Oscar Lay Lyman Restoration Update

By Bob Grimm, ACBS member

Maritime Museum of Sandusky, Ohio

“Gull is looking like a boat again!” These heartfelt words were enthusiastically expressed by videographer Chris First of F2T as he documented the reinstallation of the beautiful solid mahogany cabin sides and windows on Gull, a 1939 pre-war, hand-built, 24-foot Lyman Custom Runabout with an All-Weather hardtop. Owned by the Maritime Museum of Sandusky, Gull is entering the final phase of an extensive two-year, $275,000 period restoration. When completed in fall 2025, this remarkable vessel will welcome the public aboard for in-water excursions and private charters on Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie.

Meticulously restored by classic and antique wooden boat professionals at Classic Marine in nearby Vickery, Ohio, the Oscar Lay Lyman represents the rare 21-and 24-foot “specialty boats” built by Lyman Boat Works of Sandusky, Ohio, during the later years of the Great Depression. Only three of these rare 24-foot lap-strake hulls with carvel-planked bottoms are known to exist today, elevating Gull’s historical significance as a living tribute to the boats that helped sustain Lyman Boat Works through the late 1930s.

According to Dwight Davis, owner of Classic Marine, this “floating piece of art” is extraordinary. “With a cruiser-like limo look, this 8,000-pound vessel has four times as many parts as production-built boats of the same size.Gull fights us every step of the way because of the inherent complexities in hand-built antique wooden boats. Yet, there is something incredibly graceful about preserving this piece of maritime history,” says Davis, a renowned restoration expert with over 40 years of experience.

The Oscar Lay Lyman represents a historic business relationship between two iconic Sandusky enterprises. Lyman Boat Works’ ill-timed move from Cleveland to Sandusky in 1928 nearly bankrupted the company. However, it managed to survive by building six trap-net boats in the mid-1930s for Lay Brothers Fisheries—arguably the world’s largest freshwater commercial fishing business of that era. This unique partnership kept Lyman afloat during the Great Depression, allowing it to later thrive as a WWII government contractor and ultimately become a powerhouse in recreational boating. It is fitting that Gull’s restoration coincides with Lyman Boat Works’ 150th anniversary in 2025.