Boat Buzz

Just thought I would fill you in on the latest decisions here on the home front.

As much as I like to do work on my boats myself I have realized that there is more work on American Beauty than I am going to have time to get too, so i spoke last week with my friend Mike Mayne at Edgecomb Boat Works and we are going to move her into his shop in early January. We talked about the work that needs to be done and my budget. Mike feels I am being realistic and we are hoping to meet a goal of launching by July 4, 2014.

I will keep you posted.

We are looking forward to seeing pics! Wanna share whats in store for that beauty?

Quick list
1 ) Refresh engines and Transmissions
2 ) Install FWC system to both engines
3 ) Rewire
4 ) Add drip pans
5 ) Polish fuel systems
6 ) Add GPS with depth.
7 ) Fire Retention
8 ) Some Plumbing
9 ) Some Bright Work
10 ) Cutless Bearings

Hoping it all goes smooth.

Pretty comprehensive list! The rewire alone can be extensive....wow.

I feel your pain. I am hoping for a June/July 2014 launch with Vanora as well. It's been a pile of work.

You "Cruiser" Guys are the true heroes of the wood boat culture. All who love old boats can be gratefull for your contributions in saving these grand old gals from extinction.

Thanks Greg.....been a long time since anyone called us anything but crazy!

Oh we're crazy.

Greg Wallace wrote:You "Cruiser" Guys are the true heroes of the wood boat culture. All who love old boats can be gratefull for your contributions in saving these grand old gals from extinction.

Thanks Greg!

Interestingly I am/was not looking to be any kind of hero/savior, I was just looking for a COOL cruiser to spend some weekends on. It was between the Connie and a Sea Ray (that I think is still for sale). I knew the Sea Ray would get me on the water quicker with a lot less hassle, but it is just not the same.

Besides if my moto is "Life is too short to own an ugly boat" I had to decide if I really ment it or not.

Here are some new pix.

Like your engine room

Nice Boat!

Seems like we have been on a cruiser kick on the buzz for a while, no doubt partly stimulated by the adventures of Laclede. Does anyone have a number off the top of their head for how many cruisers cc made and any rough idea of how many are still floating around out there?

Don the only thing I can say to that with any certainty is "Less every year!"

I am having drip pans installed. My restorer was thinking fiberglass pans, I was picturing stainless steel.

Any opinions out there?

A quick check of Conrad suggests about 1600 pre war boats were built in the 30-40' range, and 232 in the 40'+ length. That is quite a production, particularly in the 30-40 range. A good project for someone so inclined would be to try to document the over 40's still remaining. I suspect it cant be very many. No doubt many were used during the war and probably effectively trashed.

G

well, laclede, you would be an obvious candidate for being the author. !

Have any of you Fresh Water Cooled a WBR?

I will also post this in the engine section.

Here I sit at the end of a very emotional week.
The men of Edgecomb Boat Works have started on American Beauty and my friend Mike is now showing me the things my survey missed, some minor and some may have been deal breakers at the time of purchase.
Since we had another one foot snow storm on Wednesday I chose to stay home for the day. Mike called to say we needed to talk about a few things so I made the four mile trip, in the car with studded snow tires, to spend a couple hours at the boat shop discussing intended use and a myriad of options.
Being a little frustrated with the amount needed to get this boat up to where I really want her, I started searching Craigs List and other sites just to see what else is out there. (Are we a sick bunch or what?) I found this Formula, which is a boat I would have just about died for 10 years ago. I (semi)jokingly sent a picture to Mike saying if he wanted to buy American Beauty I would go buy the Formula and be done with all this silly restoration stuff. Thursday morning I got a call from Mike saying maybe I should drop this boat and buy the Formula (kind of concerning coming out of the mouth of a wood boat guy). He went on to say that one of his guys who is working on the AB found some rot up front, but he had not had the chance to climb in her to see how bad it is.
This news sent me into a tailspin. I called Sandi (my boatress) so we could meet for lunch and talk about this news even though we did not have any real information yet.
All afternoon I struggled thinking this would probably be the last straw for me. Even though it made me feel like crying I would have to cut my losses, could get most of my money back by selling the WBR engines and all the chrome (which was redone before I bought her), or maybe find someone willing to spend the money to do what is really needed to save this beautiful piece of art.
After several hours of reeling over this horrible decision without much information I decided to wait no longer and called Mike on his cell phone to find out how bad the rot really is. To my great relief he said it was insignificant and he had sent me an e-mail explaining that. (I don’t get my e-mail on the road)
Even though it made for very challenging afternoon this was a good experience for me because it made me realize how attached I am to AB and the dream of running her up and down the Maine coast. It makes the smaller decisions about her restoration much easier.

