bonz_d
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2008
- Messages
- 5,276
After all the holiday festivities were finished yesterday I was board and started surfing the web looking at old old boats. I came across a page for the Lake Geneva wood boat show and started looking through. Yes there were many very old and some very rare wood boats on display. All very beautiful!
About 2/3 of the way through I came apon a picture and story of an old wood plywood boat. Which happened to be one just like one I'd had way back in the early 70's. It is/was a 1959 Switzercraft 17' daycruiser. Very pretty and unique boat.
So as the story line goes with the number of pictures of this boat I come to find that there were only 5 of them ever built by Switzer.
Now for the sad part.
When I bought the boat it had been sitting outside a marina neglected. It needed some minor wood work from what I thought but I bought it anyways. Why? Because at the time I'd just gotten out of the Air Force and had started working for another local marina. One that specialized in rebuilding and restoring old wood planked hulls. During that winter I was able to convience one of the guys in the wood shop to come take a look. After an hour or so of looking at it he comes back to me and says, "Kevin, it's just not worth the money and time to fix it." How could I argue with him? This guy really did know wood boats. I didn't agree with his assesment but what could I do? I'm sure he saw it as just another old plywood boat.
So to make a sad story short this one of five sat again for another two years while I tried to learn enough to do the repairs myself only to have it set aside by a new baby and a big job change. So if I could inform the owner of the other Switzer, I know for certain that there are now only maybe Four left.
About 2/3 of the way through I came apon a picture and story of an old wood plywood boat. Which happened to be one just like one I'd had way back in the early 70's. It is/was a 1959 Switzercraft 17' daycruiser. Very pretty and unique boat.
So as the story line goes with the number of pictures of this boat I come to find that there were only 5 of them ever built by Switzer.
Now for the sad part.
When I bought the boat it had been sitting outside a marina neglected. It needed some minor wood work from what I thought but I bought it anyways. Why? Because at the time I'd just gotten out of the Air Force and had started working for another local marina. One that specialized in rebuilding and restoring old wood planked hulls. During that winter I was able to convience one of the guys in the wood shop to come take a look. After an hour or so of looking at it he comes back to me and says, "Kevin, it's just not worth the money and time to fix it." How could I argue with him? This guy really did know wood boats. I didn't agree with his assesment but what could I do? I'm sure he saw it as just another old plywood boat.
So to make a sad story short this one of five sat again for another two years while I tried to learn enough to do the repairs myself only to have it set aside by a new baby and a big job change. So if I could inform the owner of the other Switzer, I know for certain that there are now only maybe Four left.
