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Today may not have featured the best weather for a boat delivery (heavy rain during part of the drive), but Bruce Drake and I met in Shelton for hand-off of his 1956 Bell Boy 21 Express, which we finished restoring this week.
Like most classic-glass projects, this one was gutted down to a bare fiberglass shell. We designed a whole new interior, cockpit and helm, and essentially built a new boat inside of the BB21's original skin.
Bruce chose a new Suzuki 140-hp four-stroke for power. The boat has a single fuel tank under the cockpit's aft bench seat; curved risers to support the two swivel seats; and a fresh interior that is somewhat reminiscent of a '50's diner, with red Marmoleum on the floor and countertops, scalloped aluminum trim, wainscoting on the sides of seats and bunks, and mahogany everywhere else.
The cabin's interior ceiling is 1/4-inch maple paneling, stained a golden color to contrast with the darker mahogany trim. To starboard is a dinette table with bench seats; to port a sink with stainless bowl and porta-potty hidden under a hinged lid. The forepeak berth is asymetrical--really more like a curving chaise lounge than a typical berth. (Bruce will have cushions made to cover the berth and perhaps also the stern bench seat.) There are storage cubbies everywhere, it seems, including under the forepeak berth, beneath the dinette seats, under the galley sink, forward of the dinette, under the cockpit seat risers, and inside the cockpit's mahogany side panels.
Credit for the project goes to Joe Johanesen for most of the carpentry work and all of the wiring and electronic installations; Marty for the cabin and cockpit design and portions of the rebuild work; and Will Kersten for the final wet-sanding, buffing and waxing.
During earlier sea trials, Bruce hit 38 mph with the Suzuki, and with a bit of trimming he might hit 40...but like most of our old boats, the Bell Boy 21 will likely spend most of its cruising hours at about 20 mph. When he needs to tilt the big Suzuki's lower unit up, Bruce has a rocker switch on the dash that first lifts a hinged engine cover we designed and built to hide and sound-insulate the engine, propelled by a hydraulic cylinder. (While the Suzuki is naturally a quiet outboard, it'll be even less noisy hidden under the hinged engine hatch.)
We found this particular Bell Boy 21 in Nevada (eBay), and had it trucked north. Bruce purchased the unrestored hull from us a few years ago, and we started the restoration...which has proceeded in fits and starts.
It's great to see the big red-and-white BB21 finished, and we can't wait to get running shots of the largest model Bell Boy produced prior to the company's sale to Sabrecraft.
(Look for the boat at 2011 NWCBC events, including a Willamette River run that Bruce is organizing.)
Thanks to everyone who played a role in completing the BB21, especially my good buddy Helmar.
- Marty
Like most classic-glass projects, this one was gutted down to a bare fiberglass shell. We designed a whole new interior, cockpit and helm, and essentially built a new boat inside of the BB21's original skin.
Bruce chose a new Suzuki 140-hp four-stroke for power. The boat has a single fuel tank under the cockpit's aft bench seat; curved risers to support the two swivel seats; and a fresh interior that is somewhat reminiscent of a '50's diner, with red Marmoleum on the floor and countertops, scalloped aluminum trim, wainscoting on the sides of seats and bunks, and mahogany everywhere else.
The cabin's interior ceiling is 1/4-inch maple paneling, stained a golden color to contrast with the darker mahogany trim. To starboard is a dinette table with bench seats; to port a sink with stainless bowl and porta-potty hidden under a hinged lid. The forepeak berth is asymetrical--really more like a curving chaise lounge than a typical berth. (Bruce will have cushions made to cover the berth and perhaps also the stern bench seat.) There are storage cubbies everywhere, it seems, including under the forepeak berth, beneath the dinette seats, under the galley sink, forward of the dinette, under the cockpit seat risers, and inside the cockpit's mahogany side panels.
Credit for the project goes to Joe Johanesen for most of the carpentry work and all of the wiring and electronic installations; Marty for the cabin and cockpit design and portions of the rebuild work; and Will Kersten for the final wet-sanding, buffing and waxing.
During earlier sea trials, Bruce hit 38 mph with the Suzuki, and with a bit of trimming he might hit 40...but like most of our old boats, the Bell Boy 21 will likely spend most of its cruising hours at about 20 mph. When he needs to tilt the big Suzuki's lower unit up, Bruce has a rocker switch on the dash that first lifts a hinged engine cover we designed and built to hide and sound-insulate the engine, propelled by a hydraulic cylinder. (While the Suzuki is naturally a quiet outboard, it'll be even less noisy hidden under the hinged engine hatch.)
We found this particular Bell Boy 21 in Nevada (eBay), and had it trucked north. Bruce purchased the unrestored hull from us a few years ago, and we started the restoration...which has proceeded in fits and starts.
It's great to see the big red-and-white BB21 finished, and we can't wait to get running shots of the largest model Bell Boy produced prior to the company's sale to Sabrecraft.
(Look for the boat at 2011 NWCBC events, including a Willamette River run that Bruce is organizing.)
Thanks to everyone who played a role in completing the BB21, especially my good buddy Helmar.
- Marty
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