A Woody Boater Needs Gauges For His Century.

,
Fellow Woody Boater Jeff N from California who is a Outlaw Hot Rod guy and now a Sons Of Varnish Member and is all in on getting his new Century ready for some fun. But he is looking for a new hard to find set of gauges. Does anyone know…
Read more

Ever Wonder What An Aluminum K Head Weighs Vs Regular K Head?

Come on, you know you want to know. I mean all ya gotta do is click on the read more link and all will be revealed. So how did we do it? Why is a better question. Well Stinky's Aluminum head was causing all sorts of oil milky issues. So…
Read more

A Day Cleaning The 1958 17′ Cavalier.

,
Now, I sure love a nice boat ride, but I sure love sitting in the barn, music on and cleaning and going through things and really digging in to see what we got here. And it's all good, including finding a relative of The House Of Stinky. Hey,…
Read more

Honey, Guess What Followed Me Home? Honey? Honey?

, ,
Thanks to the future single Woody Boater Eric Zelman sent us in this fun story. I will add, that there is nothing more fun than bringing home a mess, and spending the weekend getting her out on the water having fun. That is Woody Boating…
Read more

Troy Shares The Joy Of Painting A Classic Boat. Shockingly Everyone Involved Wasn’t In A Bikini.

,
Troy sent in this wonderful report form Maine regarding his experience with The Kirby family.I also spent all weekend with several qt's of the Kirby's and man oh man. Troy is dead on. Take it away Troy. As you know American Beauty…
Read more

NOS Windshields – Get Out Your Ruler!

,
Do you have a crappy old plexi windshield and can never see out of it? Has a crack? Or some lame ass aftermarket crap installed in the 80's by a hack Marina that couldn't find an orignial? Well, someone up in Michigan must have found a huge…
Read more

Plaidtastic Is Almost Ready For Lake Dora. Are You?

, ,
Here we are less than 30 days away from lake Dora and we are officially into the prep time countdown. As in that magical time, where we all realize that we better get out in the barn and start prepping. NOW! I swear it was yesterday that…
Read more

MotorCar Over To The MotorBoat Garage Open House February 17th

,
You have no doubt seen the new banner of WoodyBoater, and thought, mmm? I wonder what thats all about. Well, they are new and old all at the same time? This is a group of folks that was part of the crew at The Antique Boat Center. Dennis,…
Read more

Classic Boat Restoration – “Never Tell Them What It Really Cost”

I once had a boat restored by a guy who told me up front that he wouldn't give me a quote on how much it would cost to restore my boat. Like a trusting fool, I agreed. Now of course I know better now, but at the time I was new to all this.…
Read more

A “Step” by “Step” How To Repair Your Ladder. Get It. It’s A Ladder Joke. “Step”…Joke.. Ugh, Tough Crowd

,
A huge thanks to Mark Bigda for sending us in his step by step repair of the plastic stuff on his ladder. HEY! Have you looked outside, we are doing all the small stuff that we can do indoors to keep the passion alive! Take it away Mark. After…
Read more

Classic Boat Dollies And Warmer Weather. A Perfect Match!

Need to work on your trailer duringthe winter? Need space in the garage? How about some Dollys? No, not the Troy kind, we are talking about some small metal things with wheels on them. They run $275 each and are at our pals place at the…
Read more

Miss K Gets Restored. And So Do We!

, ,
Thanks to Mike and Kristen for sending in this whopper restoration story on their cool Century project! We need this sort of stuff this time of year! And the culture needs folks like Mike and Kristen!!!  Take it away Mike and Kristen Woodyboaterville…
Read more

Flipping Scarlet – Another 24′ Sportsman Flip-A-Rooney!

,
We all recall the famous live streaming event last year of flipping Mark C's 24 Sportsman. Well, the good folks at Katz's have done it this time with Scarlet, who is getting a new bottom this winter. These boats are massive and its great…
Read more

What Color Are Your Engine Mount Wedges Supposed To Be?

,
Here is a geek fest story to have some fun with, or not, possibly some big gun will chime in and make a definite answer. It does make sense to be either color, and we certainly have seen enough of them in the blue color. But is that…
Read more

Think Restoring A Fiberglass Boat Is Easier Than A Wood Boat? This Video May Change Your Mind.

Thanks to fellow WoodyBoater Eric Zelman for sending us in this video of the first step in one of his restorations, a 1962 Lake N' Sea... You may recall Eric doing this with his Woody Wagemaker. And is also restoring a U22... Yes Eric has…
Read more

The Plaid Rocket Has A New Name!

,
Looks like we have a winner winner chicken dinner for the naming of the Plaid Rocket. Oh, you want to know the name? Sure, just read on! Thanks to all our readers and close to 90 comments. What a fun day. Some very fun favorites were…
Read more

The Last-ish Gar Wood Made?

