Sad News – Pat Curtin Passes Away

Pat working on Thayer IV the wreck boat

We are always sad to report the passing of a fellow Woody Boater, and many of you know who Pat Curtin was, but in case you are wondering. Pat is the guy behind all the On Golden Pond Boats.

Very early in the shooting of the film STRIKING DISTANCE Pat Curtin at the helm of Bruce Willis boat

Pat Curtin was also marine coordinator on Striking Distance with Bruce Willis, and Interview with the Vampire with Brad Pitt, filmed in New Orleans. He also worked on Water World, filmed in Hawaii, with ship scenes shot on an Arizona dessert. Curtin also worked on Anaconda in Brazil.

Fellow Woody Boater pat Curtin and Thayer IV found in the barn. The film boat!

Pat was key in helping us all find the film boats from the film which had been stored away in Massachusetts since purchased.

The day Thayer IV and Mariah where found

I credit that barn find as one of the turning points on WoodyBoater. It launched the brand beyond blog status and into the information portal of the community of classic boaters. That one story has lasted years and still the brunt of great comments today.

Pat and Nancy the previous owner at the helm at lake dora

After the preservation of THAYER IV and MARIAH by Katzs Marina where they live now, Pat was able to connect with the family that had bought the boats from him back in the 80’s. Pat was an avid boat guy. having worked at Donzi Marine, and other places. His impact on the boating community was critical to our passion growing. The use of Thayer IV in the film On Golden Pond  was a great boost to our passion! You will be missed Pat, and thanks for all you did.

11 replies
  1. Mark in Ohio ( today in Florida 🌴)
    Mark in Ohio ( today in Florida 🌴) says:

    He did an excellent job with the boats in “On Golden Pond”. One of my favorite movies. RIP Pat.

  2. floyd r turbo
    floyd r turbo says:

    Sad news, prayers for friends and family of Pat as he joins our other fallen woody boaters gone too soon.

  3. tom
    tom says:

    Just read stories and comments on all of the Thayer IV’s,from Woodyboater Nov.8,9, 2010.That was some serious flak being thrown.Has anonymous ever been named?Just curious.Reminds me of all the hoopla surrounding the prototype Cobra.

  4. Framk G Miklos
    Framk G Miklos says:

    Sad news … I worked with Pat on Striking Distance in 1992. Sad to see him go .. Talked with him many times since Striking distance . But thanks to Matt I got to meet up with him again when the Thayer IV was found in 2010. The last time I talked with him in person was was at Mt Dora March 2012. this photo is all of us in 2010.

  5. Framk G Miklos
    Framk G Miklos says:

    A photo of Pat at our base marina before shooting started on Striking Distance. I believe May of 1992. Behind Pat is the 58’x22′ self propelled plywood camera barge that we were building . This is while we were decking the barge… We built it in 21 days…

  6. Framk G Miklos
    Framk G Miklos says:

    One more slightly different angle from the above photo of Pat driving the 21′ Capri Early summer 1992. Photo taken on the Monongahela/ just up stream of the Ohio River near of the Point in Pittsburgh…

  7. MikeM
    MikeM says:

    On Golden Pond was the movie that got my dad and I into this hobby. I never met Pat but there are so many guys like him that did/do so much behind the scenes to keep these old boats alive.

    RIP Pat.

Comments are closed.