Steve Redmond's steel skipjack on eBay?

[Steve Paskey]

Not a wooden boat, but interesting nonetheless. In the late 1970s Steve Redmond designed a steel skipjack named "Night Scraper" for a welder friend. At least one was built -- could this be it?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/30-CHESAPEAKE-BAY-SKIPJACK-PROJECT-BOAT_W0QQitemZ320054584574QQihZ011QQcategoryZ63731 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Hwyl]

Put a bid on it.

[willmarsh3]

More pictures of the Night Scraper here:

http://www.sredmond.com/index_boat.htm

Will

[Tylerdurden]

I emailed for a looksee, let you guys know what turns up. I may go for it. Steel is easy for me.

[Tylerdurden]

I am just wondering what he means by cannot be trailered?
Beam issues?
well guess I have to ask another question.

[rbgarr]

Gareth-

That is the one I saw for sale in Essex, Mass. a couple of years ago. Let us know what you think of her when/if you get a chance to look her over.

[Hwyl]

It says on the ebay site it has to be put on a professional trailer. They haven't called back with directions yet.

[Steve Paskey]

Just got an e-mail from Steve Redmond. He thinks it is the Night Scraper -- the only one ever built. The builder was Dave Crawley of Wareham, MA.

[Steve Redmond]

Thanks Steve,

Yes I do believe it is the boat built by Dave Crowley 28 years ago. Always wondered what became of it.

A couple of corrections to the EBay listing: It's 26' LOD (not including clipper head, which I think is why it is listed as a 30' ), and it was designed to be trailerable, hence the 7'-9" beam. My guess is it runs about 5000 lbs, quite light for a steel boat.

I've got another good picture of it besides the one on the website, which I'll post there as soon as I can scan it. One difference I notice is a swing-up rudder to replace the very short experimental tip-plate rudder on the original design. Dave mentioned wanting to increase sureness in tacks.

I'm tempted to bid myself, but have so many projects to finish I know I wouldn't have time to do it justice.

Always wanted a ride on one, so if anybody wins it here, let me know!

Best regards,

Steve Redmond

[Tylerdurden]

I spoke to the owner and the prognosis isn't very good. sunlight through the hull near the transom, decks gone, house not much better. Shes been on the hard a good while and he pumps out the freshwater every six months or so. I am still going to take a peek but after the Crocker Ketch fiasco I don't know if I can handle it.
Seeing these boats in such bad shape because of neglect just breaks my heart.
It was an easy decision to sell my Egg when I knew I couldn't support her maintenance any more. The thought of walking out to the backyard to watch it crumble before me would be to much to handle and Its far better to take a loss and let it go to someone who will care for it. When I post after my looksee you will know quickly whether that is the case because I will be pissed if its a basket case.

[rbgarr]

When I saw her a few years ago in an antiques store parking lot with a faded 'For Sale" sign on her, she was in tough shape. I was hoping she'd seen some care and repair. Sounds like she hasn't.

[Steve Redmond]

http://www.sredmond.com/boat_images/Night_Scraper002sm.jpg

This is the photo I found from 1978 of Dave Crowley's boat in Wareham, MA after launching. He had a nice setup with ways in his driveway leading out over a beach.

He welded rungs on the side for climbing aboard (not on the plans). You can just make them out to the right of the dory. And their existence (or evidence they once were there --like weld marks) would establish the identity of the boat with certainty.

I sure hope it's restorable -- I think it's the only one in existence.

--Steve

[rbgarr]

I remember that the boat I saw in Essex had the welded rungs. That creek in Wareham is a nice place. I was on that beach there once looking at a Sidney Herreshoff motor boat that I now wish I'd bought.

[Tylerdurden]

I saw it, In my opinion she needs more labor than building new.
Years of accumulated fresh water have taken her bottom and frames.
There is no salvage except maybe the mast, Sails shot and rigging missing the decks and house are bad and would have to come out completely in order to blast.
She looks pretty solid on the outside but severe freshwater corrosion
of the steel has he rusting from the inside out. Large areas (frames included) are gone. I know if I started blasting I would be horrified to find not much to weld to.

Oh yeah, its the Night Scraper, rungs and all.

[Steve Paskey]

Bloody hell. Sorry to hear that.

[Steve Redmond]

Kinda sad about that. I remember the excitement of receiving letters by Dave Crowley -- who I think may be deceased now. It was one of the first boats I designed when I had a boatshop in Burlington.

Brings back memories of that time in the 70's, seeing it again. Kinda like hearing an old song on the radio you hadn't heard in 30 years.

Well, boats die I guess, to make room for new ones. Space for everybody else. Bye Night Scraper.

--Steve

http://www.sredmond.com/boat_images/Night_Scraper003sm.jpg

[Hollingsworth]

I have no way of telling if this boat is salvagable or not, but if anyone's looking form more information on steel boats, check out:

www.metalboatsociety.com

It's the ironworker's version of Wooden Boat. I'll post something there about this boat

[Tylerdurden]

Went for $334.50

[Dan C]

I bought it. She's sitting in my yard right now and I'm slowly taking bits and pieces out. I saw this forum before I bought it on Ebay and, after I looked at it myself wondered if I had made an expensive mistake. So far I have not found any areas in the hull that have been rusted beyond repair. There is a three inch hole in the transom which is a mystery to me. It seems to have rusted out in one very localized spot while the steel immediately surrounding it is still full thickness. Other than that I'd have to say the hull is pretty sound. The deck and cabin appear to be CDX plywood covered with glass and are pretty shot. I am ripping all of this off to fully expose the hull and sand blast. Dont know if anyone is still interested in this boat but I felt obligated to say that she's still out there and I'm fairly optimistic that she will sail again. I will maybe post some pictures if anyone is interested.

[Gary E]

Before you go to to much work, I sugest you have the hull inspected with ultrasonic testing of the metal thickness. The problem with steel boats is that they can look good and even sound good when you hit on them, but they can still be very thin and weak. Spend a few bucks to find out exactly what you have before doing anything to it.


There is a three inch hole in the transom which is a mystery to me. It seems to have rusted out in one very localized spot while the steel immediately surrounding it is still full thickness.

Perfict example WHY YOU SHOULD have it Ultrasonic tested

[Tylerdurden]

Dan, she was loaded down with freshwater for years. I inspected her and thought better of it and I am an experienced fabricator. The advice about ultrasonic inspection is warranted and if I felt it was a possible save, I would have gone that route myself. Because of her length she is scant on steel so be careful.