The Woodrose Part 2

By Domenica Burns member of the Wine Country chapter

Back to the garage in Hamburg, once the wood was replaced, the specific dark red paint was coated perfectly inside. This left a clean visual as the wiring followed through the boat in preparation for the lights, gauges, engine, ignition etc. Again everything labelled on paper and on the color coded wires. In between paint setting/drying, was buffing. The windshield was in well enough shape to handle some buffing products to look good as new. Chrome pieces were sent out to be re-chromed, giving that new dazzle, and boy did it shine when the sun gazed down on it!

My dad researched which paints and stains to use such as the red for the water line, deck stains, copper bottom and the crisp clean white. The varnish was not only a good quality but a big quantity. Sometimes his desire for perfection made me wonder how many coats of varnish would be applied. Sand, varnish, recoat, sand of the pesky gnats, re-varnish, sand, varnish, repeat. Keep in mind it was just a regular garage in a neighborhood next to the road, no fancy paint booth. The caulk lines of white that catch your eyes on these boats took some patience. Tape was used as not to get into the stain or lightly varnished sections.

Original schematics can be found in our restoration book as well as original manuals for the Gray Marine Fireball V8 170hp engine that was used in this Resorter. The engine was strong, several of us learned to water-ski with this. It took a moment to pop you up out of the water but all of us did it successfully. Today it has a Gray Marine Fireball V8 280hp engine (V8CH) with a little more giddy-up. It is a touch heavier which can make the boat ride too high, so shims were used to drop the bow back down. A little goes a long way, you don’t visually notice it when it’s up on the trailer. (1/8th inch and blends with the bottom).

As for the upholstery, we couldn’t get original any longer but found a marine fabric that matched beautifully. I do have the name of that if and when needed for the next updates or next beginner builder. The engine box has fireproof board inside, and has the round vents to allow engine heat to escape. Although it’s not always on, the roof is on standby, upholstered with a clean white marine fabric stitched by a friend of ours. The top needs to be firm, too much give in the fabric and it will either produce flapping noise while you are under way or too tight and it could pull the chrome bars inward and put too much pressure on the stainless steel screws.

One of my favorite parts of the first restoration is the placement and drilling of holes. The planks have wooden plugs to cover the screws but the chrome hardware, stepping pads, windshield and ladder cannot be taken off and on too many times without widening those screw locations. Fillers and epoxies can be helpful, but not always effective for the integrity of the wood.

So after three years part time in a regular garage, this rough wooden sight now shines as if it were ready for purchase, new from the Century Boat Co. in Manistee, Michigan. (Century Boat Co. was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1926, moved to Manistee, Michigan in 1928)
The name given to this Resorter was and is, ‘Woodrose’, also the name of the original upholstery. The man with the passion and vision to bring her back to life was my dad Fred Marks. Woodrose won awards at every show we went to from local lakes to New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee, one of our favorite places. Our parents have passed on a love of the water and two out of three of us still have our own boats. As for Woodrose, she is now under the care of my family and I, enjoying the next generations.