That thar is Phil on the left.And his pal Sean Thomas
Thanks to Woody Boater Phil Andrew for keeping the escape from reality alive. Ya see, Phil lives in New Zealand, where it’s… Summer! I have officially decided that in Woodyboaterville we call it ZUMMER.. A time were we all get to go boating and smell fresh coats of warmed up varnish from the same place that Phil has to endure or summer fun.. In front of his computer. Here is the report and photos from Phil! Road trip to New Zealand! I got shot gun…
Lowry Bay, Wellington New Zealand.
After 3 years of sand, varnish, sand, varnish , re- chrome, re- wire, bottom paint etc my very first boat, a 1958 Century Resorter 16 emerged from the garage to be mated to her new all aluminum
retro style trailer.
I must confess to breathing a sigh of relief as we finally got the boat settled on the trailer. Its rather un-nerving watching her dangling from the crane thinking she is going to snap in the middle any minute.
I’ve been so very lucky to have met Sean Thomas. Sean delivered my Arabian home from the container docks a few years ago and he has lifted the boats many times now and he is a master at it.
I bought this boat in Melbourne Australia in 2007. It had been imported by a bloke who had bought in 2 boats from the USA and decided not long after landing them to sell the Resorter.
She was named ‘ Noble Word ‘ when I bought her. I’ve since discovered through Texx and Mike Green that she was owned by a couple of lads, Archie Word and Ken Noble in Portland Oregon.
We don’t have to have registration numbers on our boats so Ive kept her OR registration number.
She is now named ‘ Principessa ‘
I’m taking her to the St Arnaud boat show in March 2012.
One more cool angle of Phils resorter being loaded onto the cool retro trailer.
Beautiful shots of a beautiful boat on a beautiful trailer in a beautiful country. Also, a beautiful hedge. Hell, even the crane is beautiful.
As we descend into the abyss of winter way up here, please keep sending us pics with greenery in them Phil. They arrive like letters from home or Red Cross packages or checks from class action lawsuits.
Hey Matt. Zummer? What’s next? “Bummer” for Bhutan, Burundi or Brazil? “Hummer” for Honduras, Hong Kong or, God forbid, Haiti? (Though not a sovereign nation, I’d better add Hessel to that list before Mayer does.)
Right on Phil, she looks awesome! I remember putting that package together. We built a cradle for the 16′ Resorter that sat on the aft deck of a all wood 40 something foot Tolly Craft. The Tolly then had a steel cradle built for it and they shrink wrapped the whole thing, it was then all put on a container ship for Australia. After it was all done the owner came to my house for dinner, he brought with him 3 bottles of wine. My wife and I at the time were not wine drinkers and had no way of opening the bottles. So I went to the garage pulled the wrapping off the top put a screw in the cork and pulled with a claw hummer. Classy right, but we got the job done and had a great visit. Enjoy your summer Phil.
Wow how about that. The craddle in the page header will be the one you made Mike.
Ive added castors to it so I could push the boat around in the garage but other than that its the one you made.
The chap you speak of was a Mr Corrin I think. I was doing a bit of business in Melbourne in those days and he had the boat in a large Pharmaceutical warehouse. I wanted the boat the minute I saw it. The clincher was starting the engine. A glorious bellow out of those twin copper exhausts and I was reaching for my cheque book.
Ive since been in touch with Archie Word and learnt a little more of the boats life. Sadly his friend Ken Word and co owner of the ‘ Noble Word ‘ passed away.
Thanks for connecting us Mike.
What a beautiful restoration job. I wonder what engine she has? When they started putting the big ford thunderbird engines in, those resorters could practically fly. A fabulous ’50s water ski boat we loved to be pulled by in those days. They are still cool after all these years.
Hi Don, The engine is the original. A 150HP Ford Interceptor.
Great pics but I would loose the fountain in the last pic and replace it with something more woody-like. Looks pretty mountainous there, ride the rapids down to the sea? Boat came out fantastic good luck with her. Nice crane.
How did you get the first picture?
And good catch Alex, I was all over that.
Beautiful job! I suspect the Tolly that it was loaded onto was “Kobe”, an early, mahogany planked custom cruiser that had all the metal bits gold plated. We miss that boat up here.
I trust the cat got out of the way…
Philip Good Job. It is nice to know that somewhere there is Summer and someone is enjoying it in a nice wood boat.
Congratulations, Phil, on a beautiful restoration. Great combo of boat and trailer. I’ve been in Florida for three weeks now and have yet to touch my project. Maybe next week. Seeing a project completed always spurs me on. Well done.
Dave
Phil – It’s exciting to see the Resorter finally finished, it looks fabulous! Nice work.
And the custom aluminum trailer is impressive, I like the smooth continuous curve on the frame rails that travel the entire length of the trailer… Very cool.
Don’t forget to take your camera when you re-launch her.
p.s. – I hope the little Palomino isn’t feeling hurt by all the attention her big sister is getting these days…
Hey Texx- The Palomino is just fine resting up next to the Resorter. Im doing little bits and pieces on it to just tidy her up. Ha…Cant help myself.
Ive had the engine cover repainted and had her new name applied ‘ Sparkle Horse.’
I will attempt to do the reporting from the boat show in March for all the WB community to see and that will incude the launch of Principessa.
Phil -
Is that a Burmese cat observing your labors from the trailer?
Yep. Thats Wilson.
Wow, what a beautiful boat, almost identical to mine (1958 Resorter 16′ with the green upholstery).
Who makes your air horn? I’m looking for something similar. Thanks.
Rob