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Posts Tagged ‘wood antique classic boat show’

Alter Ego with its 1,500 Hp engine sold for $92,500. Alter Ego is a 1958 unlimited hydroplane built by race boat builder Staudacher.

DESCRIPTION

Courtesy of Fred Farley:

Lester (“Les”) Staudacher designed and built some of the sport’s most successful Unlimited hydroplanes. Boats of his design won 51 races between 1953 and 1971. In 1956, Staudacher began construction on a conventional three-point hydroplane for Paul Sawyer that wasn’t put in the water for eighteen years. Tentatively titled ALTER EGO, the project was abandoned when Sawyer retired from racing. The unfinished craft was placed in storage. But Les and his helpers would occasionally “tinker” with it over the next decade when time permitted. The boat without a name was finally rescued from obscurity by Bob Schroeder.

I first read about ALTER EGO in 1956. It was mentioned in the Seafair Program as being in preparation (by designer/builder Les Staudacher). In 1959, it was reported being close to completion. Around this time, Paul’s wife became ill. He retired from racing and never realized his Unlimited Class ambition. The boat was placed in storage where it remained for many years.

Staudacher’s workers, throughout the 1960s, would occasionally “tinker” with ALTER EGO when they were between projects. Sawyer rejected all offers to buy ALTER EGO. He finally gave it to Bob Schroeder because Bob was “like family.” (Paul was in fact Bob Schroeder, Jr.’s Godfather.)

Schroeder finally put the boat in the water in 1974 and ran it in a few races as the unnamed CU-22, powered by an Allison. It finished 8th at both Detroit, Michigan, and Dayton, Ohio.

In 1983, Schroeder loaned ALTER EGO to Jim Sedam who ran it as MISS TOSTI ASTI. This was the first Unlimited to be driven by Todd Yarling. Todd’s best finish was a third in the Missouri Governor’s Cup at Lake-of-the-Ozarks.

Over the last two decades, Schroeder has entered ALTER EGO in quite a few Antique Boat Shows and taken many people for rides in it prior to selling the boat to the Warner Collection.

This past weekend, Mecum Auction and F. Todd Warner set antique boat pricing on its ear. Called the Warner Collection, it was amazing in size and gone/ sold at no reserve. No reserve brings up pricing on some items and brings down others if there is only one bidder.

What happened at this Mecum.com Auction? Some skids of antique boat parts went cheap.  A few boats went for what one would expect in this economy. A few boats may/may not have been a steal.

Without knowing condition; is the 1959  Century Coronado with a hardtop OK going for its $39,000 as a fair deal today? Another one, same year, same model, went for $6,000. Same Auction. Same crowd of bidders.

Sign-up NOW for this one.

It always fills up and some kids get disappointed. First kids signed-up get in without any hassle. Call Diana Shotwell at 1-570-759-3259 or dshotwell@nationi.net to get your family’s spot reserved right away.

What is this MARINE YOUTH CLASSIC BOAT JUDGING PROGRAM?

When and Where is it?

It’s on Saturday, June 19, 2010 in St. Michaels, MD at the 23 rd Annual Antique and Classic Boat Festival hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the ACBS that takes up 11 acres on the grounds at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum to show the all the classic boats and the other events of the the Chesapeake Bay Chapter – ACBS Festival.

What is it?

Six different classic boats will be judged by the youth judges on Horn, Interior, Paint, Boat Name, and the Engine.  

What else?

The youth judges will receive an official cap, a youth judging T-shirt, and the their judge’s badge.

They judge a winner, and they will the help present their winning Judges  Award  to the winner classic boat and family owners at the Boat Show Awards  picnic.

Who made this happen?

Diana Shotwell, from the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the ACBS, did. She got the club to agree to present this program, then got Hagerty Insurance and Antique Boat America to sponsor it. Diana runs this program and has taken out-of-state-training to make it run smoothly. This is the second year that Diana has run this program in addition to all the other kid’s events she has chaired for us on the Chesapeake Bay.

Seabuddy / chris brown says, three Cheers for Diana!

Did I say it was a FREE program? Well, its Free.

Thank Diana, Hagerty Insurance, Antique Boats America, and the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the ACBS, when you run into them. Lst them know that you are glad that they are helping our kids getting  involved in boating.

Your choice;Chairs or a settee for seating in the main salon

Are these full tank of diesel fuel ranges hard and fast? No. Could one reasonably expect such performance numbers to better understand if this yacht is for you? Yes.

Mainship Yachts kept the same hull as their 34, added on a few inches in the bow pulpit to make for a longer LOA, pushed some things around to get in a nice second stateroom inside and it’s the new and very nicely appointed 2011 model year Mainship Trawler 35.

Never get to stuck on the numbers here with this “35” yacht has an LOA of 39’ 5”, a beam of 14’ 2”,  a somewhat light weight of 20,000 lbs.  Single diesel (or two), bow and stern thrusters (or not, with the twin diesel engines), and flying bridge seating for five plus a bar-b-que and sink, etc make for a tippy motion at sea, but a fine spot to relax after a days run once you are on the hook.

master stateroom at the bow

The 34 had just one stateroom, sold well, and I predict that this one, with the two private stateroom will set sales records. Price…about $300 to $400 thousand depending on how one finishes this yacht out.

Oh, BTW, if you like slow and great fuel economy, get the smallest engine they offer. She will cruise slow on less than 150 Hp, the rest of the power is for “beat ahead of a storm” or a “good purchase against a running tide”, etc. The thrusters will take care of any marina  handling issues.

Main salon looking foward, look for the galley cook top

underway

layout cutaway for the Riva runabout

looking down

She goes as fast as the mid-40s with her twin diesels all the way wide open. At almost 6 tons she is a BIG wood and glass runabout. And, with her beam at 9’ 2” she needs a permit to haul her around on land.

