the folks at Katzs Marina for keeping the week alive. This clearly was the last day on the lake, since the water level there is almost a foot low, and the weather aint all that pretty these days.

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Headed home

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OK one more run

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It screamed header

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32 Responses to “On Golden Hopatcong Last Gasp!”

  1. Chris B.

    Dang, that header is a beauty. those photos brightens a gloomy morning

  3. Fred B

    That is a great header shot! This reminds me about when looking up old stories here and people will comment about, “great header for the story”, etc. etc. Problem is, unless you’re reading it the day it’s posted new, often the header shot is long gone. So, please, Matt, you need to reproduce the header shots within the body of the story so it stays with the story.

  6. Matt

    I have been told a bazillion times to make a calendar or book on the headers. I actually like the idea that they are fleeting. Somehow it makes them more special. And there is always header day.

    • Greg Lewandowski

      Matt, it’s your web site. We are just the minions that need to get our daily fix!

    • Tracey Barrymore

      Matt, Have you heard from Pat Curtin..I lost touch with him 2 yrs ago when he was movin to Florida
      ….Tracey Barrymore

  7. Alex

    Wonderful photos Bob. They put the boat in a great context. Love the lighting and composition of this one the most.

  9. Troy in ANE

    Great Lake, Great Boat, Great People, Great Photographer!

    What more can you ask for?

  10. Grandpa Bob

    Great photos. You can’t be the look of a U-22 on the water, at speed or sitting! My wife said we should get ours out on the TN River in Dec for a real “last gasp”. Not sure I would want to take it out of hibernation.

  11. John

    This is the boat that first drew me to wooden boats in the first place. Now I love my little 16 ft Lyman, but how do I make her look like Thayer IV?

        • Matt

          This boat at Katzs is 1460 documented as the main picture boat seen in all the scenes by two experts. Also way way beyond discused here on Woody Boater, including a frame by frame break down of each scene in the film. The U.S. Mail boat is also at Katzs marina restored beyond anyones imagination. Also at katzs are all the movie props that went with the boat, including the bent prop from the crash boat signed by Hepburn and Fonda.

    • Reddog

      John Baas. The main picture board refers to the movie “On Golden Pond”. Supposedly there were 3 22ft sportsmen used in making the movie. One boat had a large hole in the bottom and was used for close ups(?). Not sure if it had a working engine. The second was used for other shots in the movie. But katz’s boat was used for most scenes in the movie. There were many many stories on ” Woodyboater” about whether (or not) this is the correct boat used in the movie because of different hardware mounted on the boat. The boat at Katz’s was rebuilt a couple years ago because it was not taken care of well since the movie

  14. Bill Hammond

    There is no comparison to the warm feelings conjuring up those memories of “On Golden Pond” brings when seeing THAT boat plying the waters again! We all hope to create those wonderful kinds of family memories, hopefully without the dysfunction, with our own Thayer IVs. But the even better story is the redemption that takes place in the film and the part that Thayer IV & Golden Pond play for the Thayer Family. The Circle then is completed by the redemption that the actual Thayer IV has had!! And by extension all of us are playing in the continuing redemption of our own Thayer IVs. Thank you for that beautiful “Last Gasp” this morning!!

  15. JFKarlson

    Any chance the “click to enlarge” feature will return to Woody Boater? These would be great shots to see a little bigger.

  18. Steve Anderson

    Am I possibly the only guy reading WoodyBoater that has never seen On Golden Pond?

    One of these days I will have to rent it.

    • Troy in ANE

      Yes Steve I think you probably are.

      Watched it last year with surround sound. When Mariah pulled in I thought there was someone outside.

  19. Denis D

    What am I doing wrong? When I right click a photo I get a menu of about 20 options, none to enlarge the photo!!

    Denis D

    • Matt

      Not sure, you may see a menu item View Image, that should do the trick, For some reason , its random. Sorry. For example when Texx loads images its automatic. We are trying to figure out if its a Apple thing? No idea.

  20. Texx

    Fabulous photos Bob. Thanks for sharing them with us today. Thanks to Seth & Tommy too, great team effort at Lake H.

  21. don vogt

    I dont seem to be able to enlarge either, Matt with windows 10. I can open image in new tab but the new tab is the same size.

    On another subject, I think you should file away the thought of doing something like a”first breath” for the springtime as opposed to last gasp now. Will be looking forward to that time again.