Plastic Classic Forum

This lovely little boat is just 2 or 3 away from mine in the yard. I saw her for the first time last weekend (they moved my boat from where it was before and it took me a few minutes to find it again), and today I was up there again and decided to take a few pics.



I'd guess maybe 23-24 feet.



Lovely sheer line.



Beautiful little cabin.



Whenever I see a pretty little thing like this in such a state of neglect, it always makes me sad. I always think that if I were a multi-millionaire, my hobby would be buying every one of these I come across and doing a top-to-bottom, full gonzo restoration and return her to her former glory.

This one really could be such a pretty little boat. She looks very stout indeed, with her full, deep keel. I can just envision that cabin rebuilt in all fresh wood and finished bright - she'd make a lovely single-handed camp cruiser - great for trips all over the Chesapeake.

I really hope someone is doing something with her, but she looks so rough, I think she's beyond most people's ability or budget to bring back. She's in worse shape than she might appear in the photos, unfortunately.

The most recent sticker on her hull is from 2007.

So sad...

As neglected as she is, she's still sitting pretty and proud.

I hope someone will adopt her and bring her back to her former glory.

Sad, indeed.

Looks like a Cheoy Lee, perhaps a Frisco Flyer (or maybe a Newell Cadet or Offshore 26? I forget the exact differences between the Frisco Flyer III and the latter two).

All I know is when I see something that clearly was once so lovely and could still be if it had been properly taken care of, it breaks my heart.

Nothing is quite so tragic and pathetic as simple neglect. And yet it is so common...

Definitely a Cheoy Lee, you can tell by the decorative scroll at the fore and aft end of the cove stripe. Sad indeed. Not all boats need to be saved, but that one does.

Yes, I posted it over at the Wooden Boat forum, and after some Googling to compare pictures, it's a Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer.

It could be an absolute peach of a boat - they are very pretty with lots of nice woodwork. It's simply a real shame that someone let this one get into such an advanced state of neglect and decay.

ILikeRust wrote:Yes, I posted it over at the Wooden Boat forum, and after some Googling to compare pictures, it's a Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer.

It could be an absolute peach of a boat - they are very pretty with lots of nice woodwork. It's simply a real shame that someone let this one get into such an advanced state of neglect and decay.

Sea Monkey is such a great name.

I've been tempted by more than one of these, but usually the Bermuda 30 or Offshore 31 models.
Unfortunately, they don't seem to age well. Four weak points that are notorious:

1) "Leaky teaky" problems, of course - the ports leak and, at a minimum, ruin the interior woodwork. More seriously, the 1500-2000 screws that fasten the teak deck rot out the core, and lead to extensive delamination.

2) "Cast iron" ballast (which is really pieces of iron scrap with concrete poured over them). Sooner or later, cracks develop, water gets in, and the scrap starts to rust. This causes it to expand, crack the concrete more, and so on.

3) Volvo single-cylinder engines (MD1). These are simple fishing boat engines that are reliable and last a long while. Unfortunately, it has been a long while, now, and Volvo charges a fortune for rebuild parts (e.g. $1000 for a starter/generator). At these prices, the engines aren't worth rebuilding, since they are only 5-7 hp in the first place and shake like crazy.

4) Poor quality hardware - Cheoy Lee did a lot of their own castings and not all that well. The fitting are unreliable and, of course, pretty expensive to replace.

This is not to say that these are not lovely designs (actually, copies of lovely designs) with beautiful detailing, and a great deal of romantic appeal. It's just that most of them seem to have been let go, like the one you saw, and they take a lot of work and a lot of money to get back into seaworthy condition.

Duncan wrote: [insert various brand names of old diesels here]. These are simple fishing boat engines that are reliable and last a long while. Unfortunately, it has been a long while, now...

Excuse me, but can I borrow that line? I'd like to use it next time I'm shopping for a boat and the sellers tack $6k onto the asking price "because it has a diesel," when said diesel is a 20 year old hunk of shaking, expensive-parts-laden metal that I would gladly exchange for a nice, quiet Atomic Four (or, just tear out and put in a new diesel but not after paying "$6k" for the old one).

Anyway, your quote made me laugh this morning. (And I agree with you on the Cheoy Lees; they are pretty but demanding and expensive to keep up, especially once they've "slipped.")

Rachel wrote:

Duncan wrote: [insert various brand names of old diesels here]. These are simple fishing boat engines that are reliable and last a long while. Unfortunately, it has been a long while, now...

Excuse me, but can I borrow that line?

But, of course, Rachel. I'm flattered.

Following up on that, and tying in your thoughts on how diesels can be overly valued, I have another expression you'd probably like.

I have the usual lousy access to the engine, so I must kneel on the sole and stretch my arms out into weird positions. I refer to this strange and uncomfortable ritual as "worshiping the diesel" ;)

Ha! On one boat I cruised on we had a dedicated "engine pillow." This was simply an old bed pillow that was reserved for placing on top of the engine so that one could lean over the top without turning into a human engine tracing. It just cracked me up the first time I ran across it because stowage was so tight and yet there was this whole, big fluffy pillow just for the engine.

I was just looking at some photos of a Tartan 34 today. That's the one with an actual engine "island" in the middle of the saloon (under a removable settee base). Drool!

I wish I had the money and time. She is in similar condition to my Chrysler C-26 which sat on a trailer and the trees grew up around her for 8 years the elements inside and outside just about did her in.