Need we say Moores? Florida restorer gives JFK`s yacht

2010 ISSUE NO. 4
2010 ISSUE NO. 4
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Those black Hagerty tote bags seem to turn up everywhere, even in China! Steve Vogelzang, of Holland,
Mich., took one along on a trip to Lhasa, Tibet, in June.
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A tip of the cap to WoodenBoat Magazine, which has
organized a program that will introduce boatbuilding and
rowing skills to students from three Maine high schools.
The shop and marine programs at Deer Isle-Stonington
(Deer Isle), George Stevens Academy (Blue Hill) and
Sumner High (East Sullivan) will each build a 22-foot St.
Ayles skiff. The goal is to have all three skiffs ready to
compete against each other by June 2011.
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Below is a list of upcoming events that Hagerty is
planning to attend. Dates are subject to change.
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Antique Boat Show
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Losses and Lessons
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Need we say Moores? Florida
restorer gives JFK’s yacht new life
Antique wooden boat
restorer Jim Moores is
working on one honey
of a boat. It says so, right
there on the transom.
Hagerty Classic Marine Insurance was a proud supporter
of the second annual “Torch Lake Classic & Antique
Tavares, Fla. (Lake Dora)
Sunnyland Antique Boat Festival
www.acbs-sunnyland.com
A Letter from Carla
Wooden Boat Rendezvous: Cruising for the Cure” held
July 24 in Clam River at the mouth of Torch Lake, Mich.
More than 60 beautiful original and restored wooden boats from the
1920s to the ’60s were on display, including Chris-Craft, Garwood,
Hacker Craft, Century, Lyman and Thompson. All of the boats hail
from the Chain of Lakes region.
Through the Cruising for the Cure event, chairman Rick Thie continues to create awareness of pancreatic cancer and raise funds for the
Jane H. Thie Memorial Fund Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable organization
that provides resources for pancreatic research at the Barbara Ann
Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. The fund was created in memory
of Rick’s mother, who died of the disease in 2007. Nearly $25,000
has been raised during the last two years.
A parade of boats traveled Clam River and Torch Lake with Chris Smith
serving as grand marshal. Smith, grandson of legendary Chris-Craft
boat builder Christopher Columbus Smith, was on site throughout
the weekend with his own boat, sharing dozens of entertaining stories
and promoting a new book, Chris Smith: An Odyssey, A Collection
of Short Stories compiled by Joy Smith.
Photos from last year’s event are included
in the 2011 Cruising for the Cure calendar,
which is available at www.CrusingforCure.org.
For more information, call 810-441-4792.
The Honey Fitz, the mammoth presidential yacht that carries the
nickname of John F. Kennedy’s grandfather, is the latest project
placed in the caring and capable hands of Moores and his crew
in Palm Beach, Fla. Since Moores Marine opened in 1986, the
company has completed over 100 major boat projects, including
27 luxury yachts.
Moores considers himself a protector of historic boats, and few
have a more interesting history than the 92-foot Honey Fitz.
“Americans seem to enjoy throwing history away, and that’s upsetting to me,” said Moores, 55. “I’ve set my life to restoring pre-war
boats. They’re disappearing at an alarming rate. It’s extremely
important to me because once they’re gone, they’re gone. And
they’re not coming back.”
Thanks to Moores, the Honey Fitz is on the comeback trail. According to the Palm Beach Post, the restoration was commissioned
by William Kallop, an oil executive who bought the Honey Fitz
at Sotheby’s famed “Camelot” auction in 1998 for $5.9 million.
CONTINUED>
2010 Marine Watch Q4.indd 1
11/24/10 10:08 AM
a letter
from Carla
> MOOReS continued
“The project has been evolving,” Moores
said. “It has actually turned into four different contracts. We’re working on the bow
now and hope to have the hull together by
January. Then we’ll discuss other projects,
like replacing the decks… I would love to
do a total restoration, but at this point who
knows. That’s a project in the works.”
Greetings to our clients and friends!
After another season of
fun-filled days on the water, for many of us it’s time
to think about winterizing
and storing our boat. For
the rest of you, maybe it’s
time to tackle that long list
of projects in preparation
for next year. A local restorer told me he has 14 winter
projects on his calendar, from full restorations
to varnish jobs. What about you?
I had the pleasure of spending time with many of
you at Bay Harbor in September while attending
the 9th Annual ACBS International Boat Show
and meeting. Although the weather wasn’t as
cooperative as we would have liked, the preevents organized by the Water Wonderland
Chapter were spectacular. Kudos to the launch/
retrieve team that handled not only the boat
show at Bay Harbor but also the numerous sites
throughout the week. Kirk Smith and Chuck
Denoyer, you and your team were phenomenal!!
