Mariah, The Barn Find Of The Century

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Frank Miklos and his brother Bob inspecting U.S. Mail Boat “Mariah”, the Golden Pond U.S. Mail Boat
When I was on the trail for the 3rd Thayer IV to be honest the U.S. Mail Boat Mariah was the last thing on my mind..  “Don’t forget the Mail Boat” Pat would say… Honestly I laughed.. Ya.. a Century Raven.. Ya ya.. If it’s there.. fine.. I’ll take a photo.. Compared to finding an icon of film history… Well.. I could not have been more wrong.. Pat was right, Frank, Bob, Jim.. all of us loved that boat…  Pat knew every detail of all the boats.. Down to screw holes and where they are.. This little Mail boat blew me away.. It blew us all away.. What a cool boat.. This is the find! First there is only ONE! Not three.. It’s got lettering all over it.. And is a plain Jane type boat.. mmm Jane Fonda.. more on that later..A work boat… Here she stood.. It’s the boat I secretly wanted..well and now the world knows I want it.. 
A family snap shot of Mariah sitting at the dock. Jane.. Where are you?
 The Thayer IV is nice.. but I would be chicken to use it.. This sucker.. Dang that would be fun.. She had not been touched.. Not one coat of varnish or paint..And Jane Fonda and her bikini ripped bod was all over it.. Watch the movie clip here…. I aint kidding.. Even hotter than Barbarella.. and a ton hotter than in a army helmet.. 
Mariah today.. Uncovered for the first time in clearly some time.  Bob Miklos is on board taking snap shots and finding the registration number.. Bob and the Bees.. All working hard..
The bee’s seem to have enjoyed the heck out of it over the years as well. But she was all there..un touched. We had invited Frank and his brother Bob Miklos,  experts on Century boats to inspect it and document it.. Frank and his brother also knew Pat from the film Striking Distance where they worked together.. So this was a fun way for the gang to get together again.. As Frank put it.. Pat fired me twice.. Pat said only once.. And it all started over again.. What a fun day with the little Mariah.. One of the interesting things about the innocent Mariah is that in a way she helped U-22-1460 prove her place again in film history.. You have to admit that seeing the two together is rather compelling… Forget the scoops, wheels and small details that have been commented about for the past two days to death….. This boat was never restored or touched.. It is what it was.. and is..was.. is…  In all it’s bee hive infested, moth nest rotten transom faded glory.. To me the star of the show now, no longer the a bit player.  So here ya go… I will again, let the photos tell the story.. Enjoy….
Jim Scott, taking the wrapper off.. This was my Christmas gift..
Needless to say hauling it home on the trailer won’t be happening for a while
More Busy Bees! The Mariah was covered in a plastic wrap..

Note on the engine cover some of the dark paint is still on it covering the red.. Oh the magic of film making

Bees ahhhh… Had to give it time to breath

Helm

That extra seat

Motor serial number

Peeling varnish and Bobs shadow.. Bobs shadow is 100% original as well.

Her deck..

There.. she is.. again

Original lettering on the windows.. The wood looked good under all that flaky varnish
Love those century details
Fellow Woody Boaters.. I am done!
Tune in tomorow for a wrap up.. And then an un-edited interview with Pat Curtin.. You may not want to have your kids read it..as if they care..  As the Aug 1995 Vanity Fair story on Water World where Pat was the marine Coordinator, they quoted a worker on the film about Pat..”Curtin, a hard-nosed but experienced coordinator, was grudgingly admired but not well liked. [ says one crew member, “his attitude was ‘if you don’t like it, get the fu.k out’ he was awesome”] 
15 replies
  1. Jeff Thom
    Jeff Thom says:

    Good Morning Matt,

    Excited about reading your mail boat story, I rushed to the computer and pulled up the site. I had looked at the 1802 story yesterday afternoon, saw 2 or 3 comments and was anxiously waiting to see pictures of Mariah.

    That’s when I saw the passion, once again, in the many more comments on the 1802 story. As Harry Carey would say HOLY COW!!!!!

    When I wrote yesterday morning, it was not my intent, Matt, to cause you a short night of sleep and, to the extent I did, I apologize. As you know, I did not say in that post that I don’t believe the 1460 story was credible and to those who think I did, I ask you to please review my post.

    There is no need to defend 1802’s position in the movie as Matt and Mr. Curtin have both done so. This article was done to find the truth, not to establish a competition between two boats, both with credible histories.

    Let’s remember what Matt and Mr. Curtin have accomplished.

    They have gotten us down to 2 actual Thayer IV boats. When I acquired 1802, as most woody boaters know, we had all heard claims of 3, 4, several and hundreds. Thinning the herd down to 2 credible boats sure doesn’t hurt 1802.

