Inherited a 1913 project Monterey, now what....

Did I say project?
Yeah, big one. My dad bought this from the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle, 20 plus years ago, and it had been donated to them as "Museum Quality" before that. They used it as a tug, in Puget Sound for some time, and my dad, being a lifelong woodworker took it on as a project and started repairs...

Fast forward to now, a massive heart attack out of the clear blue sky has taken him away, and including a lifetime of tools, vehicles and boats, this is the most difficult thing to sort out.

The Landings at Colony Wharf in Bellingham is where he set up shop, the boat has occupied a corner of the yard, under cover there since he motored it up in '89, and now it's a liability issue for my brother and I, who have neither the time, money, or space to do anything proper with it.
(I'm a gearhead, and the 2cyl Detroit kinda interests me, he's a Marine Biologist and a wood boat doesn't intrest him at all; aluminum or maybe glass...)

We did also take over the 35' sailboat, but that's a working live-aboard, and only needs good use and some upgraded navigation and communication gear- I digress...

The Landings estimate a $4000 bill to destroy and dispose of the Monterey and associated cover "building" and firstly, I know my brother and I can do the same work for $500, but that's not the point.

This project needs a good set of hands, and a lot of time to make her whole again, and it's a goddamn shame to think disposal is the answer.

Here's where you come in.

Help us help you, by taking over this project. You need it; have wanted a Monterey forever and have the space, time, tools, and maybe a little money, to get this back in ship-shape. We'll happily help get it to you, or if you're in the Bellingham area, talk to the guys at the Landings and take over the space? My brother and I live 8 hours south and will be making trips there to continue sorting out the sailboat and hopefully meeting with you to discuss how to make the Monterey yours.

Obviously PM is the best way to contact me, or post your comments here.

Cross-posting in the "For-Sale" thread, Mods- please show me the way if I'm out of bounds here.

Thanks.

Nice project if you have the time and money. Keep us posted on your work.

Good luck!

L

Sorry for your loss, Tblume. Your late father must have been an interesting guy.

Agree that demolition would be a disservice to his memory as well as to the Monterey. You just need to find that one (or two or three) people who can imagine a life for that boat. They are out there - right now, you just need some time to get things lined up. Wishing you and the boat the best of luck!

Northwest Maritime Center
Port Townsend
360-385-3628

AlaskaProf said:

Northwest Maritime Center
Port Townsend
360-385-3628

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I think I’d advertise it on Craig’s list and others for $1. Let that run for a month or how ever long you are comfortable, then warm up the excavator and bring in a dumpster or two. I agree it would be a shame to see it go, but I think reality is that for every 100 boats like yours, there is one person willing to take it on as a project. Perhaps more like 1000 to 1.

I have faced this with antique furniture, a lot of which we have across our extended family. Unless it’s an exceptional, museum example, it just has no value. After storing stuff for decades, I have just started burning or crushing it.

If it is ballasted with lead, you may find a little "pot of gold" at the end of the demo. There may actually be more parts you can sell of to make it worth scrapping if you say you can do it yourselves for $500.

I think a lot of your advertising for selling it for a dollar or giving it away may be a fruitless endeavor of time consuming conversations with people who won't or can't follow through.


Did you already try to give it back to the wooden boat organization up there?

twistedtree said:

I think I’d advertise it on Craig’s list and others for $1. Let that run for a month or how ever long you are comfortable, then warm up the excavator and bring in a dumpster or two. I agree it would be a shame to see it go, but I think reality is that for every 100 boats like yours, there is one person willing to take it on as a project. Perhaps more like 1000 to 1.

I have faced this with antique furniture, a lot of which we have across our extended family. Unless it’s an exceptional, museum example, it just has no value. After storing stuff for decades, I have just started burning or crushing it.

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I watched a backhoe end the life of a boat about that size at Shelter Island (Richmond BC) a couple of years ago. He had it done by coffee time.

bligh said:

I think a lot of your advertising for selling it for a dollar or giving it away may be a fruitless endeavor of time consuming conversations with people who won't or can't follow through.

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Sounds look like selling any boat

koliver said:

I watched a backhoe end the life of a boat about that size at Shelter Island (Richmond BC) a couple of years ago. He had it done by coffee time.

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I’ve torn down a couple of buildings and it does go quickly as long as you prep it. Fluids drained, valuable stuff removed, and a clear vision of how you will sort the materials. Scrap metal you can get a few $$ for, or at least not pay to dispose of it.

Rebuilding that boat is like starting from scratch. You will have to pull of all planking, engine, pilothouse, everything but the framing and even that looks suspect.

Do you want to build a wooden boat from scratch?

David

If you choose to destroy it you should try to find someone interested with the lumber that is in good shape. Old timbers like this should certainly be of some interest for woodworkers out there. At least I would.

@twistedtree - same thing for your antique furniture, even if people are not interested by the furniture itself, some may be interested by the wood depending on what type of wood it is. I know someone that found a table on the street that was looking pretty bad, he took it and found out that it was made of solid cuban mahogany, pretty expensive wood and very hard to find nowadays.

L

twistedtree said:

I think I’d advertise it on Craig’s list and others for $1. Let that run for a month or how ever long you are comfortable, then warm up the excavator and bring in a dumpster or two. I agree it would be a shame to see it go, but I think reality is that for every 100 boats like yours, there is one person willing to take it on as a project. Perhaps more like 1000 to 1.

I have faced this with antique furniture, a lot of which we have across our extended family. Unless it’s an exceptional, museum example, it just has no value. After storing stuff for decades, I have just started burning or crushing it.

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Sadly, I think twistedtree is right. Think of this as a project your dad chose to keep himself busy not a dream he had. I think you will find the $4,000 route to be the cheapest in the long run.

Thanks for the input there everyone, my brother comes ashore this week from a rockfish survey, and we'll have a sit-down, he's ready to junk it but there's still CL (sh!*#eads) and the wooden boat show is coming up, so..maybe.

He's got another leg of the survey after a week, and I'm in the middle of doing a bunch of maintenance and a stage 1 tune on his 7.3 superduty, so we'll hash it out and get a solid plan.

To be continued..

Do you have any pics of her from back in the day?

These boats were still common in the 1970. New ones were still being built after WWII. One still had the one cylinder Hicks gasoline motor when I was fishing. Every time the cylinder fired the boat would lurch. Looks like the engine is a Detroit 353, the usual replacement. Most boats of this style were used as gillnetters in the Sacramento River delta. But that ended about 1958 after the impact of new dams. Then they were converted to ocean salmon trollers. They burn about 2 gallon/hour at 7 knots and under 1 when trolling.
Pic is 28' salmon troller

I don't know too much about things like center of gravity, moment of inertia, etc. but boy that sure looks top heavy!

Lou_tribal said:

I know someone that found a table on the street that was looking pretty bad, he took it and found out that it was made of solid cuban mahogany, pretty expensive wood and very hard to find nowadays.

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Fifty years ago I met a couple who bought an old wooden sailboat specifically because the cabin had 6" thick teak from India. He used that boat which he demolished to build his boat. Said he could not have afforded the materials otherwise...

In Naples, there was once a gent who purchased and stockpiled teak. That was his retirement plan.

Still, sometimes it is best to let go of what was once a dream. We all evolve. Keep a scrap of wood for the Christmas tree, and a few planks so you can engrave the family name on one or more. Your dad's legacy should be the happiness he gifted you.

Though finding a new owner would be ideal, the reality is that most of the value of that vessel is in the memories.