I encourage you to visit our “Marine Hall of
Fame” at www.hagertymarine.com. You can
view video clips of our 2010 inductees: Lou
Rauh, Jim Shotwell and Norm and Jim Wangard.
These individuals were honored at Bay Harbor
with a champagne toast in front of their peers.
Thank you, gentlemen, for your contributions
to our hobby.
27-foot 1932 Chris-Craft 309
Custom Triple Cockpit Runabout
According to the Mecum Warner Auction
catalog, Sugar Lady is arguably the most well
known Chris-Craft in the world – certainly the
most photographed example. Productionwise, 1932 was a low point for Chris-Craft,
along with the rest of the country. But like
many Depression-era automobiles, some
of the best things came from that period in
American history.
Known as a “Roll-deck” Chris-Craft for its
transitional raised coamings around the
cockpits, the top-of-the-line Custom Runabout was built for 10 years – but with only
62 total examples built.
Sugar Lady is hull number “10 of 10” 1932
models. What makes her unique, however,
is the oval-windowed Dietrich convertible
top, originally known as a one-man top. In
addition, Sugar Lady’s original build sheet
documents that she was delivered with
high-compression cylinder heads for her
825 cubic inch Chris-Craft A-120 V-8 engine.
Sugar Lady was completely restored by
Doug Morin in the late 1980s
$275,000
The potential auction sale price of this boat
was one of the hot topics in the weeks prior
to the event. It is very well known in the
collector boat world, and there was considerable speculation that this boat could
possibly reach $400,000. Perhaps some
of the fundamental differences between
a car auction and boat auction may have
kept bidding below premium. Not having
the ability to do detailed inspection and
uncertainty as to the exact condition of an
extremely rare motor may have had some
influence. That being the case, the sale was
a good deal for the buyer. Considering the
documentation for this specific boat, its
rarity and the comparative purchase price
to other recent sales of boats of similar
collectability, it was a sound investment.
— Christopher Schmaltz
It’s amazing to consider how far Moores
has come since he began working on small
wooden boats more than 35 years ago. As a
kid, he studied the construction of his family’s Lyman ski boat and was fascinated by
the craftsmanship (“They’re not just thrown
together with epoxy or resin. They’re made
by real people with great talent – kind of like
a violin maker,” he said). But it was a trip
in the early 1970s that really captured that
interest and turned it into a career.
“I was down in the Caribbean with my boat
(a 36-footer) and my inflatable dingy got
stolen,” Moores said. “So I thought, ‘I’ll
buy a local dingy. Nobody is going to steal
a local one.’ A friend let me borrow his, but
then I met a deaf man named Mumu, who
was a boat builder. I contracted him to build
a 12-foot dingy that could fit on my boat.”
Moores wanted to keep a close eye on the
project, so Mumu used him as free labor.
Unfortunately, when the project was completed, the two realized the keel itself was
12 feet – meaning the actual dingy was too
big to fit on Moores’ boat.
Moores chose to look on the bright side.
“I helped Mumu build more boats, and
that’s what really got me started. What I
learned kept me working from the equator
to Maine.”
On a final note, I am extremely happy to
report that Hagerty Classic Marine has
now expanded operations into Canada! We are
open for business in Ontario and will be adding
other provinces in the coming months. We’re
already planning to attend the Gravenhurst
show in July 2011, so look for us there. We look
forward to meeting our new clients!
After serving as an apprentice at several
shops, Moores sold his boat and used the
money to start his own shop in Lubec, Maine,
near the Canadian border… at age 21.
Happy Holidays to all!
“I built small commercial boats and did repair work,” he said. “I moved back and forth
between Maine and Florida for a few years,
then finally set up shop in Florida in 1981. In
1986, Moores Marine was born – and there
was no looking back.”
Carla Gernhofer, VP Hagerty Marine
Moores Marine, which proudly proclaims
“We Keep Legends Alive,” has since grown
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2010 Marine Watch Q4.indd 2
losses & lessons
Moores said he hopes to complete work on
the hull early in 2011, but there’s plenty more
to do… if Kallop wants it done.
call: 800-762-2628 or visit: www.hagertymarine.com
Accidents happen. That’s why we do what we do – to
ensure that our clients’ prized vessels are properly
covered should disaster strike, and provide them
with information that will help avoid tragedy.