    With Matt’s help, Mr. Curtin has confirmed 1802’s use in the movie. Until now, the only confirmation of that I had were the publications he was involved with. His present day confirmation of that fact only helps the credibility of 1802.

    Neither hull 1460 or 1802 has been given more or less credibility than the other, by Mr. Curtin or Matt. Since both were in the movie, what would be the point in doing so? As far as I am concerned, we can all look at the pictures taken, look at the documents related to each and actually watch the movie. After reading some of the posts it appears that a little relaxing time in front of a television may be helpful.

    There have been several posts that I am uncomfortable with. I do not have a relationship with Mr. Curtin but I would like to say the following. If I were to negate everything that Mr. Curtin has said, I would not have given 1802 the credibility I did, and therefore would not have bought it. With that in mind, how can I now ignore what he is saying about 1460? As far as I know, he was the only one of us there when the movie was filmed.

    We do need to all just relax and learn from these stories. Maligning people we don’t know, body parts that someone can't find and the great state of Minnesota does no one or no boat any good.

    Thanks Again, Matt, for all of your efforts. I hope our fellow woody boaters will allow you a good night’s sleep soon.

    Sincerely,
    Jeff Thom

    ps: Thanks for the Mariah pictures!

  2. Paul H.
    Paul H. says:

    I wonder what will become of this and 1460? Hopefully not unchecked deterioration. There is obvious interest inthese boats as evidenced by the action on this blog.

    Unfortunately, this whole topic deteriorated from an earnest and honest attempt to sort out the question of the Thayer IV's into a rather desultory and personal exchange of invective between mostly anonymous posters. That aspect of the dialogue has no value – entertainment or otherwise on a small hobbyist site. I would prefer that personal conflicts like this be kept personal and not aired on forums like this. Is the broader classic boating community interested in this personal conflict and bad blood? They are likely more interested in boats.

    Finally though, this topic and consequent flurry of posts and information did motivate me to watch the movie for the first time last night. Clearly well acted but a bit maudlin for my taste. As a character study which also dealt with themes of aging, I thought Driving Miss Daisy was a much better movie.

  3. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Dang Matt! The one & only Mariah! Congratulations on your very merry early Christmas present. Black hull sides, cuddy cabin, Eau de Jane, perfect 10 on the coolness scale. Can't wait to see her in Woodyboaterville.

    WoodyGal

  4. pat curtin
    pat curtin says:

    Paul H i agree with you 100% but after 20 or 25 anonymous posts attacking me,i had enough. if you are going to say something about somebody be man enough to put your name on it.
    i agree Driving Miss Daisy was a great movie. i worked with a fellow who was Jessica Tandy's son. i think she was a better actress than Hepburn

  5. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Great stories Matt. Certainly turned the temperature up for the last couple of days. How about that old Mail Boat! What a wonderful find.
    I love the soft focus swing shift lens thing youve got going on some of those shots. Makes the boats seem like models. Great work mate.

    Phil.

  6. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    You can question the manhood of anonymous postings all you want Mr. Curtin but it is your reputation that precedes you. You and your words are part of every single discrepency there is in this story, and no one else. You may not like the postings but those discrepancies are all in print and when you make your bed, you need to lie in it.

    Unfortunately the rest of us in woody boater world have to see the garbage as well but remember we didn’t cause it.

  7. Randy Rush-Captain Grumpy
    Randy Rush-Captain Grumpy says:

    Matt: I really enjoyed todays story. I think the Mariah is a way more interesting story. Kind of like the wallflower at the prom, 10 years later at your reunion the chearleader-home comming queen is fat or ugly and the wallflower has bloomed. Keep up the good work.

  8. Frank Miklos
    Frank Miklos says:

    In our exanamation of the Mariah" mail boat we did not find the hull number we think it is hidden by the engine which happens once in a while on Century Boats… Since the boat still had the original engien and we were able to back check through hull warrenty cards cross matching engine numbers and found the hull number… RN6376 Which makes it the 27th Century Raven 19' built in 1963… This boat was sold by Channel Marine, Lake Winipasakee, NH… Channel Marine sold 9 or 10 Raven 19's all with consective hull numbers…

    Another note about the 3 Thayer IV's an issue of the brass Bell in 1990 talk about 3 Thayer IV's
    It is issue 12-01-1990 page 18.

    I don't know if this article has been mentioned in this discussion….

  9. Tom King
    Tom King says:

    Wow, what an absolutely great boat. Thanks Matt for bringing this story to us. One question though. That last photo you took with both boats in it, the photo almost looks 3D. How did you do that?

Comments are closed.