idlehour

READY TO ROT!

The Restoration of Idle Hour #3368

by Paul W. Gockel

For her 75th anniversary, this dippy was restored, and for the first time in those 75 years, did not once get her bottom wet. That was the summer of 1998.

Built in 1924 in Port Carling by the Disappearing Propellor Boat Co. Ltd., she was originally purchased in 1926 by Mr. A.S. Zavitz of Torrance and Peterborough. She as even used to help build the boathouse she would eventually live in. Mr. Zavitz used this boat every summer he owned her.
She was well cared for by him; used during the courtship of two wives, made and annual trek to Natural Park, and even survived an underwater collision about 1940. The collision proved too extensive to continue using the boat so the late Murray Neill of Torrance was called in to make the necessary repairs. Some short pieces of plank and the stem were damaged so those were the items replaced.

By 1951, the aging Mr. Zavitz was becoming tired of pulling the starter cord so a brand new British-built Coventry Victor engine was installed, complete with stainless steel propeller shaft and electric starter. Yet with this process, the original Silent Dis-Pro engine which had served the Zavitz' so well for 27 years was not discarded; rather , it and its pristine waterjacket took a new home on the dock of their boathouse in a custom-built stand. And there it remained, with all its original accessories, until 1968.

I purchased this dippy through Duke Boats on August 16, 1968 when I was 14 years old, only a few months before Mr. Zavitz' death. I drove the boat home, bailing all the way, with the Coventry Victor engine running well, but was eager to restore her with all her original machinery. The next day, we drove to Zavitz' cottage, purchased the original E-1 engine, (#5307), dashboard components, original seat cushions and owner's manual. (Mr. Zavitz had just left for the summer. I never met him. He died that winter.) I then sold the Coventry engine.

Over the winter of 1968-1969, this 14 year old managed, as best he could with the assistance of two parents steeped in the restoration of antique cars, to fiberglass the bottom, re-install the engine bed and engine, re-build and re-install the device and launch her in June, 1969. That was the beginning of many problems. all of which were solved that summer.
In 1982, this boat was used in the 1922 re-enactment of "18 men in a Dispro", using as many original factory personnel as possible, and has been immortalized in the photo included in the book, The Greatest Little Motorboat Afloat.

By 1998, again, never missing a summer afloat, it was time to restore her all over again but more so. The fiberglass was the first to go. This time all ribs, as well as stem and stern post were replaced (something that should have been done in the 1950s) along with 3 rounds of planking and a new keel. Book-matched cypress and quarter-cut white oak were used where book-matched cypress and quarter-cut white oak had been originally used. I even saved the original splashboards. Paul Dodington rebuilt the engine and device. Then, six to eights coats of varnish were applied on all the wood, before I re-installed the rebuilt machinery.

Although thorough, I did not rebuild her with a sledge hammer. Epoxy was never an option. Any wood, nail or artifact that was sound was carefully maintained. Nothing was changed for mere cosmetics or convenience. Yes, you will see oil-stained planks. It shows what 75 years of good care and judicious restoration can do. The boat doesn't need to be replaced when it needs to be rebuilt. So she's still an old boat, complete with all the appropriate stinks, dents, noises and foibles she had the day Mr. Zavitz brought her home in 1926. She still reeks of vintage Port Carling. And that's the way she'll stay...ready to rot!