A trip down memory lane...post pics of your first boat

[mmcguire2002]

 

[Converse48]

My first "real" boat was a no-name 14' fiberglass runabout with a 35 HP Johnson. She was called the Toiletfish:

 

[Skeetobite]

My first, about a week after I bought her. She just got new shafts, cutlass bearings, a genset, extended swim platform and a bottom job in this two year old shot. Looking for newer images, but can't find them :-( She has since been completely re-done inside and out.

 

[Quint4]

Now that's a first boat !...maybe for your next boat you can move up to a 100 footer.

 

[vetteboy]

Skeetobite...One of Searay's Prettiest..:thumbsup:..IMHO..

 

[rondds]

Skeeto
You qualify for membership in the PreClinton era SR official thread, although, technically, anything > 34' is a sport yacht (not a sport cruiser).

Nice vessel - and even better, diesel power. Was that a repower? Forgive my ignorance - I am not up on my Cummins model numbers.

 

[Zeppi]

Here is our first boat. A 16ft Stingray 501ZP with a 70HP Johnson 2 stroke.It was a great learner boat.

 

[ANYTIME]

Here is a photo of my first "boat". I didn't own her, I was just 16 years old and landed a position as a "Radio Operator" aboard the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Ship Wainwright, Dept of Commerce in early 1957. She was 65 feet long and had a crew of 8. We were home ported in Norfolk, VA and spent our summers conducting wire drag surveys around Mount Desert Island, ME.

I spent six months aboard and then joined the Navy. Life with the USC&GSS was much better than the Navy, but I remained in the navy for 20+ years :huh:.

 

[rondds]

Sam:
What was the original purpose of that ship? Was it a minesweeper? WW1?

Here's the USS Wainwright - obviously NOT the same vessel but possibly the same era?

 

[ANYTIME]

Sam:
What was the original purpose of that ship? Was it a minesweeper? WW1?...

You were very observant, but I cannot tell you for sure. Here is why, and my navy background is part of my rationale.

I spent 1964 through 1970 serving with the Minesweeping fleet in the Pacific (California, Hawaii, Guam, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Viet Nam. During this period, I was stationed on MSOs and MCSs. Both of these class ships are designed to pursue their missions anywhere in the oceans of the world. I have also been aboard MSIs, Inshore Minesweepers.

USC&GSS Wainwright was about the size of an MSI, but here are the differences:
1. MSIs are designed to stay at sea for several days at a time, Wainwright was not.
2. MSIs have a "MAGTAIL" to sweep electronic impulse detecting mines. This MAGTAIL requires a very large generator capable of emitting enormous magnetic pulses while sweeping. Wainwright did not have room on board to support this.

Note that Wainwright had a 120 gallon freshwater tank with no desalination capabilities. She had a hot water heater installed for the first time in 1956. She had two heads, one in the small officer's stateroom, one for the crew. She had no showers at all. We had to travel a couple of miles to the USCG Station to use theirs, very inconvenient.

I suspect, base on the superstructure design, Wainwright was built in the in the era as the USS Wainwright in your photo. It is interesting to note, I left Wainwright in the early fall of 1957 and I was on a Navy trip to Norfolk in late 1964 and while transiting near the USCG Station there, I saw her berthed. I stopped by to reminisce and to my surprise, the same guys I worked with were still there. Small world!!

Here is a photo of the last MSO I was stationed on, USS Persistent (MSO-491). I made two one-year trips to Viet Nam on the MSOs, spending our time in the rivers and on the coast. That wasn't a fun time, we did get into firefights and we got a few medals.


I don't have any photos handy of my last ship (now decommissioned), a Trident Missile Submarine, USS Casimir Pulaski (SSBN-633) Blue Crew.

 

[mrsrobinson]

My first, about a week after I bought her. She just got new shafts, cutlass bearings, a genset, extended swim platform and a bottom job in this two year old shot. Looking for newer images, but can't find them :-( She has since been completely re-done inside and out.

Good looking vessel!

 

[Luckydogs]

2000 Crownline 266LTD.

 

[rondds]

Sam
Thanks for the information - I find this stuff extremely interesting - one of my favorites is the Military Channel.
The Nautilus class rated #5 on their TOP TEN list...

http://military.discovery.com/technology/vehicles/submarines/submarines-05.html

And thank you for your service!!! Sounds like you have an admirable record.

I found this...and it seems there's a whole website dedicated to The Casimir Pulaski here...http://www.usscasimirpulaski.com/index.htm
Be sure to click on the "PHOTOS" section. Maybe you'll see yourself!

