Sad Boats

[Zen]

winner !  :)
Give that man his award.

a custom made duct tape cup holder !

[Captain Smollett]

That is just unbelievable.   :'(

A boat neglected is one thing, but that E24 was raped in a fit of wilful, malicious evil mindedness. 

[CharlieJ]

OH

MY


GAWD!!!

Can you get a couple sticks of nitro down around the water line somewhere?

Put the poor thing out of it's misery!!

[AllAboutMe]

It's obvious to me, that you have missed the owners intent.
That large protrusion on the bow is a trailer tongue. The boat can be floated onto a small cradle with wheels, (or they may be permanently attached to the keel). One then only needs to detach the forestay, drop the tongue down, attach to the tow vehicle, and drive away.
The ugly brown paint is simply protective uv cover for the 30 coats of Hand rubbed varnish beneath.
The triple backstays are obviously intended to serve as additional tensioning when the owner(s) of the boat practice a circus balancing act on the tip of the mast. The upside down mast steps are a dead give-a-way to this. (as is the downhaul, which is used to tension the safety net)
If you had looked closely, you would have noticed the greasepaint and red balloon nose in the far left corner of the steering box.
My guess is that the owner, (actually, owners, a troupe of 40 sailing gypsy clowns) were in the cabin practicing their juggling while you were critically examining their yacht. You're lucky that you weren't seriously injured by a miscued bowling pin travelling at high speed,exiting the forward hatch.
This fine example of gypsy ingenuity deserves more than the base criticism that you have heaped upon it. I say that it should be enshrined forever, placed on a pedastal, and encased in quick drying concrete, never to be exposed to the environment (ever) again.
This reminds me of the Gypsy King, when asked "How many gypsies are you king of?" replied, "How many you got?"
Larry Wilson
Richmond,Va.

[Fortis]

I am so with you on the concrete.
The article is more then two years old now (actually what was pasted here was the rough draft initial "oh my god my poor eyes" response when I got home. The article that ran in the paper version of the magazine was somewhat "neater"...Anyway, the biggest issue since it ran was people demanding that I track down the owner and interview them to get the "real" story on the modifications.

And like an idiot for about six months I really did try. Managed to get a phone number from the yacht club (that took some convincing), he never returned calls. Left waterproof envelopes with messages on the boat, but week by week they disappeared or piled up, even asked the folks in neighbouring pens to give me a call ont he cell phone the moment they saw the owner so I could drop everything  and drive down...All of which totally failed to land me an interview, or even a sighting of, the owner.

Now here's the really scary thing....
These boats have a well in the cockpit that allows an outboard motor. The well in the cockpit of this thing is completely covered by the floor mats...This leads me to a deduction. I suspect that somewhere inside is an inboard installed with just the same kind of ingenuity as the rest of the boat displays!

Alex.

[AllAboutMe]

You mean that it can actually leave the dock? That IS scary. lmao
Larry Wilson
:o

[Captain Smollett]

What if all that is just a carefully designed "anti-theft" device?  What if the INTERIOR of the boat, and presumably that inboard, were pristine and to be the envy of us all?

I don't know; I still cannot get past the screwed-on pinrail at the mast.  Oh man.  Between that and the bow contraption, I remain, hours later, at a loss for words.

[AdriftAtSea]

What is really frightening to me, is that the person who did this to that boat is possibly still out there, with another innocent boat at their mercy.

Neglecting a boat is one thing, but actively disfiguring it is another.

[CapnK]

Somewhere on that 'bote' is a button.

Push the button, and it transforms, a la Kevin Costners trimaran in "Waterworld", into a sharp, shippy, flawless E35, replete with 30-coat handrubbed brightwork and shiny stainless galore.

At least, I *hope* there is a button like that...

Egads.

[AdriftAtSea]

I always liked the trimaran from Waterworld, although it is a bit large for day to day use, pretty neat boat otherwise... I always wanted a ballista on-board.. :D

[Frank]

After a total of 68 internet hours....using ALL available detective skills...going over countless files,state records and marina bills....then tracting all findings to the end source..I FOUND the owner. A complete personal history of this gentleman was obtained and he is indeed a very intelligent man..as a matter of fact...a Doctor. So respected in his field that wealthy people intrust him with their personal care. Proof of this was the fact that he is ..indeed ..Micheal Jackson's plastic surgean.I think he may have also worked on Joan Rivers and Wayne Newton as well. I am some what taken back to be involved with a group that can not seem to appreciate the fine work of this skilled and famous surgean.

