Tomorrow Is Your Boats Birthday!

To some tomorrow is the New Year. Not for me. Tomorrow my boat is one year older. My 1941 is now 69 years old. One more year and its the big 7...0.. So tonight at 12:01 go out to the barn. flick on the light, and share a drink of Fuel preserver or a can of varnish food with your loved one. Dance around and sing boating songs..... wait.. excuse me... buuuuurrrrrrrp! OK were was I, oh ya, go out and dance around..... is the room spinning, why is the room spinning... Maybe I should not have started my celebrating so early, maybe that last glass of champzzzai..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The 2009 Big Winners Are.....

It's that time of year again were we look back and reflect...Did you know that micheal Jackson died... mmm some how I missed that. Without further a due... This years Big Woody Winners.

Best Story. Hands down. Barnwood, the story of a 25 ft sportsman barn find. If you click on the link, there are three parts to the start on the following days. Reporter Texx.

Best Show. Lake Geneva ACBS Blackhawk Show. OK OK OK.. I was not at your show, so sorry I can't comment. Clayton was great as well. Mt Dora was windy, but is a great show. Smith Mountain Lake is great because the group there is fun and the show is small enough that you can actually get to know each other.

Best Web Site. Antique Boat Center. There have been some nice updates and the addition of web cams, facebook add to the effort. They are also willing to push the envelope .. for classic boaters.... to try new things.

Best New Idea... U22athon by Antique Boat Center Woody Boater and the Chris Craft Antique boat Club. The event drove over 4500 hits to the site in one month. .. Once again, the folks at Antique Boat Center are trying new things, not just sitting around and waiting for a call or click.

Best Thing To Do At A Show. The ACBS International Show. The Boat house tour. That should be at every show. And was the talk of the hobby for months...

Best Boat. Ronda Beth. One amazing U22 you can read about her here.

Woody Boater Of The Year. Texx, this guy has saved the day here at Woody Boater more times than I dare admit, he is also at many of the shows, AND, his stories get almost double the readership... Texx Rules..

Best Online Forum. The Chris-Craft Antique Boat Clubs Forum.

Best Find On eBay... The Classic boat hat found last week. Not only did we find the real deal, but also a manufacturer so we can make more...

Best Food At A Show... Hands down. Chicken on a stick at the Mt Dora show.

Best Lettering On A Transom. Miss Payette, McCall Boatworks Noel Weber artist and lettering star.

Best Drama. Stolen Barrel Back Racer. The boat was found about 2 months later down the street in a storage shed... .

Best Disappearing Act. Jerry Conrad.. Poof! Gone! Jerry... your award .. Jerry? Jerry?

Best Secret In The Hobby. Pat Curtin's secret formula for varnish. AND I AIN'T TALK'N

Best Effort For The Future Of Antique & Classic Boats. Bill Basler's never ending drive to bring the world of inforamtion on line for the Classic Boating community. While many other things are shrinking in the hobby. The Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club has seen explosive growth. The numbers are impressive.

Best Idea For Growth Of The Hobby. The ACBS Youth Development effort by Jim Shotwell. When you understand the depth and effort this takes it's brilliant.

Thanks to all that made this year the best year in Woody Boater history. If you have any awards you would like to hand out. Please comment away. I am sure I missed about 1000 things.

So, You Want To Save Money On Insurance Because You Are Not Using Your Boat? Think Again!

With money being tight this year, when your boat insurance bill comes... you think, ya know what, that sucker is tucked away and not going anyplace. I will cancel my boat insurance and just start up when I decide to use it. Aren't I clever? Before you do such a brilliant thing, here is a sobering thought. According to Hagerty Marine Insurance, last year 40% of claims happened in the OFF season... 40%. Think about it, large storage buildings that have issues, "climate" controlled buildings loosing power and thus a dramatic climate change. Not to mention all the times the boats that are left in a boat house with the bilge as a back up.. The power goes out....and ya come to go boating and ..Where's the boat? 9 out of 10 sinking's happen AT THE DOCK! Claims for unused boats year round far out number ones in use.....So it's just not the winter storage... How bout when the boat is being worked on... Why am I insuring a stack of sticks? What if the shop its in is robbed, or a fire from a dirty rag... When you really sit down and think about it, your classic boat is at risk just sitting still.... Just like it's stunning sitting still. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Insure it all year long! Here are some shots of what snow can do... It was a cold winter day in November ... The setting.. Lake of the Ozarks...

Now You Can Always Have A Nude Woody Boater Babe On Your Boat!

