PHOTO - 45 Days to Relaunching

[Elcoholic]

Sleeping Beauty awakens! Although she still has no engines and may well founder right out of the slings, there IS light at the end of the tunnel. (An oncoming train?)

[L.W. Baxter]

Are you sure the lake is big enough to turn around in?

Mighty fine craft, elcoholic.

[Mr. Maar]

What's the building method? How much money you have spent on her (if it's not secret)?

[Bruce Hooke]

Wow!

[Stiletto]

Lovely!

[Mr. Maar]

Congratulation

[sbsbw]

Beautyful boat.

[BrianR]

Its one of those boats you thank God is out there......

[Elcoholic]

Mr. Maar:

The building "method" is to fix everything or replace what I can't. Initially, we gutted everything.....all the electrical, plumbing and anything that was rotten or "iffy." We have gone through $8,000 of Honduran mahogany alone. When purchased, it looked like a semi-floating homeless shelter that had wired by an arsonist.

Thus far (and we're damn sure not finished!), we have invested about 145K in her...this includes acquisition, moving expense, parts, material and labor. My employees are making a fortune! I am settling for something close to minimum wage. (It has been suggested that I'm overpaid.)

Why go throught it all? Potential! She was an aging dowager queen without health insurance.
It's one of three (of the original 7) Elco 57's extant, acknowledged to be Glenville Tremain's finest renderings.

When I first saw her, I thought to myself, "She deserves the best!" So....I bought her!

[Cullen T.M. McGough]

Beauty. More pics, please.

-C

[Elcoholic]

Here's on of the starboard side:


Galley looking forward:

[Elcoholic]

Let's try that starboard side again........

[Garrett Lowell]

Now that's got to be one of the best ways to improve your property! She looks great. Can't wait for the action shots.

[dmede]

That boat is gorgeous! And big, thats a monster.

Good job Elcoholic, can't wait to see her underway.

[Elcoholic]

Engines were installed this afternoon:

[Mark Turner]

We have Elco envy over hear. Hey, are you putting together a website. Its only fair.

[nedL]

Fantastic!!!!!

[Stari27]

Please tell us about the engines, I am looking at repowering my 1957 Richardson.

[brian.cunningham]

[Elcoholic]

Well, the engines are 1972 Cummins V903M diesels (V8, 903 CID, marine) that were purchased with very low hours from a guy that repowered with the same type engines but with turbochargers. He got a good deal and passed these on to me, along with a 15KW Onan generator for $5,000. They were test run and purred like tigers! I brought them down from Martha's Vineyard and prettied them up.

The prop shafts and engine support rails in the Elco were designed for large straight six engines. However, the V8's, while much shorter, are also much wider. I made new rails of substantially heavier steel, turned them upside down, added 1/2" steel mounting pads that I offset 3" port and starboard and in they went......3" apart. The location and shape of the fuel tanks, protruding starters and oil filters of the engines and the "offset approarch" all required that the engines be connected to the prop shafts with 24" torque tubes. (Marine driveshafts generally used with V-drive boats) I also mounted 1-3/4" flange bearings immediately behind the prop shaft flanges for stbility.

Anything else you'd like to know?

[Elcoholic]

Here are a couple photos:

Starboard engine:


Torque tube installation:

[Paul Denison]

If you don't mind me asking, what's the business plan? Do already have clientel? I don't recall the lake being very busy, but maybe I was on the wrong end.

[Elcoholic]

The "plan" is to offer something for people to DO on the lake. I work on the lake constantly and the one complaint I have always heard is that there is nothing to DO there......the local cesspool "Tiki Hut" not withstanding.

We'll offer heavy seafood hors d'ovres, (oysters on the half shell are a must) 50+ different wines, a dozen or so brands of imported beer, assorted cheeses, cigars, mariachi bands, steel drum bands and string quartets playing on the helm deck, all with the decor and ambiance of 1940. Cruises will be by charter only. The lake is 22 miles long with over 500 miles of coastline. There will not really be a destination, per se, just a "hell of a fun day at "sea.""

In 18 months of talking to the people here, I haven't heard a single desparaging word. We'll advertise in Greenville, Atlanta, Highlands and eventually, Southern Living, Travel, etc.

It's my retirement. I don't golf. Wish me luck!

[JimD]

Wish me luck!

Good luck, good fortune, and saaaay, that's one heck of retirement hobby

[Paul Denison]

Check out this link:

http://www.tnriverboat.com/

This boat leaves from downtown Knoxville and heads downstream. They have a lot of different packages. A lot of their business seems to be corporate.

[Elcoholic]

Thanks for the tip, Paul. Mostly, I'd like to find out their insurance carrier. The size of that riverboat puts it in a different category than ours. We'll be dealing with more intimate gatherings. I have thought of expanding to include Bar Mitzvahs, embalmings, divorces and burials at sea.......one stop shopping for those nautically inclined and one not likely to be adversely affected by Wal-Mart.