Sunday, April 24, 2011
Couple pictures
Here are a few photos from the long lost Phantom past
This is my sister, me, my brother, grandmother, and mom after launching the boat on one of our first outings in 1983. It still has the original 55hp Mercury outboard and Texas registration tabs.
This is my brother Mike c1983
My brother Mike, cousin Ross, and Ross's then girlfriend, now wife Kari around 1989
Background
In 1980 after visiting us at Lake Chelan my Texan Grandfather decided it was time for him to get into the boat game. Of course in Texas he didn't have to look far for a good affordable small boat. He ultimately decided on a 1979 Phantom Mystic 15BR (Bow Rider). Phantom was a small boat builder based in Athens Texas who specialized in smaller tri-hulled boats built for the myriad of rivers and smaller lakes that dot Texas. He purchased, what would from this time forward be referred to as simply "The Phantom", some time in late 1980 from Whiley Boats in Garland Texas. Soon he realized that the joys of boat ownership are a very subjective thing. My parents had long lived in the Northwest which is a very water-centric area of the country and while we were crazy about our Bayliner Skagit (the Begora) trolling up and down Lake Chelan. That however, didn't mean that Grandpa would have the same experience on the rivers of north east Texas.
Sure enough after two seasons Gramps had had enough. Sometime between 1983 and 1984 he decided to gift the boat to my brother. A nice gift you say, indeed it was. However, as a 14 year old boy he wasn't really up to the challenge of boat ownership anymore than Grandpa. So the Phantom became the number two family boat behind the Begora.
There were many great memories created early on with the Phantom. Because it was so much smaller, and thus easier to put in and out of the water, we used it on the Columbia River way more than we could have with the Begora. After all the Bayliner was 21.7' and a real beast to pull out of the water. We also took the Phantom to Lake Shasta in California in 1984 for a family gathering that included the 5 of us from Washington and all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins from California. Then, in 1985 we moved to Mount Vernon, and the Phantom's life would never be the same.
When we were in Wenatchee and had regular access to the monster that Lake Chelan is, having a large boat like the Begora made sense. However, Mt. Vernon was a different story all together. We had Puget Sound and a very small lake ironically named Big Lake to choose from for our boating pleasure. The Sound seemed like a logical fit for the Begora. However we learned quickly that, while larger, it wasn't up to the challenges of the salt water, tides, and general scale of island hopping. So shortly after moving dad sold the Begora. It was a sad day, we all loved that boat, but it had to be done. And thus the Phantom became the primary boat.
Over the course of the next ten years we crabbed, we fished, we skied, we cruised, we did everything anyone could think of with our little boat. This included annual trips over the mountains to eastern Washington, in addition to weekly trips to Big Lake. In the late 80's two major updates took place. My dad upgraded the motor from a 55hp Mercury to the maximum, a 75hp Suzuki, the motor it has to this day. Also in the late 80's/early 90's my brother Mike and cousin Ross replaced the collapsing seats with new hand rebuilt ones and for two years they took the boat (against all sense and reason) all the way up Chelan to the north end village of Stehekin.
After graduating College and spending some time travelling, in 1994 Mike took possession of the boat. 11 years after inheriting in from Grandpa. He moored it on Lake Union in Seattle for a few years, then for the last years of the 90's he lived in a house on south Lake Washington. This afforded him a lot of time an proximity to work on and keep the boat functional. This included a major repair of the transom and bilge area. However, through all of this time it did get flooded twice and the seats and floor took a beating that would have destroyed a weaker boat. In 2002 he got married and the boat was moved to a friends back yard and left to slowly fill with leaves. He skied and used it when he could but time was getting more and more precious, especially after his daughter was born.
This is where I come in. In July of 2007 I received a fateful call from Mike. With his young daughter, he and his wife working full time they didn't have time to enjoy it anymore. To add insult to injury, his friend who was babysitting the boat wanted it out of his yard to make room for his new sail boat. We had two options: I could take possession of and responsibility for the boat or we get rid of it. For those of you who have read this whole rambling story, you could predict that getting rid of it was not an option. Of course I had a week to figure out 1) how to get the boat (I drive a Jetta) and 2) where to store it once I solved number one. This is where Kate comes in. Kate is a friend of mine and my wife, and more importantly, she has a car large enough to tow the boat. So we slapped a hitch on it and were off. Shortly after I found and rented a covered car port to store it in. Done and done.
