Modern Wooden Boats

If you haven’t had a look at the short videos below, you should really give them a minute to load up and have a look at them. It is hard to express in words the difference in sound between a wood composite (like 6 oz. fiberglass cloth and West System epoxy over cedar strips) and any other boat.

Redbird cedar strip canoe on a winter paddle.

A nice quite paddle brings you that much closer to the nature that you are trying to experience.

Enjoy,
Stephan

Mitch LaPoint scores another unbelievable boat, a 1929 28′ Gar Wood “Baby Gar” Triple-Cockpit.

Mitch lists this boat as follows:

Excellent restored condition. Here’s your chance to own a piece of history. There are perhaps only 3 to 6 of this raised-deck model left in existence. “Ramona” was originally purchased by J.N. Rauleigh in 1929. He owned her for a short time before selling her to the notorious Purple Gang during the beginning of the great depression. They used her as a rum-runner to bring alcohol from Canada to Harsen’s Island, Michigan. The police could not afford such a fast boat at that time. Ray Brown, owner of the Ramona Park Hotel in Harbor Spring, Michigan won her from the Purple Gang in a card game. He christened her “Ramona” and put her in service giving rides to his hotel guests. Most of the wood has been replaced, including the new decks, new bottom and new transom. Leather interior. Great attention to detail. The instruments are beautifully restored and operational. The hardware has been rechromed. The engine is the original, rebuilt Scripps 202, which we are told, pushes her along at 42 m.p.h.. Triple-axle trailer with brakes included. New water-line cover. These don’t turn hands very often, so don’t miss your chance!

1929 Gar Wood "Baby Gar" Tripple Cockpit

This boat was the muse of Gar Wood at a tumultuous time in his professional life.  Just before the opening of the 1928 New York Boat Show, Howard Lyon and Gar Wood made an abrupt separation.  I don’t have production numbers for Lyon boats, but Gar Wood had a great run with the Baby Gar.  From 1922 to 1929 the boat that exemplified the epitome of pleasure speed boating was the 33 foot Baby Gar.  But sticking to the subject, there were 61 of the 28 footers on the ledger for 1929.  These boats would have kicked off the big move to the Marysville, MI plant – setting up Gar Wood in the facility that would be known as the “Home of the World’s Finest Boat Factory”.  That will just have to be another story.

If you are a reader of means, in need of a nice boat – strike that last bit – if you have the funds, you owe it to yourself and your family to purchase this boat from Mitch.  Click the photo above to see more pictures of the boat on Mitch’s site.

I know it is almost summer, but the cooler weather here in Montana over the last couple of weeks reminded me of a short paddling trip I begged two of my closest friends to help me with.  We went out to take some video and to take a few marketing pictures.  Here are two clips taken that day of a boat I built a few years back.  This is another beautiful example of a fine canoe design by Ted Moores.  His book is listed to the right – if you are considering building a canoe yourself, you just have to buy that book.

If you are looking for a builder for a cedar strip canoe, we would be more than happy to work with you.  We build boats to be paddled, but can also work with you for showroom or display boats.  Click on the “About” link above for contact information.  Enjoy the video!

This great little boat is a 16 footer that has been in Montana most of its’ life as far as I can tell. That means it has been garaged most of the time! The boat is in pretty good shape with all original hardware in place. It even has the original fuel tank with Kiekhaefer logo on it! As you can see in the photos, it has the original Quick-silver stearing and controls. The motor is a 1959 Mercury Mark 78A direct reversing. There is NO transmission on this thing! It starts in forward, stops when you put her in neutral (because there is no neutral), and can be started again in reverse. If the motor is running, then prop is turning.

The version of the story I got was that the designer thought that this motor just had too much power for a transmission, so they just didn’t put one in. I will add some details later on this issue and more history on the boat, but feel free to comment.

1950 Chris Craft Racing Runabout

OK,

This weeks boat is a beautiful 1950 Chris Craft racing runabout.  I stole the above picture from Mitch LaPoint’s web site (sorry Mitch) because he finds, restores, and sells some of the most beautiful classic boats.   If you click on the above image it will take you to his web site where this very boat is currently for sale (as of 17-Mar-09).

In 1922 Col. Jesse Vincent had two boats built for the Gold Cup competition by a local boat builder by the name of Chris Smith.  The boats were powered by Packard engines and had the name ChrisCraft painted on the side.  In 1929, Chris Smith and Sons Boat Company offered 18 different models and had a production shop that covered over 114,000 square feet of space.  Chris Craft was clearly here to stay.  As war on a global level controlled most of the 1940’s, the 1950 model Chris Craft was a signal of a new time.  This boat symbolized America’s domination in the global economy.  People had discretionary income and were happy to spend it on these great boats.

In 1948 the great racing runabout was re-introduced to the Chris Craft buying public.  The racer was available with three engine options from 95 to 158 Hp – the latter capable of pushing the 19 footer to a breathtaking 39 miles per hour.  That may not seem fast by today’s standards, but I can tell you that it was a scream in 1950!  Even today we find most family boats cruise in the 35 to 40 mph range.  This is a comfortable speed and a wonderful ride in a classic mahogany boat.

If you just can’t afford the boat shown above, we have a great example in our model store.  Please have a look for yourself and get ready for spring boating as it is approaching faster than you think.

Mystery Boat

OK,

This is a boat image that was sent to me a while back by a potential client looking for an estimate.  I just call it the mystery boat for now, but I sure would like a little more information on it.  If you know anything about it, please post a comment here or send me an email with some information.

She is obviously a fine piece of craftsmanship.  I particulary like the combination of old and new.  The deck is classic while the windscreen shows very modern curves.  The barrelback is exagerated, but looks very nice on this boat.  The cream interior and just enough chrome makes this a favorite of ours.

Thanks,  Stephan

 
The very first boat I ever built from scratch was a small single canoe.  The design is from Ted Moores of Bear Mountain Boats.  I built her from the plans and instructions in Ted’s book (see right column).
This is a great little boat.  I paddled this boat for several years in Florida, and New England [...]

New small mahogany boat