Went cruising on Lake Superior with Dad in his old boat. Flew my 1968 Cessna to Baraga (2200 ft grass strip on the Keweenaw Penninsula.) Took his 1927 wooden boat to Isle Royale National Park.

Our fleet: 1927 Matthews 38 ft cruiser, 1963 Carver lapstrake 17 ft





Lake Superior is a berry big lake...





Finally, the island:



There are a few big boats around:





This is Passage Island Harbor, freighter passing by.



Caught some lake trout and enjoyed the nostalgia. (Dad bought the boat in 1963, we've been taking it to the island since then.) Flew home, missing my Barth! Family reunion this weekend, Barth will host family members.

quote:

1927 Matthews 38 ft cruiser

slightly up-dated? I had ship mates that were stationed at the Soo and other lake sites...not always fun and games like a "lake" should be.

The lake was remarkably flat both days we crossed. 9 mph makes for a long 60 mile ride, especially when things are wild. In 15 to 20 ft waves it gets tedious, but the old boat doesn't care. A narrow displacement hull, full cabin and a good man at the helm can take most anything.
Only time I was ever worried was late in the fall: waves were only 10 ft or so but freezing on the decks. We had 6 inches of ice over the entire topsides... getting top heavy, hard to see, and couldn't use any of the lines. Made it into harbor, got out and tied up with spare lines. Wild ride!

Beautiful. Thanks for showing your dads cruiser.

WOW! I'm not a boat person, but I'd have never guessed that boat was 84 years old! Looks great!

What kind of motor did it originally have in it?

Does it still have it?

It would be great to see any inside pictures if you had them.

K&E

I've only got one recent picture of inside. Kind of messy, too. Every surface you see has been replaced. Table and wheel are original.



The boat had a 6 cyl gas engine prior to WWII. Caught fire at the dock and was put out before structural damage but cabin was cooked. A prewar used 371 GM diesel was installed. It was run aground about 1948 and sank in 3 ft of water. Sat on shore for years till Dad bought it for his life project in 1963. We didn't launch it until late summer of 1965. Mostly hull work..(did you know there are almost 1/4 mile of seams to caulk in that hull?) Still dry and tight for a wooden hull (mahogany planks 1 1/8 thick) hardly ever needs pumping.

We replaced the 371 in 1971. 3 cylinder GM (85 hp!) now has about 3500 hrs on it. Cabin work, radar, etc. followed over the years. Much like an RV really, hot/cold water, holding tanks, etc. 220 gal of fuel will get us over 800 miles.

Thank you for sharing, that is a very nice old girl. It's a full time job to keep up with a wooden boat. Your Dad has done a super upkeep!

Really great and thanks for sharing.