You will be spending a lot more than American Beauty will ever be worth. Repairs and upgrades to antique cruisers get real expensive real fast. If your on a budget it can take years to get it done and then its time to start again. Plus you have the annual expense of ownership.
The question you have to ask yourself is do I love it that much. In my case, I love the history, I love the work, I love the artistry of design, I love the whole wooden boat thing. If your looking at it as an investment forget it. An antique cruiser will never perform like a modern boat. Its like an antique car, really cool but not a daily driver. You have to understand their limitations and use and enjoy them accordingly. Its not for everyone. Do you love it that much?

joanroy wrote:Do you love it that much?

Thank your for ALL the input.

I know well this is a labor of love and I will never get any value out of AB other than the sheer joy of using her. I feel right now that this is a boat I will keep for a LONG time. Once I actually have her on the water I may change my mind as she does not have the amenities of a modern cruiser.

My last two sentences in the last post are my attempt to described that the experience of this past week made me realize how attached I am to this boat.

I expect to do most of the work on her myself in the future. Just need to build a storage building.

Peter Jardine had a good plan for a storage bldg.

Doug P wrote:Peter Jardine had a good plan for a storage bldg.

Do you have a link to that thread?

Here I be. I would either build a conduit building, which uses welded junctions, or a Stimson bow shed. The bow shed is really the least expensive way to go, and will withstand severe snow, since it sheds the load. It uses 1X4 strapping and construction grade lumber, and clear poly as a cover, which allows the light to get in as a bonus.

doors, and poly cover

Like the idea of 1x4's.
Only suggestion I have is (in snow areas)not to build it too close to another building as the snow would slide off the roof and crush it. Had one do that several years ago.

Yes I am considering this type of construction.

Ideally I would like to build a nice wood pole barn, but I suspect if I go with a permanent structure it will be a Roamer (steel building).

Im glad you come to your senses! I wouldnt be caught dead as a door nail on that "go fast...plastic"...you know what.

You are in to this old girl...and what ever you think you are going to spend on her...triple that, and live with it. When you get her done and are cruising the Maine coast....You will understand it, you will be broke...but it will be a great feeling!

When we get on our Ole Chris with our 3 kids...I wouldn't trade it for anything...Like I say, you can take my house....not my boat!

Just to clarify, the Stimson bowshed is one of the most successful low cost temporary building designs in recent years. It is incredibly strong, and easy for an amateur to build and maintain. It has been used by professional and amateur builders and restorers for many many projects. It is not a plastic go fast building, it is intended for multi year use. Dave Stimson is a boat builder in Boothbay Maine, and has had these sheds stand up to 70 mph winds and many feet of snow.

For the second part, I must have misunderstood you. I read one post where you are almost ready to part out the boat based on the cost of dealing with some rot in the bow, and now you are considering putting up a permanent steel building for the restoration. If you have that kind of budget, then go for the steel building. A building as large as you need in a pole barn would be quadruple the cost of the Stimson,(at least) the steel building more, but if you are going to have to spend 50k or more on the restoration, no problem. The steel building can be used for years afterwards.

Funny I don't know Dave. Name sounds a little familiar but there are a lot of Stimson's in this part of the world. Where in Boothbay is he?

Now let me try and clarify my thinking and panic.

When I purchased American Beauty my plan was to do most of the work on her myself. As time has gone on I realize that my time is too limited for the amount of work needed, so I have taken her to a professional. (Edgecomb Boat Works, on the Boothbay - Edgecomb line) I have been intending to build a storage building to house her and avoid costly winter storage, at the same time have her where I can work on her when I have bits of time. Now the building budget is being spent on repairs and restoration.

Logic tells me to run, Run, RUN for the hills. Unfortunately we are not only logical beings.

Hey, I hear you. I am certainly not in a position to write cheques for my restoration. I had help two years ago for sixteen weeks fulltime, and Bob and I completed a lot of work. After that, I had to proceed on my own, and I am not finished yet! This bunch of work hurt, both in monetary terms and in time.... time I put in, and time without a boat. Looking back this last two years, I am not sure I would have gone ahead knowing what I know now, and I really mean that. That said, Vanora will be back together this year, and I will have done my part to steward her journey on the water.

I will say it again: The cruisers are the most at risk part of the CC family. They require a lot of time and a lot of money to keep, and do not hold their value relative to their restoration cost. Nobody has much interest in the 60's Chris Craft cruisers, yet they were the boats of my early years, and they represent the 60's well. It's a big reason why I have Vanora.


Good luck, I completely understand your situation.