50 pounds over weight? Haven't trimmed those nose hairs in the past 10 years? Do you talk about boat things at parties like? "Well you see the correct seam width of your deck should be 1/32 NOT 1/8 inch".....Well you are in luck my fellow Woody Boaters. Here she is, your new chrome Woody Boat babe girl friend! She is willing to sit on your boat bow, NAKED! and actually do something other than complain about the fumes and that time you broke down , or the time that.... well..... She may cost you some money. But I assure you, it's legal in all 50 states... Interested. Click here. If not Click here..

Authentic Vintage Boat Hat. We Are Remaking Them!

Woody Boater is proud to announce that we are underway to remaking high quality Authentic Yacht, boater caps. The feedback from the eBay find was mixed. "I wouldn't be caught dead in that thing" vs, "I have been looking for one of these for 5 years. I want 2", pretty much sums up the feedback. It's a love hate thing. But for those of us that are in the love category, I am marching forward. I have secured the original manufacturer in California, that is still in business, and was the provider to many of the Hollywood movies and stars. This is not the crap that you get online for 5 bucks.. This is the real deal! This is the one. The subtle differences are in the details. A patch vs just embroidery on the hat, the 100% wool material, Brass buttons, and the rope around the bill. They are made to size one at a time just like back in the day. And yes they still have all the material, and some left over patches. So we are off to LA in a week to visit the factory. I will of course report from there with images and more details...You can order these in any color you want. As long as its black or white. We will also be working on some other options in the future, like a flat leather bill, kacki and other color wool, perhaps a crusher style.... and new baseball cap versions coming up. All very cool stuff. So... if you want one, they are $135.00 each, will take 6 weeks to make and I will need your head size yes even fat head size .. like me are available... They will be made just for us in this edition. I need 12 or more orders to move forward, currently we are at 6... So speak up.

What I Want For Christmas

All I asked Santa this year for Christmas was some time to sand and varnish, to turn up the radio, and the heat and just sand and sand and sand. I know to some folks this is insane. All they want is to plop in front of the tube and watch old movies and football. NOT ME! I have a roll of sand paper, and two new cans of my secret formula varnish. And I ain't tell'n what that is by the way. I was sworn to secrecy, and it rocks... I wish you all a great Christmas Day, and hope that you will be able to sniff the varnish too..... I may even sand in my Pajamas..... Yes, that's exactly what I will do... Woooohooohohohoho!

Sell Your Classic Boat Stuff For Free... But Do It Right.

One real nice resource out there is the Trading Dock. Created by Bill Basler of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club, you can list your boat or boat related stuff and see what happens. The Trading Dock started in a print format as the classified section in the Brass Bell. BUT, that was print... and now its web... so if you are going to sell something on your own, do it right and know the difference between formats. Two listings this week are perfect examples of a right way and a wrong way.
The Right Way. This ad is clear and tells you the story as completely as one should want in an ad. Not to much to scare one away, and not to little to confuse you. Photo's photo's photo's, We use the web for gathering information. Words are one thing and can be used cleverly, but unretouched straight forward images can tell the story much quicker. The highest quality you can muster up and lots of them. The price is a good price, but is clearly priced to sell. $5,999 sounds a lot more affordable than $6,000, yes I know it's one dollar, but it's all about motivation through what you put in your ad. This ad also has not tricks in it to make you call. So I know I am dealing with someone I can trust. All this in one quick glimpse. Another huge positive on this ad, is email. I got an email from the seller last night at 11:45 telling about the boat and with a link... So reach out. Send folks to your ad. Its all free and you have just doubled your exposure. Also make sure you send the email to publications like mine so I might do a story on it and double your double exposure with that. That is what is called social marketing. You are socializing your boat. It works and is putting traditional ad agencies and newspapers out of business faster than any rescission could.
How not to do it. Or what you can improve on. I hate to pick on one ad, because in this hobby there are tons of them and this seller does not deserve this sort of exposure not to mention that the seller is most likly a very nice gentleman that is a great guy.... But these two ads are right next to each other on the trading dock and just popped out at me. It's what motivated the story. So what s this ad telling the reader? The first thing is that the seller just wants to get rid of the thing, and does not even have the energy to take a photo. It also says that he does not really care what the price is. Since clearly there is more than $1,000 in the boat. It's the kind of price that says. You know what it's worth, I know what it's worth, but just get the dam thing out of here. A $5 adjustment would show motivation. No images not only show a lack of effort, on this boat not many folks know what the maker is, so you have just left out the majority of the viewers from your target. These boats are all image, it's emotion that sells a boat. The description at the top is written in a way that this is the only project boat out there. Now I know there is a philosophy about this sort of ad. It generates contact. I get that. I deal with 30 car dealers at my agency. I know all the tricks. This one used to work in Newspaper classified because there was no real capability to show an image, the call is refereed to as an "UP" As one dealer said, "just make the phone ring, I can take it from there". That dealer is at the bottom of the sales heap this year... and last year. We know for a fact that when folks search for a item on the web, they are doing it to gather information in a fast and trustworthy manner. Over 85% of car purchases start with the web site. And nothing sells with out an image. These classic boats are even more image driven. Now, to be fair, and I want to be, this ad did make me click on it, because it was so blind, and I did google a Hiliner boat and found a cool one at the Antique Boat Center with images in Maine as well. So what happened here? Up the road boats ad on Trading Dock just drove traffic to a competing boat for sale! And I did a link on it... all while I am pointing out the flaws in the ad... That's having social marketing work in a bad way for your sale. My point is not to single out this ad or seller, it's to help folks out there market there boats better. And to use the tools that are out there that are free, and guide you through the pit falls.If you click on the images they will take you to the ads. I hope they both sell... If Up The Road Boats wants I will do a story on this boat to make up for this. As I said. We just want to help.