Watch the ride when it gets rough, her deadrise is only a moderate v hull shape.

Made in Italy and sold mostly at Marine Max boat dealers. Yes, they usually have one Riva runabout boat for sale.

at speed

Riva yacht class

Wood and glass make for a nice day boat yacht

the skipper and the admiral

Its all of the White House

First, do not miss out on the brownies.

That said, this one is good coffee and right up the street from the biggest marina in town. Short walk from your boat slip. Go to St. Michaels Talbot Street., turn left, it is on the far side from you of the Talbot street. (the main street for St. Michaels). Across from Ava’s lunch, dinner, pizza, win bar, with its the lively social, friendly atmosphere of the town of St. Michaels.

Coming by land to St. Michaels?  On the driver’s side of the Talbot Street as one comes into downtown. 402 South Talbot Street.

There is a front sitting room and a huge back setting room with nice art, comfy couches, chairs, and an opportunity to get off the boat and plan your exploration of the Town of St. Michaels.

Coffee? Yup, just like all the other places. It tastes right to seabuddy / chris brown.

Why here? 1)  Close to the marina. 2) The spacious and relaxing area to rest and savor your drink. 3) the friendly  and helpful staff 4) did seabuddy say something about the brownies? 5) Wi Fi is free.

St.  Michaels Perk Coffee House, 402 Talbot Street, 410-745-8099, tell them seabuddy recommended them to you.

real wood, real varnish finish

outboard motor mounted inboard, inside the fordeck

note the yellow tinted stripesbetween planks

she is all of 8 feet long

Fact sheet

She is a real planked mahogany runabout in miniature. An outboard motor mounted inside the hull provides her power. She has single planked hull sides and bottom. Made in a small run back in 1931, she let the kids ride in a mahogany wood runabout just likeDad’s.  Only eight feet long, she got the “look” down very well for a reduced sized craft.

Dads and antique and classic boats just go together, is seabuddy / chris brown’s observation.

Nice "after" restoration Photo

She won an award in a Antique and Classic Boat Festival in St. Michaels, MD. For the restoration of what would be called a “bone yard” boat that most would just cut up, rather than save, rebuild, restore, and give another boating life to.

New structural wood was mixed in with the still good wood. She got careful time and attention to all the “next” steps. Note the finish on the stained /varnished wood and the painted hull sides. Wooden Boat Restoration is noted along the eastern half of the US for their ability to deliver any level of finish that one wants for a wood boat.

Their secret?  Years of knowledge, study, and a paint booth that Chip Foose of automotive TV fame would die for.

the Interior is highly varnished to furniture grade finish

Note that Helene Breza, woodwright, (pictured) was very involved in this boat.

Pride in her work

Wooden Boat Restoration is a small, hands on, firm that does very nice work in a large shop in the eastern shore of Maryland. Need something done? Give them a call. Shop 410-928-5501, cell 610-247-8053 or on the web…

www.woodenboatrestorationllc.com

These photos are from that website and other Wooden Boat Restoration projects are shown there also. George likes his customers to get progress photos of their wood boat as work is done on it.

"before" the restoration photo

"before the wood boat restoration

"during" wood boat restoration

A fine cutwater

She is the best known and recognized of example of the commuter style of yachting done since the 1930s; Long and narrow. Light and speedy and a LOOKER!

While this is but one of several styles of a series of fine yachts called Midnight Lace, this one shows the lines and curves that that define the name. A sharp clipper bow and with the deck structure set well back in the boat. She is what one far-sighted yacht designer drew to bring a commuter yacht back into the boating scene post 1975 and up to today.

Note the hull widening at the chine

Now, what was a “commuter yacht”? If one worked on Wall Street or was a Captain of Industry before the 1929 crash, the family estate was out on Long Island with your office in Manhattan. In this time in the US history, a fast, go-to-work boat was the cat’s pajamas to commute from home to office daily, thus the name “commuter”. She was used as a go-to-work vessel, not as a cruiser, nor as much of a over-nighter. These boats were sleek, long, and narrow beamed high powered day boats and had more style put into their design than practical ness. Style ruled the design board with a commuter yacht.

Deckhouse and helm are well aft sitting on the hull

The first size in the Midnight Lace designs built was a 44’ with an 11’ beam, which was based from a 50’ by 13’ fully, developed set of hull lines and profile look. It is said that 45 of these Midnight Laces were built. Think about it – - – today most 33’ cruisers sport an 11’ beam.

another view looking forward

This 44’ model is not in my photos, here. Other sizes were built, and this is a one of those other sizes, sitting in a yacht yard  along the mid-Atlantic coast for some spring touch up work.  Boats, both, full-custom (one only) and semi-custom (several made of limited offering of a given yacht hull) were made. I believe that a 36’, 40’, 52’ and 65’ yachts were drawn by Tom Fexas.

As an aside, I sea trialed a 44’ as a pre-cursor to my buying a used yacht. That boat with her twin 210 Hp Renault diesels was too slanted towards good fuel economy at the expense of a sprightly cruising speed, and I did not buy that boat.

Some of the new-wider hull Midnight Lace yachts are powered with 1,400 Hp and speed along nicely in high style. If you fall in love with a Midnight Lace, please check out her speed before buy. Do not worry about the ride, they are Top Shelf merchandize in that department.

note the bottom shape

http://www.webervations.com/magic-scripts/associations/smba.asp

Check off what you want for your stay and to get up-to-that-days choices and then fill the start and end dates for the days and nights you are planning to be in St. Michaels, MD.

This is THE resourse that I find is best for rooms, b&b’s, and vacations rentals for this area. They all call into a central telephone number each day what they still have foryou.