[svosprey]

That is not an Endeavour- I recognized it as soon as I saw it.

The boat is a classic  Fromundacheese 24, the design is similar to its larger cousin the well known Lutefisk 32.

Hope this helps! ;D

[Oldrig]

That Endeavour certainly tops any tale I could tell, but I will recount a story about a boat that now sits, tilted on its jackstands in the back of the storage yard at the large marina south of Boston where I have my office--but not my boat (I could never afford it).

Every year for many years running, the marina staff painted, rigged and launched a Catalina 27 (I think). The boat would sit, in "sail-away" condition, for an entire season, accumulating city grime and growing a line of algae along its waterline. In the fall, the yard crew would haul the boat , power wash the algae off and shrinkwrap the boat until the following season.

This year, the boat was not launched. It sits in the back of the storage area of the yard, with various abandoned boats.

I asked a friend, who is a spring-through-fall liveaboard (after his divorce) at the marina, and he told me the story.

The owner, a man who had sailed for many years and still loved the thought of sailing again, was suffering from a lingering illness--cancer, I think. Every year he thought he would get better, and he told my friend that the thought of sailing, even once in a season, helped him endure the pain and discomfort of his treatments.

So, every year he asked his family to launch the boat for him.

Last winter he passed away, never having taken the boat out since he took ill.

--Joe

[Pixie Dust]

His boat was his comfort even when he could not be on her.  He had his memory and his mental visual which gave him an escape even while ill.  That is so very touching and how sweet of his family to launch his boat, even under those circumstances.  Hopefully, his boat will find a wonderful new owner so that more memories can be had.   It is not always neglect by choice that makes for a sad boat. 

[Zen]

Ok A new winner for the week, maybe the month. Behold the sadest boat...



I asked what happen? The fuel guy said. It has been under for about 8 months. I tired to save it. However even running two pumps could not keep it up. It was a wood boat, the owner use to take VERY good care of her. Something must have given away in the hull, maybe one the the planks. We tired almost everything.
The owner got sick, his cancer got worse and worse, he passed away.  :'(

[s/v Faith]

Just saw this link on the Classic Plastics forum;

  The demise of Minnow, a 27' O'day.

  Great series of pictures, but I am looknig forward to the sequel...

... watching them put it back together...  ;D

[K3v1n]

Here is a very sad Potter.



This sadly neglected P-14 was photographed in Hawaii. It has been suggested that it might be the P-14 Freya that John Van Ruth sailed from Yelapa Mexico on March 14 1972 and arrived at Radio Bay Hawaii on June 2 1972


-Kevin

[Captain Smollett]

Saw this boat at the yard the other day and it reminded me of this thread.



A month or so ago, that was a boat.  Admittedly, it was a boat pretty much in unrepairable shape, but it's still sad to see it go.  You can make out the bow section and the outriggers.

As I think about this, I think about what this represents in the larger picture of the community around me.  For a lot of us, for a lot of our discussions on boats, a boat is a luxury item owned for the purpose of recreation.  I know quite a few sailors that are 99.98% "shore based" and sailing is nothing more than a sport or a hobby to them.

Is there another dimension to this "sport?"

This boat was built as part of someone's livelihood.  It was probably operated for years by someone making a living plying the waters of coastal North Carolina.  She probably made her home in one of the "Down Easter" fishing towns that dot the coast, off the beaten path of the 'tourist track' and therefore largely unknown to the 'general public' until one of them dies and the news hounds put the hometown on the map once again.

Commercial fishing (I'm not talking about charter fishing) here is, to some degree, a dying industry.  I spoke with a lady that owns a processing facility, and she told me that as the current Captains retire, there's no one to replace them.  There are very few young hands coming up through the ranks, learning the ropes, the fishing grounds, the techniques.  She fears within one generation, NC will no longer have a fishing industry, or at least a profitable one.

These are the thoughts I had as I looked at this pile of wood and metal.

[Travelnik]

I saw this hydroplane on the local CL. They want $2500 for it.  ???