, ,
Fellow Woody Boaters John and his son Kader Merritt sent us in this cool report regarding a special Gar Wood he is about to go to town on. We here at WoodyBoater are always so happy to see father and son stories and this will be a treasure…
Read more

Plaid Rocket Update. She Needs A Name.

, ,
To start things out, we all know how this may go down..... the dark rabbit hole of obscure references, Troy will no doubt post a girl in a Tartan and we are all back to normal after the last gasping of 2017. But what the heck, gotta kiss…
Read more

There Are Jobs, And Then There Are Jobs For Your Soul!

,
I will be honest here, for the past 35 years, I have not worked a day, so I suppose talking about a job may not qualify me as an expert. Oh sure I am a designer, creative person as a profession. But never have felt like it's work. It's more…
Read more

So You Want To Sew On A Label On Your New Cushion? Not So Fast!

You just had your fancy new interior done for your 100 pt show boat and you want to go the extra mile and sew on a remade label on your remade cushion like the original ones? Well, you may want to check with your attorney first. Yup, hey…
Read more

Love It Or Hate It! The Plaid Rocket, Gets Her Mojo.

,
As we have been talking about the Plaid Rocket preservation over the past couple months,  we have had some mixed reactions, and I think that's the coolest part of this preservation.  Now, what is being preserved here is far far more important…
Read more

Steve Bunda Is Taking His E’poustouflant Prerestoic Barrel Back To Racine!

, ,
Thanks to longtime fellow Woody Boater Steve Bunda for going to Racine in style.Prerestoic Style. Oh hell ya! Now it aint cause Steve doesn't know how to make a boat nice. Steve owns a great shop in Wisconsin called Antique Wood Boat Restoration.…
Read more

Jim Staib Is Bringing A Big Winner To Racine.

, ,
Looking for a winter project? Okay, it may run into the Spring, Summer, fall, and winter again. But you get the idea. Going to the Racine boat show? Long time fellow Woody Boater Jim Staib from Fine Wood Boats is having a fall clearance…
Read more

Electric Powered Elco’s – Go Green And Be The Snazziest On Your Lake!

, ,
The good folks at Halls Boats on Lake George and Elco are part of go Green movement, and run around the Lake in an Elco, also restoring them and keeping them going to show quality standards. Today we will feature several to show that you can…
Read more

Will Robots Effect Woody Boating? Yup!

If you have been following the news and tech world, Robots are coming and are the next wave of disruption to our desire for things to stay the same. If you think I am nuts, many of the stories you read on social media are written buy robots.…
Read more

D-17-004 Chris Craft Rocket Needs Your Plastic Plaid Help!

, ,
We are using the vast WoodyBoater network to create the perfect plaid interior for what could be the of the oldest surviving 1953 Rockets on the planet. Of the 243 hulls made and 136 Rockets made, of this special boat, only 48 had plaid…
Read more

Home Again, To Hall’s Boat On Lake George For Mom’s Mink’s 70th Birthday!

,
A huge thanks to fellow WoodyBoater David Shepler for sharing his wonderful journey to Lake George and Hall's Boats. The original home of Mom's Mink, his amazing Gar Wood. Looks like David sure had a fantastic time! At the bottom of this…
Read more

Chrome, Perfect Chrome Meets Varnish, Perfect Varnish!

,
Well, here it is in all its glory. Our Graves Plating Chrome is home! And mother of god its perfect. Its so crisp and clean you can't tell where the boat starts and the chrome ends. Its not just the shine, but the amount of specail work…
Read more

Lemonhead Is Gearing Up The Whitefish Chain Boat Show This Weekend! Will She Make It?

,
Remember the Super Rat Turd story? Well, be prepared to drop your jaw! Longtime fellow Woody Boater Mark Setterholm has had a busy winter and part of the fun is bringing a little smile to the classic boat community at the Whitefish Chain…
Read more

Rocket Prop Talk!

,
Thanks to fellow WoodyBoater Mark Bigda AKA "Rocket man" for sending in this story on his Rocket prop experience. Isn't that name of a country song? Good Ole Rocket Prop? Maybe not. Anyway, his experience with size and ordering a new prop.…
Read more

UPDATE – WECATCHEM Is Getting Close! Stinky, Well, Still Stinks!

Well, yesterday didn't seem to flush out "Dim" So here is another WECATCHEM and Stinky update. Dim, here is a Katzs Marina link just for you! Yes KATZ'S MARINA. Who by the way has been killing it! The work is amazing. Where you ask? KATZ'S…
Read more

WECATCHEM’s Gauges Are Getting Ready To Perform From Kocian Instruments

,
The folks at Kocian and us here thought it might be fun, OK, not hey let's go boating fun, but fun as in interesting fun to look at a set of gauges getting taken apart and put together. These are from our 1948 Chris Craft as you may know,…
Read more

Sending Chrome To Get Done? It’s Always More Parts Than You Think.

