Bimby

Bimby

Bimby is a 26 foot Minet launch that is one of the more challenging restorations I’ve undertaken . The first time I saw her she was an interesting runabout with a sloping windshield and a marinized  flat head Ford V8 for power , but there was something about the boat that prompted me to do a bit of research and investigation  . The boat had started life as a long deck launch in 1916 at Harraby point  on lake Rosseau . Sometime in the 1940’s the boat caught fire and sank . The salvage was purchased and the remains repaired and converted to a runnabout by Norm Strip in Windermere , who used it for several years  .

       Over the years I had worked on a few early Minet launches and the front twelve feet of the hull was pretty much un-changed ,most likely the front of the boat sank while the back was still burning and extinguished the fire , preserving the bow. It was evident from the shape that  a lot of liberties had been taken with the re-creation of the aft section of the hull after the fire  . I had taken the lines off of two Minets that were previously in my shop, so I had the information to re-construct the hull .  With the help of the owners of two other similar launches I was able to get enough information to re-construct the interior and replicate some of the missing hardware . The restoration was completed over about 4 years between other jobs . I still remember looking at the stem and realizing that it was steam bent out of a 2 inch thick piece of white oak . I don’t think there are many Minets left that still have a steam bent stem . —That was the first thing that I did . The rest of the boat grew from there 

looking under the deck it was evident from the charred carlings that there had been a serious fire
using lines taken from other Minet Launches , station molds wer built to reconstruct the correct shape of the hull
On the bottom left the spray rail on Minet launches is carved into the plank . That plank started at 1 1/2" thich and the area around the rail was reduced .
Honduras mahogany side panking
vertical grain western red cedar bottom planking
deck framing roughed in
the bulkhead at the front of the engine room still usable and still a good fit
All of the decking is edge nailed starting at the outside perimeter and working toward the centre . this way there ar no pugs in the decking
Orriginaly the deck was nailed with iron nails . I used stainless
Because the decking is straight strips going around a curve , a lot of constant tweaking is required to make sure that when the king plank is dropped in at the end that it is in the centre.
Those yellow lines on the deck are actually small grooves filled with compound
This is a 9 inch piece of wood bent around a form that eventually became the trim molding on the dash shelf
The hatches are single planks , re-sawn from a 2 inch thick board and book matched
A freshly restored 6 cylinder Chrysler Ace
Minet seats are unique in the way that the backs curve in 2 planes
these are the corners being cut out of 3 inch thick mahogany on my CNC router
A CAD model of the windshield handles
wooden paterns cut out of mahogany
bronze castings made from the mahogany patterns
This is another project in itself , I figured out how to replicate the holophane stern globe
wooden pattern for the deck vents
a core box that will be used to mold the lump of sand that will become the inside hollow of the vent
When I worked on the Hilo ---a 1917 Minet the orriginal upholstery was still under the re-covered seats . This was the pattern

This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. Bruce Cramblett

    20 Mar 2022

    This was my grandfather’s boat, and Norm was our neighbor. Bimby stands for Bernice Irene Marquis Byron Yeugene. They used to call my grand father By Marquis. Love to share my grand parents history with you. Just let me know.
    I am over the moon to see Bimby back to her glory.

  2. Hannah Miller

    21 Mar 2022

    That was our boat. My great grand father bought it from Norm and they named it Bimby because it was his and his wife’s initials. I was on that boat ever summer since I was six months old until we had to sell it because my grand parents were to old to keep up with it.

  3. Michelle (Miller) Davis

    21 Mar 2022

    Thank you for sharing the restoration journey for this beautiful boat. I have many fond memories as a child riding in her around the lakes near Windermere. My grandparents, Bryon and Bernice Marquis, purchased this beauty from Norm Strip. Bimby is named after them. BIM=Bernice Irene Marquis and BY=Byron. BIMBY. My parents owned it for several years after the Marquis’ I am so happy to see that she has been restored to her old glory.

  4. Gregory Miller

    22 Mar 2022

    Michelle is my sister, I also have many memories of BIMBY riding around the lake. WOW what an amazing job you did on this restoration!!!

  6. Pamela Jeffery Inkster

    18 Nov 2022

    My great-great Uncle Bert built this Minett (my mother was Nancy Minett), among many others. Congratulations on a beautiful restoration. Thank you for sharing the story of its restoration journey with all of us.

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