 

[Gimme Time]

Sorry, I don't have any pictures to show you as it was way to long ago; but I thought I'd tell you about my families first two boats and I think you can picture them in your head.

The first was was a Jon Boat style fab'ed in our company sheet metal shop by a couple of our sheet metal mechanics back in 1959. It was 10-12' made out of sheet metal with an old 5 hp outboard motor.

The following year or so dad got us a slightly used wooden ski boat about 14' with a white & silver Mercury 4500 which was still 45 hp. That first summer was great and we all had a lot of fun with the boat. It must have been a little rough on the top side because the following summer dad had the guys in the sheet metal shop give her bright new aluminum top side to cover the wood that was kind of rough. While this was a great idea at the time :smt021it didn't take long that summer to find out the customized boat had a new problem. As you can imagine with the shiny new aluminum top deck it had a tendency to get so hot in the sun light that you couldn't touch the boat from the heat build up. Another problem that seemed to make itself know was when you headed into the sun shine you couldn't see a damned thing as the aluminum deck blinded you.:smt009 Fortunately or not we lost that boat the following summer when a hurricane came through the lake and while I never saw the boat again dad said someone found it up in the trees; all that was left were wood scraps and the motor was broken up into pieces. Some things just weren't meant to be and most of us kids figured mother nature did us a favor. the next boat was a great little run about with a big red Johnson 30 hp motor with a push button start on the dash board which was made I assume so no one would need a key. the motor only lasted a year as it had a hard time pulling all four kids around on skis that were made of wood were about 5' long and had to have been 10" wide. Now days they use them to pull elephants around on skis I'm sure but back then they were state of the art to our knowledge.

Oh well enough of my rambling.:smt038

 

[Captain Don]

My first boat, 1987 Cruisers Inc. 5.7 IO, bought it new, owned it for 13 good years. :smt038 I replaced the engine after 10 years:smt089, outdrive after 12 years:smt089, enjoyed it one more year, then I bought the Searay which I could not afford to buy in when I seen it in 1988. Some things in life are well worth waiting for.:thumbsup:

 

[Go Aweigh2452]

1938 Weeks hull... Mom, sis and me... ~1962...

I rechaulk her and red leaded the bottom with dad... We put in sister frames by steaming oak over an open pit and bending them to fit the main frames. Added sand to the paint so the top side would not be slippery... used bamboo for outriggers. Had one battery and on more than one time, had to hand crank the Gray Marine 90 hp engine inside the cabin to start her up. The gas tank was a galvanized cylinder that held about 30 gals of gas and we had copper tubing to the fuel pump... The lever in front of my mom was forward and reverse. Fun boat... lots of memories...

Underway... at 8 knots...

 

[Skippy]

This is me plotting a future as First Lord of the Admiralty in Blackpool, England circa 1970...wearing a red school blazer no less..

That's my Dad and my little sister in the background...mum took the picture:thumbsup:

Sorry it's sideways - I can't seem to figure out how to scan it in properly...:huh:

 

[ANYTIME]

Sam
Thanks for the information - I find this stuff extremely interesting - one of my favorites is the Military Channel.
The Nautilus class rated #5 on their TOP TEN list...

And thank you for your service!!! Sounds like you have an admirable record.....

Ron,

Thanks for the link...very interesting. I had lost track of the Pulaski webpage over the years. While I was stationed on Pulaski, she was homeported in Groton, CT and deployed out of Holy Loch, Scotland. I was a member of the "Blue" crew...we flew from CT to Scotland and back every for every crew rotation. I retired from the Navy while I was stationed on her in January 1978 which was way before most of the photos and shipboard activity had taken place in the website photos.

A lot of the CSR members talk about some of the rough waters they have cruised in. While on "Deterrent Patrol" in the north atlantic it was necessary to cruise at "Periscope Depth" which had the top of the boat 65 feet under water. The waters were so rough, we would occasionally broach the surface which was a big :"no no" because it was our mission to remain undetectable for the duration of our patrol. Can you imagine 60 to 90 foot seas?

I have a lot of "sea stories", but this board is not the right venue to share them :smt001.

We winterize and shut down all the systems on our little cruiser tomorrow. Tomorrow night, she should be secured safely under her shrinkwrap, patiently waiting for spring.

 

[On Holiday]

My first boat is my current boat which is a 2001 Sea Ray 180 BR. I bought it used in 2003. It has served us well the past 5 years.

 

[Quint4]

Love that runnin' shot Doug !