Over the past weeks, we have been talking about the cost of things. It's almost impossible to answer that question in a blanket way. One huge reason is because each part, and boat is different. When you are about to send chrome out to the…
Read more

How Much Sould You Be Charged To Work On Your Boat? $1.49 An Hour!

You want to read more don't you? Well, thanks to fellow Woody Boater Jim Dunn for sending us in these two receipts for having work done on a Dodge boat and a Correct craft. He pointed out that on the bottom of the second one there is a notation…
Read more

The Final Coat Of Varnish! Oh, Man Oh Manischewitz!

,
Get out the Manischewitz! It's getting close to party time at Katzs Marina. The final coat is on WECATCHEM and as Bob Kays said,"she is spectacular". Imagine a 25 Sportsman with the perfect Katz's Marina finish. I must say that its one thing…
Read more

Thermal Imaging, OK, That’s Officially A Topic I Thought We Would Never Talk About Here On WoodyBoater.

,
Thanks to Mike Mayor of Lake Oswego Boat Co, for sharing this out of the stuffing box topic. Now, of course once you read the story you will start thinking of other crazy stuff like this. Like the time I wanted to create an MRI for your…
Read more

Stinky And WECATCHEM Are Together At The Spa!

,
This week while on a production for work in the NYC area we had an opportunity to visit our pals at Katzs Marina. We also brought Stinky to have her Van Ness repaired engine installed and any small issues on Stinky fixed.  We also got a…
Read more

Stinky’s Engine Gets A Beauty Makeover From Dave VanNess!

Over the winter we drove Stinky's Engine up to Dave VanNess for him to look it over and figure out why she wouldn't go over 2,000 rpm. Well, as it turns out it wasn't just one thing of course. It was several, including needing a valve job,…
Read more

Update on WECATCHEM – I Am Feeling Unnatural Thoughts About My New Varnish Finish!

,
Ya! I went there. Is it wrong?  She is 10 years older than me? And man oh man, does she look mighty fine. The best looking 68 year old I have laid eyes on. Just imaging running your hands on that warm varnish! mmmmm. OK, I need to think…
Read more

Putting Sides On A Riva Super Aquarama At Sierra Boat Company

,
Thanks to the Sierra Boat Co gang for sending in this cool report on Side Replacement For A Riva, not your average in the barn type of repair. Sierra Boat Co. is one of the leading places in the U.S for you to have your Riva worked on. Sierra…
Read more

Spring Forward Your Classic Boat Clocks Today!

,
While WECATHEM is being given a complete spa treatment at Katzs marina, we had the Gauges out to Kocian Instruments for a fix up and we sent the clock to be cleaned and fixed by fellow Woody Boater and Clock Doc, Bob Larson. Now we…
Read more

Are You All Set For The Big Flip Tomorrow! SUNDAY! LIVE 3PM CENTRAL TIME!

Mark C, sent us in some fancy drawings he did to make sure it all went well. See Marks brother is an engineer and his cousin is a truss engineer, they did the math and it's all good thankfully! Mmmmm We are talking about a wood boat though.…
Read more

I Want To Roll Around Naked On My Freshly Sanded And Stained Boat!

Ya, I am insane. And this sort of mahogany promiscuity might explain the visits to the ER.  Am I a Mahoganist? A term for those that have a deep desire to feel the freshly sanded grain of a mahogany Hull? Mmmm, the photos of WECATCHEM coming…
Read more

Adding Some Vintage Goodness To A New Outboard

,
Thanks to Scott Turner from Aristocraft boats for sending us in this fun report on how they vintagize a new outboard. You may have seen these at various shows they attend, and now here is how its done. Take it away Scott. Years ago when…
Read more

The “Sexiest Man Alive” Visits Mike Green At Maritime Classics And All They Talk About Is Boats?

,
Fellow Woody Boater and "Sexiest Man Alive" Tommy Holmes has another fun report. Thank the Gods of Mahogany and Varnish for Tommy and his travels! This time Tommy vists fellow Woody Boater Mike Green for some fun flipping a boat and drooling…
Read more

Gang Of Katzs Attacks My Boat!

After dropping WECATCHEM off on Monday night, on Tuesday morning the gang of Katz's started in on stripping her down and exposing her  naked mahogany. The good news. She is tight, and in very good shape. The original family took very good…
Read more

Hail Mary Late Night Drive To Katz’s Marina, And Back!

Around 2Pm on Monday looking forward to a week of bad weather and the crush of humanity on the DC area, knowing I had to get WECATHCHEM to Katz's Marina to start her refresh ASAP, and pick up Scarlet Jimmys 1960 Sportsman. Jimmy and I decided…
Read more

Remembering Old Friends – This Is What Woody Boating Is All About.

A huge thanks to fellow Woody Boater Kent Volmerding for sending us in this touching heart felt message about his passion of rebuilding, and now building a boat. It's a reminder to take a moment and thank those around us that make it possible…
Read more