By Larry Tarves, Smith Mountain Lake Chapter
Let me introduce you to the Queen Mother of all runabouts. It has ten cockpits, seating for 125 passengers and three engines under the deck; must be a runabout!
The Flying Saucer operated out of the docks of Chris’ Seafood Restaurant on the bay front in Ocean City, New Jersey, for nearly 30 years. During those years, it gave thrills to all who were lucky enough to get a ride, as well as those who were on the beach or boardwalk when Saucer came by.
On the outbound trip, Chris Montagna would run the boat at near full speed, perhaps one hundred yards just off the beachfront for about two-thirds the length of the island. If you were on the beach at this time, you could hear those Packards coming from half-a-block away, and you could hear them going away for over half a mile. On the return trip, Chris would take the Saucer further offshore, giving passengers a sense of being in the ocean.
The saucer started life as an Elco PT boat, but was bought by Chris Montagna after World War II as war surplus along with nearly 100 surplus Packard engines. Chris stored those engines at several locations not far from the restaurant, and over the years, he used every one of them. The Elco PT boat itself was taken to the Holtz Boat Works, which at the time was located in the 700-block of Pleasure Avenue on the bay front of Ocean City, New Jersey. While there, the Elco was stripped of its military configuration, much of the hull was rebuilt and redesigned. What emerged was the Flying Saucer.
When first launched, the Saucer did not have the wing on the side. During the first week or so, it was discovered that the hull would twist when run hard. And hard was the only way Chris would run the boat. The twisting caused the fastenings to fail just below the sheer line for a distance of 15 to 20-feet amidship. This caused diagonal planking to lay out from the hull, in some places as much as two inches. This was not good for paying passengers!
The boat was removed from service and returned to the boatyard. There, repairs were made and a wing was added, made up of 1.5 x 8-inch planking laid fore and aft. The wing covered almost half the length of the boat and was cut, shaped and artistically painted to resemble the wing of a duck or goose. The wing corrected the twisting problem and made the boat better looking at the same time.
Over its nearly 30 years of service, the Flying Saucer gave many paying passengers a thrilling ride along the Ocean City, New Jersey beachfront. I do not believe that during that time anyone was ever seriously injured other than possibly a twisted ankle from getting on or off the boat.
However, all was not smooth sailing. In once incident, the Saucer lost her steering and was in danger of being washed up on the beach with a full load of passengers. Chris had to make a call to the Greater Egg Harbor Coast Guard, who arrived in time, got a line on the Saucer and towed her back to the dock, saving the day.
The most serious thing happened in the late 1960s or early 1970s on her last run of the day at approximately 6:30pm. Fortunately, the Saucer was still in the Back Bay area when there was a horrific explosion. The engine hatches flew open and partly ripped from their fastenings, coming to rest at odd angles in the open holes. Any possibility of fire was quickly extinguished when Chris activated the onboard fire suppression system. The engines also had to be shut down as some people had jumped overboard and were now in danger of being run over. Again, the Coast Guard quickly arrived on the scene.
At Yanks Boatyard after the explosion.
After determining that the situation was under control, there was no further imminent danger, and all passengers who had jumped overboard were accounted for, the Coast Guard nudged the Saucer into the dock at the Ocean City Yacht Club. They bussed the passengers back to the restaurant and their waiting vehicles there.
The Saucer was again taken out of service for the rest of the season and sent to Yank’s Boatworks of Tuckahoe, New Jersey for inspection, repairs and modifications to the rear deck area. A team of inspectors from the main Coast Guard headquarters in Philadelphia were sent to the boatyard to investigate the explosion and make recommendations.
Their report found that the cause of the explosion was a loose or broken fuel line fitting. The report also mandated that a larger hatch be made in the rear deck, which could blow clear of the boat in the event of another explosion, thus relieving pressure on the hull. This modification made it necessary to remove the twin tail fins. This did not hurt the appearance of the boat, as by this time the fins were out of style. The Saucer returned to service the following season and continued to run for several more years.
By the late 1970s, Chris had used his entire supply of surplus engines and had to scour the country to find three serviceable engines before the Saucer could go back in the water.
Each year, the Flying Saucer had to pass Coast Guard inspection before it was certified to carry passengers. In 1978 or 1979, the Saucer did not pass inspection when it was found that one of the chines was broken. The boat could not be certified to carry passengers at speed.
At this time, Chris was getting up in years and thinking about relaxing and enjoying the rest of his life. He sold the rest of his boat fleet as well as the restaurant. The Flying Saucer, down on her luck, sat on the hard at Yank’s Boat Yard for a couple of years, but no buyers were found.
Finally, in about 1980 or 1981, the engines and hardware were removed from the boat, and the Flying Saucer was cut up and burned. It was the end of an era, though many happy memories remain.
Postscript:
Near the end of its nearly 30-years of service, Chris Montagna had used up his supply of nearly 100 Packard engines. Without new engines, the boat could not go back into service. Chris had to put out the call for anyone who could supply his needed engines.
It wasn’t long before Chris got a call. The person at the other end of the line was none other than Gar Wood himself. Mr. Wood explained he had a stockpile of engines in a Florida warehouse, and could supply Chris with three Packards. A deal was made, and the engines were acquired. Gar Wood’s three engines were in the Saucer when it was retired from service.
Photo credit for black and white photos: Senior Studio of Ocean City, New Jersey. For color photo: Larry Tarves.