Only 11 Days Til Dora, Don’t Give Up The Ship.
Here is what happens when you choose the wrong stain for your restoration.
All kidding aside, this just came in from Fellow Woody Boater Dan Stober, the boat was un saveable. Its mesmerizing to watch. Thanks Dan
Sad: But it must have mada a really cool hidout for the owners naps.
It’s a great play house as well. The idea of repurposing this as sheds or playgrownd art
I just shead a tear…Thats just like my 1940…Its like watching a nightmare…Thanx Matt, im probably going to need therapy now!
Wife was taking half of everything as per their divorce settlement. One pile for her an one for him.
Looks like there’s a flat head six available for parts or rebuild if you get over there fast!
Hurt me! Nothing lasts forever and the supply of wood boats dwindles. I wonder what the death rate for wood boats is? One every hour, every week or slower, I hope.
I am sadden by the reality that I can not save all the things in the world that I love.
OUCH! That was hard to watch! Not a great way to start the weekend. Thanks Matt.
Is that Jim Staib behind the wheel of the claw?
No, Jim lives in the cold north where the heat from a good fire is worth more than the fun of playing with a hydraulic claw.
HAY!! I resemble that remark!!
DAYEM, that was a classic house, one of only 49 of that model built that year. I am sure it was totally restorable, and now…well… Your a heartless one Jim, oh the humanity!
BTW, I got a boat I am cutting up soon, are you interested in a 185 hp Y block Ford interceptor?
She was built in 1865. I spent 12 years restoring it. Problem was she was built on rocks instead of a foundation. Kept sinking and moving. It was a loosing battle.
I think the reason for this is that they couldn’t find the right zipper for the canvas.
Mesmerizing to watch in a car wreck, horror show kind of way. When I win the Powerball, I am going to open marinas around the Country that are free to wooden boat cruisers. Complete with wood shops and a full time boat wright at each location to help out. Now, I just need to remember to buy that damn winning ticket.
After all that the hull is only in slightly worse condition than mine. It might be a more challenging restoration, but I am sure Katz could pull it off before the 2013 Dora show.
Maybe not a 100 pt. boat in time but a nice affordable user. Just hope they don’t lose the strut bolts in that field.
next time call me. i would have risked the divorce papers for it.
Whew. Somehow found a cell signal deep in the woods. Wouldn’t want to have missed today’s posting.
Always amazes me the difference between a boat or car that “makes it” into the future, and the majority which do not. It’s either loving and responsible ownership from the date of delivery, or an easy life of light use in gentle conditions, or falling into appreciative hands with sufficient means to restore and maintain going forward, or being forgotten in some secure, protective barn for decades only to be found and refreshed, or some combination of all of these, with a little luck thrown in. In the case of the boat in this video, that chain of survivorship was somehow broken.
Makes us appreciate the surviving boats and the responsible efforts of their owners even more, particularly when it comes to the larger, far costlier to restore/maintain boats.
Here’s a Sea Skiff I hauled to the dump years ago. Trust me, it was only a parts boat. I took a picture with my cell phone as it was being plowed into the trash heap.
That was awful! And to think, all those cars going by and no one stopped this from happening!
Its horrible.. people are so self centered these days. To think, all that had to happen is for a person to stop. Then end up with the boat, then spend 1000 bucks getting it home , then finding out the condo does not like old yachts in the parking lot. then another 1000 moving it to a barn, only to find out that the barn is full of all your other crap, old trailers, cars.. then another 1000 to a feild.. Then it sits.. And one day.. While no cars are going by.. You…well, you know what you do..
The entire post a photo thing is scewed. There is no plug in yet that is working. It has something to do with spam. We get over 500 spam comments a day, that we filter out. But the image thing could crash a server big time. But I am still trying and about to change the comment section back to the old one. Wait I should say the classic one.
Looks as though this guy has done this sort of thing before. He knew exactly where to start chopping.
There is hope though. While we have lost many boats over the years to this sort of behaviour, we have also saved thousands of them as well.
The good news is that 50 years from now when some dude takes a claw to a Sea Ray, Chapparel, Moomba, Nautique, Malibu or anything that is being made today, no one will shed a tear.
I won’t as the new crap is devoid all all quality design. They all copy each other and the result is that all of the new stuff looks the same.
Most folks here can tell the difference between a Chris Craft and a Century.
But if Moomba didn’t put that name on the entire side of their boat which is visible from the Space Station, few could tell the difference between that and another.
But if Moomba didn’t put that name on the entire side of their boat which is visible from the Space Station, few could tell the difference between that and another.
Pretty sneaky-cool way to cover up a crap gelcoat tho….
jimmuh: Moomba from the moonba? A luna Moomba?
I’m so confused…
ha ha !
That really is heartbreaking to watch- I think of all the men and women that put their hearts and backs into building these beautiful wooden cruisers. It’s true that the bigger they are, the harder they fall…wooden cruisers really do need to be a labor of love. They are exceptionally gratifying to see at boat shows and cruising with happy people aboard, but come prepared to spend $$$$$ or fight a losing battle. I had a 15-year love affair with a 1957 35′ Constellation, but my family spent a fortune just keeping it in protected storage until my ‘someday’ rolled around. It was more mahogany than I was really prepared for, so I sold it off, and now she’s been abandoned at a boat yard by her most recent owner. She may still be available for sale in Milwaukee- she was a good one but is now languishing outside with no winter covering- very sad. The boat yards have trouble finding sympathetic new owners, get frustrated, and eventually the worst possible outcome happens. Save a cruiser today (if you can)…they are disappearing quickly, but not without regret.
I’m not sure what we’re losing more of on a daily basis, WWII veterans or woody cruisers, but they both deserve better in their “final days”. RIP in both cases. I think we need a brown rubber wrist band (ala Livestrong) that says “Save the Woodys”.
I noticed your artical on Hughes Sportster boat… I happen to have one in perfect condition hanging from the ceiling of my livingroom… wondering if anyone knows the value. There isn’t much information about them other then the advertisment sheet displayed next to the Spruce Goose.
Thanks