LENZIP! You Get It?

I have found in my journey to restore or preserve anything that accuracy is part of the fun, not a burden. As I reported several months ago, I was searching for the exact manufacturer and type of zipper for my convertible top cover on our 1960 Chris Craft 24 Sportsman. We found the original frame in NY at St. Lawrence Restoration, many wondered why we would drive 16 hrs in a day through a snow storm to do it. And then finding the zipper. A true needle in a hay stack. Why do all that extra work? When I could have had one made, and done better than original.. Why canvas duck material instead of sunbrella? A far better product.  Sometimes the search is the most fun part of all this.. With so many things available to us on the web and in mass franchised production. Finding and preserving history is a way to understand how things work. Yesterday I got a call from fellow Woody Boater and 24 Sportsman owner Bill Mack. The manufacturer of the correct original zipper is… LENZIP! That’s right.. And its a #10 Aluminum Zipper. And guess what, they are in business. BINGO!  Now all that’s left is to drive up to Ohio to Bills House and take copious notes and images of the correct original top to hand to my poor top guy.. Who by now wants to shoot me.. My obsessive compulsion to do this right is pushing the envelope of the relationship. I have found there are two types of folks out there that do this sort of trade. Those that enjoy the journey and those that don’t. The ones that don’t are annoyed with a client.. me, that want to replicate an original item to the ultimate detail, why do that when you can have a better one? Why slope the top down in the back? It’s hard to walk through.. Why use duck? It leaks and stains? So pushing for the correct zipper is insane. Because its about the understanding of not just how things are made, but understanding the life moments and feelings about things that are cool.. The stains and banged head, are part of the experience. The leaky top is part of it all. When you are out on your preserved boat, the fun is knowing exactly all the senses that were activated in the relationship with your boat when new. We all have flaws, they are sometimes what defines us. I am talking about cosmetic things here by the way. I still believe in 5200 and modern safety equipment, but things that don’t matter’ the subjective choices.. Do it the way it was and it will always be a more richer experience