JFKs yacht (something) Fitz restoration

[D]

Does anyone know how to contact the folks restoring JFKs yacht? I know it is being restored somewhere in Mobile, AL but I'd be very interested in seeing pictures of this restoration online. :confused: :D

[Donn]

She's the Honey Fitz, the 8th Presidential Yacht. She started life as

LENORE

http://home.rose.net/~dingdong/Yachts/Lenore.jpg

"The Lenore was a vessel of 94 tons displacement, length 92 feet, beam 16 feet and draft of 5 feet. Built in 1931 for Sewell Avery, Chairman of Montgomery Ward by the Defoe Boat Works of Bay City, Michigan. It was christened the Lenore after Lenore Avery, Sewell's second daughter who died at age 4. She originally was used to cruise the waters of Lake Michigan near Avery's private estate on the Les Cheneaux islands, which are in Lake Huron off Michigan eastern shore. The yacht was often used to pick up guests who had arrived at Mackinac City by train from Chicago. Serious disagreements between Montgomery Ward and the goverment over Roosevelt's NRA wage and price provisions led to the seizure of the boat by the goverment in 1942.

Renamed the Lenore 2, she was used as a training ship for submarine crews in Portsmouth New Hampshire and later as an escort for the Presidential Yacht Williamsburg. The Lenore frequently carried the secret service agents who accompanied the President while he was aboard the 255 foot yacht.

In 1953, President Eisenhower retired the splendid but costly Williamsburg from active service, authorizing the refurnishing and overhauling of Lenora II at a cost of $200,000. She was rechristened Barbara Ann in honor of his granddaughter and was used for occasional cruises, and in the summers of 1957 and 1958 she sailed to Newport, Rhode Island where she conveyed the president to and from his golfing excursions.

With the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy, the yacht was refitted and on March 7, 1961 was renamed the Honey Fitz, honoring JFK's maternal grandfather (Former Mayor of Boston, and member of the House of Representatives, John Francis Fitzgerald).

President Nixion renamed the yacht Tricia after his daughter, and had the vessel auctioned off in December 1971 after a brief tour of duty providing cruises for hospitalized Vietnam veterans. The boat was purchased by Joe Keating who named it the Presidents.

The yacht was completly restored and refitted as it was during Kennedys term and was used for charters based in New York City. She was sold to unknown buyers at the Kennedy Memorabilia Auctions for $5,942,500. When the boat left overhaul, the painted transom was once again embellished with Honey Fitz in gold leaf."

HONEY FITZ

http://home.rose.net/~dingdong/Yachts/HoneyFitz2.jpg

"In 1998 William Kallop, a New York business man, took sole possession of the yacht. It remained for two years on dry land at the Offshore Specialties Fabricators yard in Houma, LA., a company owned by Kallop. There it became a blighted wreck, its paint peeling, boards rotting, the stateroom in shambles, the interior stripped bare and all the once fine furniture removed. In April 2002 it was moved to P&H Construction Yard in Mobile, AL. There the yacht is to undergo a complete restoration for the pleasure of the owner."

http://home.rose.net/~dingdong/Yachts/HFMobile2.jpg

This is how she looked last spring.

[ 10-11-2002, 10:58 AM: Message edited by: LOON ]

[D]

Thanks for the info! What are the odds on getting some pictures of the restoration?

[Jack Heinlen]

Donn,

Nicely done.

What was the other presidential yacht? Seqoia?(sp?) Or am I imagining things again? Didn't our new Nobel laureate, Jimmy, sell it off because it was too ostentatious? Fuel crisis and all that?

Boy look at that little ship! I could do that. That wouldn't hurt at all.

[ 10-11-2002, 01:14 PM: Message edited by: Jack Heinlen ]

[Donn]

D...I don't know. You can try contacting the yard. We also have a few forumites who live in the Mobile area, who may be able to do some snooping. I found one newspaper story about her that said that a guy named Howard Lifson will be acting as liason with the owner on the restoration, and that they expect to spend at least $1 million on the job.

[Donn]

Jack:

http://home.rose.net/~dingdong/Yachts/SEQ2.jpg

"USS Sequoia (Last Presidential Yacht?)
(Photo courtesy Samuel Stewart)

After being replaced as the Presidential yacht, the Sequoia was assigned to the Secretary of the Navy and was docked at the Anacostia Naval Station. She remained across the river from the Washington Navy Yard until 1964 at which time President Johnson again had her designated as a Presidential yacht and she joined the HoneyFitz at the Washington Navy Yard.

Kennedy celebrated his last birthday on board the Sequoia. (The Honey Fitz was at Hyannis Port, MA at the time)

Johnson used the Sequoia several times. He was tall and had problems with the low ceilings. He had the floor of the shower of the Presidential Stateroom lowered 6 inches so he could stand straight while taking a shower. He also had a bar installed in the space where Franklin Roosevelt's wheelchair elevator had been.

President Nixion spent his last hours as President aboard the Sequoia. President Carter said he would have no need of the Sequoia and it was sold at auction for $286,000."

[Ariel]

Pull up Mobile Register our local newspaper on line (www.al.com/mobreg/mob.html)--there was an article about the restoration in the paper this week with before and after pictures. She is quite lovely....

[D]

Thanks guys, I think I will try and contact the yard.

[Scott Rosen]

Originally posted by LOON:
President Carter said he would have no need of the Sequoia and it was sold at auction for $286,000."I'm ready to revoke his Peace Prize. He may be a peanut farmer, but he was Navy all the way. Shame on him.

[rkrough]

sequoia's home page (http://www.sequoiayacht.com/) http://www.sequoiayacht.com/images/ship.jpg
From the dean hardwoods website
After years of deterioration following her sale by order of President Jimmy Carter, the yacht of presidents dating back to Herbert Hoover was acquired by patriotic Americans in a preservation trust effort.


Their plan was to perform a total restoration of the Presidential Yacht U.S.S. Sequoia with donations from Americans who felt a responsibility to preserve such an important part of American heritage. A joint resolution of Congress was passed under which the yacht would be accepted by the government for presidential use after a total restoration, along with a fund for her perpetual maintenance. That way, no taxpayer dollars would ever be required for her maintenance.


The keel-up restoration was completed in 1988 with substantial donations of cash, equipment and materials of all kinds. This included new engines, electronics, and a substantial amount of Teak lumber which Dean Hardwoods proudly contributed.

A nearly two year effort restored the beautiful John Trumpy designed yacht to Bristol condition, but financial problems ensued and ultimately ended the hope of returning her to government service for present and future presidents.

[ 10-12-2002, 10:40 PM: Message edited by: rkrough ]

[tjdono]

I fear you all have not given the USS Potomac her just due. She also was a Presidential yacht under the stewardship of President Roosevelt, and (it absolutely PAINS me to say!! :( ) was the ship he preferred to travel in over the Sequoia. This was due to his huge fear of being caught in a burning vessel with his mobility impaired body unable to flee. The Potomac was a steel vessel. :D

Fun thread.
http://www.usspotomac.org/

Tim Donovan
Lady Nola
1959 Stephens Flushdeck Motoryacht