“NO LOSS, THANKFULLY, BUT WE
LEARNED A BIG LESSON”
I used to own a 29-foot 1969 Lyman Express along with a friend
of mine, restorer/builder David Ball of Ball Boat Works in Maple
City, Mich. The boat was powered by twin Chrysler 318s, and
we used it a lot.
the honey fitz, shown during the 1940s.
to include two locations – one in South
Florida and another in Beaufort, N.C.
varnished over. A boat built in the 1920s or ’30s
has scars. They have a story to tell.”
Moores’ company employes up to 40 staff
members, depending on the workload, and
can work on up to seven projects at a time.
Moores’ wife, Stephanie, assists him at the
Florida facility, while Stephanie’s brother,
Nathaniel Smith, runs the North Carolina
operation. Their family-first philosophy runs
throughout the company. When considering a project, Moores said loyalty – not
cash – makes all the difference.
The Honey Fitz was built for Montgomery Ward
tycoon Sewell Avery for $100,000 in 1931 by
Defoe Boat Works in Bay City, Mich. It served
five presidents, and traditionally each president
changed its name while in office. However, after
JFK was assassinated in 1963, Lyndon Johnson
said he would no more consider changing the
yacht’s name “than I would have thought of
changing the name of the Washington Monument.” The Honey Fitz continued to serve the
first family until 1970, when Richard Nixon – who
had renamed it the Patricia – requested a larger
vessel, and the boat was sold.
“We have clients who have come to us
every year for 27 years. They’re our priority,” Moores said. “They’re good to us;
we’re good to them.
“When you do good work and are recognized for it, you’ll find prosperity. My
wife says it only took 30 years for me to
become an overnight success.”
That success has brought Moores some
amazing projects, and each project teaches
him lessons. For instance, while working on
a yacht that was once owned by Howard
Hughes, Moores created a system that allowed workers to replace the hull without
disturbing the interior. They’re using the
same system on the Honey Fitz.
In the name of history, Moores said he
tries to keep each project as original as
possible, particularly the interior.
Some 40 years later, Moores is returning the
Honey Fitz to its former glory, using original
blueprints that he located – through word of
mouth – in a dust-covered box in the archival
research room at Bowling Green University.
“Ten years ago, I worried that this industry
might be coming to an end,” he said. “I didn’t
know how many more great boats would come
my way. That’s when my philosophy started to
change. It became my mission to preserve these
boats for the next generation.
“I wake up every morning and I want to go to
work. It didn’t start as a job and it never has been
a job. This is what I love to do. It’s my passion.”
And that makes for one honey of a career.
“You don’t want to erase the history,” he
said. “You should be able to see where
the chair rubbed against the wall and was
Hagerty offers ACBS members a 10% discount on premiums. Call to learn more!
— Jeff Peek
We went on fairly long trips in the upper Great Lakes and North
Channel, and it was on one of these excursions that we had
an experience that could have turned deadly. Oddly enough,
two Hagerty clients had similar experiences this summer. They
both involved small children, but no one is immune – including
the captain.
One beautiful sunny morning, David and I were bringing the
Lyman back to home port after a trip north. The water was calm
and we had a slight breeze from astern. It was a nearly perfect
day. Still, we both felt ill.
David recognized that the headache, sleepiness and slight
nausea were the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. We
cut the engine and went forward on deck to get some fresh air.
Ultimately, David rerouted the exhaust ports out the sides of
the hull, as opposed to the transom. The problem was solved
and made for a unique look!
While our story had a happy ending, it could have been disastrous. Had passengers been sitting near the stern of the boat,
they would have been in the direct flow of the fumes. In the
two incidents involving our clients that I mentioned earlier, that
was exactly the case. Children sitting near the stern of the boat
actually fell unconscious. Thankfully in both cases the situation
was recognized, urgent action was taken and the children recovered with no permanent effects.
According to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Coast Guard,
in 2008 carbon monoxide poisoning caused 51 injuries and 12
fatalities in recreational vessels. Six of those incidents occurred
in open runabouts. None had a carbon monoxide detector.
The effects of CO poisoning are similar to seasickness – headache, nausea and drowsiness. If you or your passengers are
feeling any of these symptoms and the water conditions do not
warrant seasickness, be diligent! Stop the vessel. Turn off the
possible source – motor, generator, heater — and seek fresh air!
For more detailed information, visit: www.boatsafetynet.com,
www.cdc.gov or www.uscg.mil
Know what to watch for and be safe!
— Christopher Schmaltz
11/24/10 10:08 AM