If Bob’s Original Cushions Could Talk!

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Remember those red original cushions we featured last week? Well fellow Woody Boater Bob Schoepe "shcooped" them up and Bingo! They fit his wonderful 1940 15.5 foot utility with the cushions installed. Oh heck YA! What is so cool about all…
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Classic Boat Valve Seat Replacement Without Pulling The Engine – Part 2

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Well, that was rather un dramatic, and sorry no cursing, or broken things. We only lost another lock key for about ten minutes, but I got small and went in the block to find it. But it was a fun morning in the barn with great pals who came…
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A Little Search For The Valve Keeper Lock

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Welcome back to the next episode of Lost Lock. Well, later the next day after buying a bunch of small magnets and getting advice on how to get them on a string and yada yada. Well, funny thing, getting the magnet into the area is close to…
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A Complete Idiots Buffoonish Attempt At Replacing A Valve Seat.

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Well, since we were so rudely interrupted by boats exploding, we were doing other things in the barn at 97 degrees. Like trying to change a Valve Seat and Valve. We will of course update folks with any new news on the couple and investigation.…
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Tarp Find Cobra – One Word – Prototype!

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If you have been following the episodes of discovery on the tarp find Cobra, you may have been thinking that we sure are making a big deal out of this under bite boat. Whats with WoodyBoater?  Well, today is the day we can officially announce…
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Episode 6 – The Tarp Find Cobra Has Landed! She Made It In One-ish Piece.

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Late yesterday ish, the Tarp Find Cobra made her way to her home for a while. The team at Katzs marina started digging and looking around. She was purchased from Photos. This is one reason we have not had the full picture...ironically. But…
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Episode 5 – Tarp Find Cobra – COBRA ON THE ROCKS!

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This is one of my favorite parts of finding a new family member. Seeing her childhood photos. This was one LOVED Cobra and part of the family. And we have photos of her tragic end. Nothing like a sea wall to end it all. WOW! So…
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Passing Gas Can Cure The Winter Blues

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Well, it's getting to be that time of year. Lake Dora Prep time. I had put a fresh coat of VanNess pre war engine paint on Stinkys engine and had to paint over the older Pass Gas SPECIAL logo I had created. So I made a new one that feels…
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Original Orange Seam Color!

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The gang at Katz's Marina sent us in this little treasure. Turns out a boat they are restoring. A 1940 Chris Craft 19 Barrel Back had Orange Seams. This to me would be like winning the lottery, since the Orange Seams are a very very cool…
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Falling Out Of Love With Classic Boating? It’s Not You.

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Yesterdays story brought up some bad memories for me. And, a reminder of why I started Woody Boater 11ish years ago.  I never wanted anyone else to go through the pain I did on a restoration gone crazy expensive. By the time I was finished…
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“If I Had More Money I Would Just Buy More Boats” – Bob Shapton

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Long time fellow Woody Boater and great guy Bob Shapton sent us in this very well produced video for Tekton Tools that he and our passion were captured. Bob nailed it big time and totally get why we are all doing this. Its great to see a…
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A ZelMan And His Cave, His Really Nice Cave!

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We all know fellow Woody Boater Eric Zelman and his detailed obsession with doing things right and to perfection. So when Eric decided to build a barn/workshop/man cave/ dream shop, of course he did it too the extreme.  I went and visited…
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Head Gaskets! WTHG? Can We Do Better?

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This summer we in our little gang of three had a 5 head gasket summer. WTHG? "What The head gasket." Sure head gaskets are head cases on our flat heads. But 5? All brand new. User error? Sure. But 5? So we did a little investigat'n. We here…
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Try Prop’n Fun!

I bet you are thinking, hahahaha Woody Boater miss spelled Try? Didn't he mean Tri Props? This past weekend I learned about "Try Props", which is a thing that used to be done at dealers so you could dial in your preferred way of boating…
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Three Bob’s, Three K’s, And Two Rockets!

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Every now and then a fun observation comes along. You may be trying to figure out the K thing. or not. It's actually a simple thing, that happened durrng a photo shoot for next years Lake Hopatcong Poster and Calendar. The two big winners…
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Ahhhhhhhhhh That Felt Good!

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Last week, I had to be in Boston, New Jersey, and DC, then home to Reedville on Thursday night. A 8 hr drive after a all day meeting. My brain was like scrambled eggs. Mfine? insert Bacon comment here. (_____________) Anyway. thanks yesterday…
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Rainy Day Classic Boat Fun!

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Sometimes a rainy day is fantastic. The gods have said, no Splash Mob today so go work in the barn. No way to go Woody Boating. Or is there? After all owning a classic boat is half in the barn fun as well. Learning, and feeling her history,…
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Bam, Clank, Rattle, Pop, Pop! Ugh.

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So, where do I start? The day we found Stinky? Over a year ago we dragged Stinky out of her sleeping spot after a 30-40 year slumber, and miraculously got her H engine started. She never really ran that well. We had some work done on her…
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Son Of A %^$& *#(*& *#&#^@ 8&^ @^@&@*# ($^@%!$!^ @&#!!!!!!

Ya ever have one of those G^$%&# D%#&@* Days? Well that was yesterday. Two engines that #^&$ () &*# ^#% @& &#^@%!ing won't start. S^#$*& #(# ^#%$ @$#! ^&@(# *#*$( $($% B#7 &(*@(&# ^#&((*@_.  &#*^&T#*…
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A Woody Boater Needs Gauges For His Century.

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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…
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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…
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A Day Cleaning The 1958 17′ Cavalier.

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

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

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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…
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NOS Windshields – Get Out Your Ruler!

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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…
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Plaidtastic Is Almost Ready For Lake Dora. Are You?

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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…
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MotorCar Over To The MotorBoat Garage Open House February 17th

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

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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…
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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…
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Miss K Gets Restored. And So Do We!

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

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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…
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What Color Are Your Engine Mount Wedges Supposed To Be?

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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…
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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…
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The Plaid Rocket Has A New Name!

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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…
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The Last-ish Gar Wood Made?

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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…
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Plaid Rocket Update. She Needs A Name.

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

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

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

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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.…
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Jim Staib Is Bringing A Big Winner To Racine.

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

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

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

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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…
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Chrome, Perfect Chrome Meets Varnish, Perfect Varnish!

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

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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…
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