The Mercury Kid Stops Time – WARNING, IT GET’S DEEP.
You may remember The Mercury Kid. We covered it once—back when it sat on Craigslist, waiting. Then Bob Murdock came along and claimed her. Now the Kid is home.
And… wow.
This isn’t just a machine. It’s a poem in wood. A sculpture in motion. This is art—pure and undiluted. The kind you don’t just park, but place—on a pedestal, under a spotlight. In a white room, wood floor, nothing else. Let it speak. Let it breathe. Every angle, every worn decal, every curve and contour—it’s exactly how it should be. Nothing more, nothing less.
As Georgia O’Keeffe said:
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.”
That’s what this is. Something beyond words. A stillness that holds motion. A moment that holds time.
Bob Dylan once said:
“The purpose of art is to stop time.”
And that’s what the Mercury Kid does. Time halts. Decades blur. And suddenly, you’re standing still in the presence of something eternal. The textures, the scars, the symmetry—they whisper: this is how it was, how it is, and how it will always be.
In a world that moves too fast, this is our quiet rebellion: preservation. Holding onto what matters. And when we can’t hold, we restore. But even in restoration, time stirs. It reminds us that something original has shifted, even slightly.
There’s always a tension—between fixing and leaving it alone. We ache to shine it, to smooth its rough edges. But in doing so, we risk losing what’s real.
As Leonard Cohen wrote:
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
Perfection lies not in flawlessness, but in truth.
And deeper still—if you really lean into it—this boat was once only an idea. Nothing but a flicker in someone’s mind. Then it became form. A vision made real. Touched by hands, shaped by time. Added to, worn down, and loved.
Now, here it is.
“What is now proved was once only imagined.” —William Blake
And this? This is imagination, made visible.
This is time, held still.
This is art.
And it’s a really cool old Wagemaker race boat too. Congrats Bob for saving her!
The closest I have come to something so perfectly timeless was the original boathouse at the cottage. It was perfectly, with huge mechanical boat lifts and 12″ board and batton walls. Expanded in the early 1900’s because the Dodge brothers got a longer fishing boat. Now lost to the raveges of high water and waves.
I wouldn’t change a thing on the wagemaker, just sit and stare at it for the rest of my days.
She is a real beauty!
In all the pics her engine is cut off. For me the engine is part of the sculpture. I tried to search the old story to get the full image, but no luck.
Nice save Murdock!!
WTF! I never thought I would hear Bob Dylan being quoted and see a classic Wagemaker at the same time. But this is Woody Boater. what I’ve learned anything can happen on this site. Don’t touch a thing on it Murdock,
It’s perfect the way it is it will save you a lot of work . And it is still neat as hell.
Dear Crew,
No worries on changing a thing. Not a chance.
When one fossil finds another, we tend to let things be. Just ask Frazzle XI that sits as it was found. Among dozens of other pieces…..
The gentleman who originally found this, has become a great friend and has the same passion for time capsules as we do. So, he is now in the hunt for me too.
Troy, here is a picture of the Merc and it came with the lower cowling cover too.
The little fire extinguisher snaps into the bracket on the steering column.
There is more history hiding in plain sight, we just haven’t opened every garage, every barn door, every basement, every warehouse.
Yet. 😏
The only thing I hate about that boat is it’s not in Jimmy’s Barn! Nice snag Bob, I think your pulling ahead! Jim
Here is the what the stern of the boat rests on when it’s in between heats at the race.
Matt should have pictures of what I found in the canvas tool pouch that snaps to the starboard side.
The steering set-up, am I correct in assuming the “S” hooks are together for stowage and transport, and connected to that bracket mounted on the motor for running? Or what am I missing? And is that green linoleum on the floor?
Tom,
That is correct. The hooks that you see are in the storage position for transport. When needed there then attached to the bar that you see mounted to the motor. There is a hole on either side to slip the S hook through. My gut feeling tells me it was done this way to keep the line from stretching when not needed.
Nifty story..Had a bunch of wood racers around N.E. with Merc motors.. Currently in Chattanooga Tenn and unable to attach pic of restored DeSilva Runabout D-169 out of New England area. Do not know any history.? Boat available with race Yamota engine.
The Mercury Kid / Wagemaker’s typography alone is artwork to behold, decals and all. From a time when graphics leapt from the imagination to inspire all in its path. William Blake nailed it.
Not quite as old, but here is the pennant to go with this boat.
The idea that the Mercury Kid—this timeless boat makes time itself pause is so powerful. It’s like a living memory, a piece of history that refuses to be forgotten. I love how the article captures the delicate balance between preserving something original and the urge to restore or “improve” it.