Chinese Woody Boaters? or 经典船恋人

Fellow Woody Boater Jim from Fine Wood Boats sent me a solicitation email from a Chinese wood boat manufacturer, Suzhou Zlynn Wooden Boat Co. At first I was salivating at the chance to take some shots at them. I am thinking, oh great, I will send my future U22 across the world to be worked on. Or better yet, send them a photo and see what I get 2 weeks later. You know they could build one of them in about a day with 500 workers all over the deal for about 50 bucks. Then I thought about all the jokes: Like, they are all Junks... Or, the name on the back of my U22 would be "Made In China".... Or, great, ya go out on your boat, and 20 minutes later you want to go out again.... Another one...Sure they can make the boat, They even deliver...15 minutes...
But then I went to the web site. www.zlynn.com and I thought, hey, these are cool authentic Chinese water craft, done in a traditional way from a family that has been doing this for 5 generations.... From a town that is known as the Wooden Boat Building Town in China.....Zuheng Town....Hey wait a minute, they get it! In-fact maybe it's us that don't get it, since they have been around a gillion years longer than us even as a country, maybe they know something we don't. Maybe I should have an open mind and welcome anyone out there in the world that believes in preserving traditions and staying true to ones history, that's what Woody Boating is all about.. Right? Zuheng Town would be a cool sister City to Woodyboaterville... Maybe my humor is wrong, maybe I need to grow up and expand my mind... Wait! There are no flat head or hemi motors on these. What the hell.... Row boats and tour boats. Ohhhh crap! I have been sucked in by a taxi boat bus maker. Ohhh Chee Man... But, it would be cool to own a Junk though.....I wonder what happens if you mix a little MSG into some varnish?

Kids These Days! Thanks To The ACBS, I Still Love Mine!

