by Walter Hardin
It was September 22nd 1989. The forecast was for a hurricane to graze the South Carolina coast. The Rock Hill and Charlotte areas we’re predicted to get a lot of rain and potential wind gusts up to 30 mph. At the time, I was in charge of facilities at Winthrop University. I was concerned about damage to come there and our forces got ready for recovery. When I got home to our house on Lake Wylie the evening before, I lashed our homemade pontoon to the dock and the dock to a tree on the beach.
Well, the forecast was wrong. Hugo turned northwest at McClellanville, SC and followed the river system all the way to our house! My wife, daughter and I were awakened around two am to the sounds of horrendous winds. We found the safest place in the house and waited for the storm to calm down. When it subsided and the sun came up, we were amazed at the damage. We did not get a lot of rain and the wind gusted to over 90 mph! There were thirty trees down in our yard alone and several on each one of our cars. I had a 1961 Thunderbird that was up next to my shop and it had a clear path out. Needless to say, I had a very long day at Winthrop. The damage there was huge. But this story is about a boat so here I go. When I got home, my wife, daughter and I cranked up our pontoon and went up the river to check the damage. There were boats up on banks, some still in their slips, trees down everywhere. The biggest surprise was that most of the Lake Club Marina was gone…. It was across the lake boats and all.
A buddy from work had an almost new 1988 28’ Tracker Party Hut that we had admired since he bought it. Well, it was one of the boats still in the relocated slips. We were without power for 17 days and my days were busy working on getting Winthrop back in shape. About a month after the storm, my buddy called me and said his boat was totaled. The insurance company was going to replace his boat. He kept the motor and bought a new boat to put it on. He told me that he bought the wreck for $250 as salvage and asked if I wanted it. Heck yes, I said! I asked what he wanted for it and he said $250. How about that? He knew I was handy and could fix it. I was friends with the owner of the marina where he bought the boat and made a deal with them to buy used parts as they repaired the less damaged boats. I also paid the marina to weld a new nosecone on one of the pontoons and I bought a used Evinrude motor to go on it.
Since 1989, we have redone the boat multiple times including an aluminum floor, all new panels in the cabin and she’s on her third motor. Not bad for thirty three years!
This past summer I built a trailer and pulled her out, recovering the seats and wrapping the fence panels with vinyl. She lives again. The first name we gave her in 1989 was “Junque No Mo”. We lost our beloved Boykin Spaniel last summer. She loved boat rides and with the new look we renamed the boat “Rosebud’s Delight”. Age dictates that this is probably her last refit. Well, last by me!
This is what she looked like is November of 1989 when we bought her.
This is what she looks like now.
Rear View
Interior.
Kitchen.
Helm.
I found a couple photos of the boat I made in my twenties. It was crude but we sure had a lot of fun with it. One photo shows it when we first finished her. We powered it with a 1967 9.8 Mercury. Did pretty well.
I’m working on the Feathercraft now. My plan is to have it ready for Lake Lure.
