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1937 CENTURY RASCAL |
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We found this little gem on a trip
to the Wooden Boat Show held in the second weekend of August in
Hessel, MI. Hessel is located on the north end of Lake Huron in the
Les Cheneaux Islands. The water is quite cold there and helps keep
wooden boats in good shape by retarding the growth of rot. It is a
mecca for wooden boats and is an extremely beautiful area not far
from Mackinac Island. |
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This is
the boat as we first saw her upside down on a pair of sawhorses. It
had been in the same family since it was new and plied the waters
around the Les Cheneaux Islands for all these years. It didn't escape
the rigors of time and use without deteriorating. The mahogany
planked hull had been fiber glassed over and the varnish and paint
were in sorry shape. When we got it home to Grand Haven, MI, we threw
an old Chris Craft motor on it and spent a fun afternoon putting
around the local waters. With the thought of a full restoration in
mind we tore the deck off and began repairing some of the rotted
areas. |
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We took out the floor boards and
the seats to see what we had. It was fairly solid but did need plank
replacement eventually. We decided to leave the fiberglass intact,
clean it up, make some repairs, and sell it. |
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The boat originally had three
seats, two with seat backs. The center one was missing and so we
patterned a new one from the remaining one in the front. |
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All the interior pieces were either
stripped and varnished or, like the floor boards painted to match
the interior. |
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Three planks on the deck were
beyond reuse and needed replacing. The others weren't in great shape
but we were trying to keep it as original as possible. |
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The interior and floor boards were
painted and reinstalled. The exterior was sanded, primed and painted
a nice crisp white. |
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Next, the seats were reinstalled. |
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The first coat of varnish was
applied to the deck while the new planks were still being
fabricated. |
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The whole boat was beginning to
take shape and was no longer such an ugly duckling. |
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The new seat back for the second
seat is fitted to be sure it will fit correctly. |
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Finally, the boat was finished as
far as we wanted to take it. We finished it in time to exhibit at
the annual Century Boat Show in Manistee, MI where Century boats were
originally made. |
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We restored an old motor from the
same period and displayed the boat with the motor on it. The motor
is a Johnson K 50. |
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The boat in the water at the
Century Boat Show. We had a small battery powered bilge pump in it -
just in case - but the boat didn't leak and take on water. A
picture of it was included in the Winter, 2007 Thoroughbred, the
Century Club's newsletter. We sold her shortly thereafter and she
will be residing on Staten Island, NY. |
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