This past weekend I found myself digging out of a huge snow. About half way through the deal it dawned on me. WAIT ONE DARN SECOND. I have two boys in the house...SLEEPING! Athletes to boot. One age 17, 6 foot 3 and a lacrosse player, the other 19 home from collage! What in the hell am I doing out here brewing up a good old fashion heart attack! And they are in there sleeping cause they were up all night doing god only knows what... Oh I know what they were doing...., but I keep that tucked away for an excuse for going on a boat buying binge with the "nest egg" one day...It was those darn kids...It also dawned on me that when I was that age, I did the same thing. And all the small things that led me to were I am today. The seeds planted in my youth have indeed grown. I looked over to my unfinished sanding job on my Chris Craft, and a wave of great memories came back. It was the winter of 1973 and my dad had found a NOS Sunfish kit boat. One of the original ones. I was also given a small model version that year for Christmas. We built in the basement and still have it right here in my office. The dream of cool wood boats started right there. We then moved on to build the real Sunfish Kit boat and enjoyed that boat for a while until my father sold it off... To be honest I would pay $100,000 bucks for that boat now. It has my name in the hull, as well as the guys that helped. Now here I am, almost 40 years later, fully involved in the passion of Antique & Classic Boats. Seed planted and ready to go! My kids think I am nuts...my wife thinks I am nuts... But I know... I know that every summer for the past 5 years my boys have smelled varnish and enjoyed the heck out of some cool vintage boats. Including this one of twin 12 foot Whirlwinds. NO JET SKI's in this house..Including an all wood sunfish found on eBay that we restored a couple years back together. So why am I going on and on here. Because I have to give a big shout out to the ACBS and Jim Shotwell Chairman of The ACBS Youth Development Committee. He has done a fantastic job in planting seeds into any kid who has even shown an interest in boating. Jim has been working on this for years. If you have been to any ACBS show over the past 7 years, you have seen Jim and his kit boats. It started I am sure as a way to get kit boats out to the masses. But you could tell that very early on, Jim was enjoying the teaching kids more and more. Boy scout troops at a boat show? There is always a mess of kids with screwdrivers in there hands and floating small wood boats in a pool at the shows. Below is an image of the "Boats For Kids" Program were the kids can make a boat and take it home. Free... just like in the banner in the background..The program is now really taking off. There are awards and some very cool boats coming out of the deal. Junior Craftsman Winner Parker Selin with his award with Capt. Jim Shotwell, Chief Judge at the Chesapeake bay Chapter's Show and his cool boatAnother brilliant insight is this simple fact. 8-18 year olds all need someone to take them to the events... As in 30-45 year old parents.... This is the magic age when all the seeds start growing. It's not a leap to have a 45 year old Mom and Dad at a show and seeing how much fun this all is... That maybe a classic boat is more fun than a new one. That sometimes the journey is more than the destination. That's what its all about. Next thing ya know they are on Google, searching for classic boats, and they find Woody Boater, and the ACBS, and then we've got them... Another 40 year old looking for a fun classic boat. And so what looks like a simple task of good deedism...Is actually a very well thought out plan to help folks of my age find a place to harvest those seeds that are now taking over our small brains. So in a way, it all starts with a simple gift to your child or grand child.. hint hint..... A model perhaps...Funny thing you should ask!In development for the 2010 season is a Model Boat Building Program sponsored by Hagerty Marine Insurance. The first model available will be a Chris Craft Zephyr Kit Boat Model.

Big Man In Woodyboaterville...

Here I was all bad ass with my 4 wheel drive and my snow shovel. I put on my boots, the ones I have had to wear one other time 3 years ago. I had to dig through moving boxes for gloves, and I put on my down jacket from college...Yes I am in my 50's... And it kinda fit around one arm... So out I go to the office to dig out. Me and my shovel. The snow is easily 20 inches deep, below is a shot of the shovel in the snow in front of my office...4 hrs later and some help from the body shop guy close by, we were all done. I came into the office to boot up all the systems and make sure the roof had not caved in...While checking my email, I got an email from fellow woody boater Jim Staib of Fine Wood Boats... DEAR GOD! My manhood quickly disappeared and I was reminded of the joy of winters up north. I tip my lame ass girlie hat to all of you up in the snow states.

The Woodyboaterville Blizzard Of 2009

As fellow Woody Boater from Maine Pat Curtin said.. Hey Matt, looks like you got a dusting! For the record, for us here in the south, this is a whopper, with cheese. I will say though, its fun and a nice break from the usual icy rain.. And I have not had my heart attack shoveling snow... yet!

Brrrrrrrrrrrr. Whats This White Stuff?

Here we are in Virginia, wondering what all this white stuff is. My son who is home from Colorado tells me it's snow! Texx sent me some fun images of what looks like my riding lawn mower...my dogs won't go out in the stuff...and my wife, the Woodyboatress hasn't seen anything close to 18 inches... ever.. So it's a great day here in Woodyboaterville! Every ones happy.. and warm for now.

Alright, Who Was The Other Bidder? Vintage Yacht Cap.

I have been looking for one of these correct boat cap for years. And there it was on eBay. With only about 80 views, who would want one of those? Well, 34 bids later I have spent way to much on it, but will have it in a week. Anyone else interested in a correct hat? Not the cheap stuff that looks like a kids goof, but the real deal....We are now in the works to make custom one off authentic Boat Hats. Yes from the real original company from the original patterns. We are also in the works for nice quality shirts and other clothing. If you have interest, comment away, we are feeling out the market.

I Need Some Classic Boat Show Action!

It's cold, I'm tired, and broke from Christmas shopping. I need a fix. Here it is for today, The Muskoka Wharf Antique & Classic Boat Car Show back in July... If you hold your hands up to the screen you can actually feel the warmth.....Spritz some water on your face and you are there... ahhhhhhh... woodyboat'n in July........ ahhhhhhhhh...

Classic Boat Email Cards!