And this is where we pick up this spring. I have read an unreasonable amount of blogs, books, and beginners courses on cutting and laying fiberglass. And now I am just cocky enough to believe that, not only can I rebuild it, but we can make it better, stronger, and more fun than ever before. The plan is to refit a new floor, upholstery, and new gauges. My wife, the painter, will oversee and execute the painting and striping and in the end we will have a new boat that can last another 30+ years.
The purpose of this blog is to track and document the refit. So read, enjoy, and most importantly laugh at me as I cut, grind, glue, and paint my way through rebuilding this thing.
Sure enough after two seasons Gramps had had enough. Sometime between 1983 and 1984 he decided to gift the boat to my brother. A nice gift you say, indeed it was. However, as a 14 year old boy he wasn't really up to the challenge of boat ownership anymore than Grandpa. So the Phantom became the number two family boat behind the Begora.
There were many great memories created early on with the Phantom. Because it was so much smaller, and thus easier to put in and out of the water, we used it on the Columbia River way more than we could have with the Begora. After all the Bayliner was 21.7' and a real beast to pull out of the water. We also took the Phantom to Lake Shasta in California in 1984 for a family gathering that included the 5 of us from Washington and all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins from California. Then, in 1985 we moved to Mount Vernon, and the Phantom's life would never be the same.
When we were in Wenatchee and had regular access to the monster that Lake Chelan is, having a large boat like the Begora made sense. However, Mt. Vernon was a different story all together. We had Puget Sound and a very small lake ironically named Big Lake to choose from for our boating pleasure. The Sound seemed like a logical fit for the Begora. However we learned quickly that, while larger, it wasn't up to the challenges of the salt water, tides, and general scale of island hopping. So shortly after moving dad sold the Begora. It was a sad day, we all loved that boat, but it had to be done. And thus the Phantom became the primary boat.
Over the course of the next ten years we crabbed, we fished, we skied, we cruised, we did everything anyone could think of with our little boat. This included annual trips over the mountains to eastern Washington, in addition to weekly trips to Big Lake. In the late 80's two major updates took place. My dad upgraded the motor from a 55hp Mercury to the maximum, a 75hp Suzuki, the motor it has to this day. Also in the late 80's/early 90's my brother Mike and cousin Ross replaced the collapsing seats with new hand rebuilt ones and for two years they took the boat (against all sense and reason) all the way up Chelan to the north end village of Stehekin.
After graduating College and spending some time travelling, in 1994 Mike took possession of the boat. 11 years after inheriting in from Grandpa. He moored it on Lake Union in Seattle for a few years, then for the last years of the 90's he lived in a house on south Lake Washington. This afforded him a lot of time an proximity to work on and keep the boat functional. This included a major repair of the transom and bilge area. However, through all of this time it did get flooded twice and the seats and floor took a beating that would have destroyed a weaker boat. In 2002 he got married and the boat was moved to a friends back yard and left to slowly fill with leaves. He skied and used it when he could but time was getting more and more precious, especially after his daughter was born.
This is where I come in. In July of 2007 I received a fateful call from Mike. With his young daughter, he and his wife working full time they didn't have time to enjoy it anymore. To add insult to injury, his friend who was babysitting the boat wanted it out of his yard to make room for his new sail boat. We had two options: I could take possession of and responsibility for the boat or we get rid of it. For those of you who have read this whole rambling story, you could predict that getting rid of it was not an option. Of course I had a week to figure out 1) how to get the boat (I drive a Jetta) and 2) where to store it once I solved number one. This is where Kate comes in. Kate is a friend of mine and my wife, and more importantly, she has a car large enough to tow the boat. So we slapped a hitch on it and were off. Shortly after I found and rented a covered car port to store it in. Done and done.
And this is where we pick up this spring. I have read an unreasonable amount of blogs, books, and beginners courses on cutting and laying fiberglass. And now I am just cocky enough to believe that, not only can I rebuild it, but we can make it better, stronger, and more fun than ever before. The plan is to refit a new floor, upholstery, and new gauges. My wife, the painter, will oversee and execute the painting and striping and in the end we will have a new boat that can last another 30+ years.
The purpose of this blog is to track and document the refit. So read, enjoy, and most importantly laugh at me as I cut, grind, glue, and paint my way through rebuilding this thing.
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