"Kootenay Belle" – A Fortune Cookie Boat?
You never know what your going to run across when your riding down a rural highway in the Pacific Northwest. First impressions are that “Kootenay Belle” has seen better days and could possibly use a Facelift. (Definition: Facelift – A renovation that improves the outward appearance of a building or object that usually does not involve major changes…)
Can anyone out there in the Woody Boater Community identify this fixer-upper? Make, Model, Year? It appeared to be originally made with plywood and the transom was set up for an outboard… No other name plates or identification and I was afraid to crawl inside.
A little sanding, a little varnish, a fresh coat of paint, a new (period correct) outboard and if the budget can handle it, maybe a new mattress in the cabin – and your ready to hit the water for some classic overnight cruising!
Oh and maybe a new steering wheel too… Just a quick call to Jim Staib at Fine Wood Boats… The Captain’s chair bar stools look to be in good shape and are probably re-usable…
The vintage Titanic theme lifebuoy may not be recommended as it could have a negative effect on the overall “Feng Shui” of the cabin and performance of your newly restored cabin cruiser.
Kootenay Belle was the name of an old gold & silver mine in the surrounding mountains where this old boat was living, waiting for her face lift. When ever I see or hear a name ending with the word “Belle” I imagine something beautiful or elegant…
Like a “Vespa Belle” from Italy in the Fifties. 
As we all know, sometimes these old wooden boats are like fortune cookies – You don’t know what fortune or misfortune awaits until you open up the cookie (or old wood). Or if it will cost a fortune to fix her up and give her a face lift. “Kootenay Belle” could be one of those Fortune Cookie Boats – What do you think?
Texx
There's several of those "Fortune Cookie Boats" on Pool 26, Mississippi River near St. Louis. Some of them actually float. Others wait for dreamers to take the chance, dreamers with visions of saving her from the landfill that she wants no part of.
I have one of those, and what a bargain she's been. She costs a "fortune" to maintain (although not complaining) and will sustain her value, I could probably trade her for a fresh box of my favorite "cookies" (again, not complaining).
Sure seems to have the lines of some of the earlier home-builts that magazines ran plans for. Then again…..
Would the fact that Woody Boater ran the Kootenay Belle story on 10/10/10 give the old girl some "Heap Good Mojo" and help get her the facelift she needs?