Enjoy. Christmas Cards that you can email to a fellow Woody Boater. Just click and drag.

Ouch!

A very cool 1930's Gentlemans racer replica. I LOVE eBAY!

If that one is not intense enough... click here

And if you that's not enough click here.

Old School Boat School Century Project.

Dean of bungs at The Old School Boat School Pat Curtin didn't just walk a mile to school this weekend, he drove several hundred to pick up the schools 16th Century to be worked on. Here are some photos of the pick up in New York. Then off to school... in the snow... Just like in the good old days. Old School Boat School will also help you work on your own boat or has classes to teach you the old tricks of the day. As I recall Varnish was invented a gillion years ago.. so I would assume that there are some tricks of the trade from over the years. Worth the weekend course. Those of you not familiar with Pats history. Lets just say, that its the real deal, bad jokes and all...

The following are some shots of the rot.

I have stopped woodyboating to save my marrage

In order to save my marrage I have decided to take a leave of absense from classic boating. If Tiger can do it so can I.. Well wait.. My marrage is great. And well I am not on pain killers or have I been sleeping around with babes... Maybe I will return on Monday.... Maybe later though. Like 8 am instead of 7 am... Yeah that should do it...


- Posted live by iphone

Back On eBay! It's Still A Cool Boat.

We featured this cool boat a week ago. The auction ended at $16,000.. Apparently it did not sell. So she is re-listed. Click here if you feel like you missed out the first time. 18,000 buys it now...

Twin Finn-1959 Chris Craft Continental, You Saw It Here First!

Just one more magnificent restoration from fellow Woody Boaters Molly and Don at McCall Boat Works. We get to see one of the most fun parts of the process. Leafing and lettering. What font does one use, what material? What is cool about McCalls is that not only do they go the full ten yards when it comes to the restoration, but also in the graphic details. God is in the details, and so is Tahoe Gold. But this time the folks at McCalls chose Silver leaf. A bold statement and hopefully will not subliminally sway the judges away from gold. This very cool Continental is being prepped for next years Lake Tahoe Concours d'Elegance in mid June actually June 18-20 in a new sub class of Transitional Fiberglass. You know that whacked out period where the boats had fins, sliding hard tops. Anywhoooo! The graphics are done by Noel Weber. To be honest as a graphic designer my self. Noels work is worth the trip out to Idaho from anyplace to have this done by him, as is Don's... The combo punch is a grand slam! Below is the lettering process... Noels work is amazing! Noel, I bow to your leafage.. Gold, Silver, and Aluminum if you are doing a pre war... You can see some more of Noels Work Here. And a big standing ovation to Don and Molly Hardy for swinging for the fences. Show those wine sippers in Tahoe how its done in Taterville...

Barn Wood III- Smitty's Return.

One of the cool things about this type of publication is that we can report in real time. So in a sense, if you are reading this, you are sharing in the discovery of hidden treasures as it is happening. The story on Barn Wood was only to be a one day deal. And then two. Late last night this came in. Smitty! While the folks from Lake Oswego Boat Co were inspecting the boat, this name came out of the past.. Presumably to tell the inspector, "Hey, I inspected this, and if my name is still here, I stand by it, so get out your can of varnish and do what ya gotta do." OK , I am putting words in Smitty's mouth, but it's cool as hell that this sort of thing would pop up. And makes the journey of discover even more fun. So... Who is Smitty? Is he a worker, is it the ghost of Christopher Smith? Or was it the name of the boat? The writing looks a lot like some of the writing on many of the Hull Cards I have seen. If you know, comment away. We are now all invested in this, and while here on Woody Boater, we can all be in a little way, right there with Paul and Karen while they unrap this gift from the past.

Barn Wood II, This Time It's Personal.

