A Rare 1940’s Greavette Sedan In California Sells At Clars Auction Gallery
This morning a rare 1940’s Greavette Sedan went on the block, one of over 100 lots listed with the Clars Auction Gallery near Oakland, Calfornia. The Greavette, which was part of a bankruptcy auction in Castro Valley, California sold for $16,000.00 plus a 21% Buyers Premium (Hammer Fee).
Fellow Woody Boater James (Perlita Too – James) brought this auction to our attention yesterday, so we didn’t have much time to do any significant research on the boat. From the limited information we could gather, the boat appears to be based on either a late Pre-War or early Post-War 24′ Greavette Sheerliner design, from Greavette Boatworks which was based in the popular Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It’s safe to say that there are only a few examples of this Sheerliner Sedan in existence today.
Our friend Paul Brackley from Brackley Boats, a restoration company in Muskoka, Canada, describes the rare Greavette this way…
Paul said – The Greavette Sheerliners are a very striking boat. Tremendous flare in the bow swooping back to plenty of tumblehome at the transom. The hull sides have a constant curvature, never pausing, always changing. The deck has plenty of camber with an accelerated curve on the covering boards.
The name “San Souci” is an island on Georgian Bay. Home of the famous “Henry’s Fish Fry” – Great pickerel.
I’m 95% sure it is a 24, which is important. I haven’t seen a 22’ with this layout, or an “S” layout (around the engine box), only the 24’s. It is definitely an earlier version. The auction says 1940 and it could very well be. The later versions had upholstered lining and wild chrome trim on the sides. This one has the great Greavette vents on the deck and engine hatches. I’ve always liked the Sheerliner over the Streamliner.
All the hardware is there including the bow “whiskers” and great nose light and wooden side lights. You can count on it needing a bottom. I can’t see any discolouration in the sides or at the stem, which is good. There is a back bench seat and a bench seat in front of the engine as well.
Paul Brackley, Brackley Boats.
Here are a few images of “Lady Barbara” a very nice later 22′ Greavette Sheerliner that was restored by Brackley Boats. (Images Courtesy of Brackley Boats)
Thanks for your comments Paul. This is certainly a rare and unusual Greavette.
In an attempt to confirm that the sedan top was correct for the auction boat, we did manage to find a shot of an earlier Greavette Streamliner which has a simlar style sedan top with the metal grab rails extending back from the top. Cool stuff…
1940’s Greavette auction photos courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery, Oakland, California.
To learn more about Brackley Boats you can click here.
Texx
Someone figured I needed another sedan. Upon learning of this (thanks James!) I tried to figure out what it was. Wrong year, wrong spelling of builder and wrong model. Very rare and not much information out there. They didn’t even give the length. Was it a prodcution model or special order, which Greavette was fully able and willing to produce? We didn’t know and still don’t fully know now.
Pretty hard to buy a boat this way, but I was willing to try. A stink bid was placed and I then prepared to live bid over the internet. At lot 61 (this was 75) my internet service dropped and stayed dropped. I could not bid. Probably saved a $100k resto by having that happen. Wasn’t a bad way to spend a rainy morning at the lake, though.
It would have been nice, but a big risk to buy it without seeing it or having a qualified person inspect it. I have never seen another one of these, and Brackley had only seen or heard of one, so it is rare. We still don’t know the length of it. As far as I am concerned, it went for fair value today. Was an enjoyable scramble to try to determine what the boat was.
Given the rushed circumstances and uncertaintities concerning the condition of it, it was probably a well-missed opportunity.
Paul – I agree, it was fun to “scramble” in an attempt to learn more about this unusual Greavette prior to the auction.
It’s not like you can go to the Greavette Boat Buzz or the Greavette Antique Boat Club on-line archive to find immediate information. One thing is for sure, we know a bit more about Sheerliner Hardtops (or Salon’s as the Auction house described it) than we did 36 hours ago…
Always something new to learn in the antique & classic boat hobby.
There is a boat with similar lines , a Duke and only 20′, I think, on AntiqueBoatAmerica.com. Click on Duke and someone buy this beauty so I won’t.
Good call Jim – The Canadian made Duke is even the same price as what the Greavette auction boat went for – 16K.
The Duke sedan has those traditional yellow deck seams common to the Canadian marques. A nice boat project boat for somebody…
Jim, it is a cool boat! You need another 20 footer and a summer bottom project would be so much fun!
You are porobably right Paul but dang, is she pretty…gotta keep those sedans on the water…
not a bad price for a boat like that!
I guess I was the “stink” bid, what ever that means. I too could not attend the live action and ended up not buying the boat. I did however buy the 1974 Lincoln Mark IV with 47k miles for $2,000 plus the 21%. And you folks thought our auction fee were high at 10%! Makes us look like a bargain. I also bought that goofy Yamaha / Harley look alike for $1,900. I’ll see them in a month when I get to Monterey.