I had started to do some preliminary research on these boats as soon as my interest had been kindled. The boat was shipped on May 28, 1948 and the original owner was J. Dee Gardner of J. Dee Gardner Hotels Systems, Salt Lake. I do not have the hull card yet and only know this because of correspondence to him from the Chief Engineer of Scripps, responding to a carburetor failure after only two months use in the summer of ‘48, and providing an original engine manual, which we have.
We have determined that the boat was one of only 4, (out 208 total built) post war 25’ Sportsman’s equipped with the Scripps 208, and at this early date we are aware of no other survivors. The engine is the original, and we started and ran it on the shop floor before loading it and the boat. It runs great. It is such a low hour engine that it still has the original plug wires after over 61 years. The color of these wires has been a surprise to some, but they are original and as brittle as uncooked spaghetti!. The ancillaries appear original and untouched. The interior of the boat, under the sedan top, is in fantastic shape. The leather upholstery is completely original and we are very hopeful that it can be preserved. It is of a substantially different color than most people have previously thought. The headliner is free of flaws, but clearly could stand cleaning. The wiring is completely untouched and will be the subject of much documentation. The bottom and deck seams are remarkably tight and no replacement of planking on either topsides or bottom is contemplated. The original canvas sedan cover will need to be replaced, simply due to age-related deterioration. The sedan top itself is in near perfect condition. This was a huge relief, as they can be horribly complex to repair- just ask Dave Jerome! Other than some short planks on both sides due to low speed impact damage, incorrectly replaced transom planking and the sanding marks on the sides, the boat appears as a mildly used survivor.It is a big boat, and I already have a rare sedan. I have nowhere to put it. I have two other boats already under restoration at this moment. Why did I buy it? Because it is pretty damn rare that a person has the opportunity to actually participate in a barn-find, to have the chance to save something, to make the right choices in how it is conserved and/or restored. It is a most deserving boat, and as a budding collector and lover of these craft, I simply could not let it go by without acting. Anyone can restore any boat to as new or better with new wood and other updated content, as I have been forced to do with our Gar Wood. But who knows how many more barn-finds there will be like this? How do I know if I ever will have the chance to really work with such a well preserved boat again? It is far rarer that a person can refresh a boat such as this, to actually have the choice of retaining the patina of gentle age and dignified imperfection, than it is for him to start fresh on a boat and replace everything. This was simply an opportunity I could not pass up. Frankly, I find it much more exciting and unique than I do the process of complete and total restoration that is wending its way to completion on the Gar. There are fun, interesting choices on this one – there are not so many on a boat that is thoroughly decayed. You simply have to do everything over again in those cases.The boat is in Portland, where Mike Mayer of Lake Oswego Boat Co, ACBS Director and member of the ACBS Judging Committee, will undertake the restoration. He already knows he will have much input and guidance from me on this. Mike is also a preservationist, and is very excited to work on this compelling project. My wife and I have discussed our restoration objectives with this boat, and Barn Wood will not be restored with a primary view to competing in judged shows. While that may be possible or even probable, success in that environment is not a guiding tenet behind the process we undertaking. She is a survivor, and that is what we wish to portray her as, and we will endeavor to do so as authentically and as possible.

A detailed photographic study, structural assessment of the boat and inventory of hardware, etc. is now underway. Last weekend Karen and I returned, for the third weekend in a row, and assisted in the loading of the boat for Portland. We loaded that massive engine into our trailer and took it to Jim McNeilly in Seattle for a thorough inspection and service. Over the next while, Mike and myself will devise what we hope will be a “best practice” protocol for the conservation of as many original features, finishes and content items on this boat as we can. We suspect it may be the subject of some visits and research from well known authorities in our hobby. No decisions will be taken lightly, and we will do the best we can to make the best choices possible. We hope to have her completed by the middle of 2010. We also invite comments and insights from anyone interested enough to share these with us. We will submit bits of information and photograph’s to Matt along the way, so that progress can be followed by those so inclined.
The highpoint of this experience for me came after the boat was purchased, after we had all left, the boat was in Portland, the engine in Seattle and all involved were home safe after more winter driving through BC, Alberta, Montana and Washington than I care to contemplate. I called the vendor of the boat and we chatted. He said he probably could have advertised the boat widely or been more aggressive in selling her. He had followed this boat, known of her for decades, knew at least two of her prior owners and was her de facto steward through all the years she was locked away But, he stated, he now viewed his job as being complete. When the time had come to secure her future, he was there. He told me he felt his only job with this boat, after all these decades, was to make sure that she got to the right owner so she could be properly restored, cared for and displayed. And now that this process was complete, He was confident He had successfully fulfilled this responsibility. Coming from a man who has been in this business for 30 years and who obviously cares greatly for these old boats, this was a tremendous honor and compliment to my wife Karen and I, and we felt just fabulous about having this opportunity before us. We have only been wooden boat owners for just over two years, but we are learning and are trying to do the best we can.

Barn Wood will be taken back to Flathead Lake and the Big Sky Chapter show next summer, and our aim is to complete our commitment to the boat, the vendor, and ourselves and to make us all proud by displaying this great barn find on her home water, by then at least 36 years since she last plied that lake. There will be a great cocktail cruise that day, I’ll tell you

Stay tuned for pictures next August!