45 foot 1970's IOR racer stored in a barn for 25 to 30 years

[Russel2]

Originally Posted by johnn33

She does look at a distance to be very nice.
I wonder if his widow might remember if they belonged to a sailing club, or has any photos of regattas, and then club secretaries might have a record?
John

Hi Johnn33,

Thank you for your response. I would like to clarify my statement to everyone about purchasing MYSTERY.

"The boat was basically an estate sale".

The previous owner is very much alive and has become a friend of mine!

When I first met him on his farm to see the boat, he grilled me for more than an hour about my back ground in boats. I felt like I was a young man again, going on my first job interview. Eventually, after I bought his boat, I got to know him because he and I worked together to do the following tasks.

Because MYSTERY, tarped on her trailer, was at the rear of the barn, there was a 30 year accumulation of various farm implements, equipment, materials, tools, and dust and dirt on the trailer, around her, and in front of her. Since she had been placed in the barn in 1990, life on the farm had gone on. Her exit from the farm was now blocked by the following. A nearby field had been cleared of all of the field stones and the pile was in the way. Fences had been put up, ditches had been dug and trees had grown up. I worked with the owner to move the rock pile, remove two huge steel farm gates and their posts, some of the associated fencing and fill in two ditches. MYSTERY had to go though two pastures through the farm and enter at a 60 degree diagonal onto the rural road to accommodate the heavy tow truck and the lowboy's length and her 13 foot beam, while avoiding the deep roadside ditches and trees. During breaks, while we were creating a path for MYSTERY to leave the farm, the previous owner and I would chat and of coarse, we got to know each other. He is now 81 years old and has been on the farm forever. Since he had no livestock and was a cash cropper, he could go boating during the summer while the crops were growing. He became an avid boater and had many power and sailboats. When He was about 50 years old, during a trip to Florida, he saw MYSTERY for sale on the US east coast and purchased her. She was trucked north to somewhere on Lake ST Clair. There, he had a local marine service (it is long gone) do the refit where she was painted, had the bow thruster installed and the new Perkins Prima M60 installed. He then sailed her for one season and then had her transported to the farm and put in the barn where he could work on her at his leisure. The sailboat was his dream boat and he was going to outfit her for his use, for the rest of his life. Then, quoting his own words, running the farm, work, raising three children, divorcing his first wife, life in general took all of his time. He continued to go boating on the various trailable fishing boats that he had. Every year he was going to sort out his dream sailboat and launch her. And MYSTERY sat safe and sound under her tarp in the barn for all those years. When I first met him, although he was still carrying on, at 80 years of age he had experienced a couple of heart attacks and had other typical senior ailments. His farm's fields are now leased to another farmer and he had set about cleaning up his farm while he could still do so. He was also selling off all of the farm equipment as well. He is a character and basically says he is having his own estate sale while he can still be present and having fun doing it! And the sailboat in the barn. He finally realized that, because of his age and health issues, he would never be able to finish the refit and launch her. Several other buyers handed him a cheque for his sailboat and he decided to not accept their money. He just did not like them, he thought that they might be planning on flipping the boat, or he thought they didn't have the skill set or experience to deal with the boat. He was not going to let just anybody buy his sailboat. That is why he interviewed me to see if I qualified, in his mind, to even look at his sailboat in the barn. I guess I passed his test. As I say, the previous owner is now a friend of mine, we stay in touch, and he comes to see me and his old sailboat in Bayfield now. He just wishes to see his old sailboat back in the water again. I have asked him to come sailing with me on MYSTERY and he promises that he will. I think that he is looking forward to going sailing on MYSTERY as much as I am!

The previous owner's second wife is a real sweet heart, but came into the picture after Mystery was in the barn. She looks after all of the finances and paperwork on the farm. She has promised me, that she will pass on to me, any paperwork about MYSTERY, if she finds any, even if it is years from now. She says that all of the paperwork for the everything about the farm and her husband is in dozens of boxes in the basement. She is slowly going thru it, one page at a time.

One of the the previous owner's senior ailments is that, although he has good short term memory and is great social company, he has lost much of his long term memory. Therefore he only has vague recollections of the past when he bought MYSTERY.

I think, the lesson I have learned from the previous owner is...... do not wait for tomorrow.

Go sailing today!

Cheers, Ric

[Jim Cate]

^^^^

Ric, thanks so much for that heartwarming story... my attitude to the whole project has taken a huge swing and I'm firmly in your camp now. The reality is SO different to what I envisioned from your first post.

And for your farmer pal, as a fellow octogenarian I salute you for the foresight to get all this done while you still can. I'm not as resolute as he is and continue to deny reality and continue to live aboard and cruise. My sloth will quite likely come back and bite me in the ass!

Good onya both, Ric. If we ( Ann and I) can be of help (vicariously, of course) we'd be delighted to try.

Jim

[Russel2]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

^^^^

Ric, thanks so much for that heartwarming story... my attitude to the whole project has taken a huge swing and I'm firmly in your camp now. The reality is SO different to what I envisioned from your first post.

And for your farmer pal, as a fellow octogenarian I salute you for the foresight to get all this done while you still can. I'm not as resolute as he is and continue to deny reality and continue to live aboard and cruise. My sloth will quite likely come back and bite me in the ass!

Good onya both, Ric. If we ( Ann and I) can be of help (vicariously, of course) we'd be delighted to try.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Hopefully, if we plan and time it just right, and Lady Luck continues to smile while she sails with us, just like my farmer friend, we will be able to be present at and enjoy our own estate sale!

Cheers, Ric

[Clivevon]

Russel;

Thanks for that. I think you chose wisely.

You are a brave man.

Yep - all best wishes to you.

[taxwizz]

Originally Posted by Don C L

She looks like a beautiful boat, but the cost of replacing the keel and sails is, well, big. I hate to be a naysayer too but I'd agree that there are beautiful old IOR boats with keels and sails looking for a good home that would cost a fraction of this one. Still if you decide to go forward with it, best of luck with it and I hope you'll chronicle the whole refit for us. It is a fascinating story to follow, and I am not being sarcastic here. I know what it's like to fall for a boat regardless of how poor an "investment" it may be.

Some boats are like some women.....
Better at a distance and early in the relationship.

[wolford]

Nice looking boat. The deck looks like a Ranger or maybe a Carter (just guessing).

[taxwizz]

"Go when ya can.....
Ya never know when ya can't."

[RLMM]

Originally Posted by Russel2

Hello everyone.

I recently found this 45 foot fiberglass sloop in a barn near London, Ontario, Canada. It was stored in the barn for the past 25 to 30 years. Unknown designer, builder, make, model or year. It might be a one off custom, built and sailed during the early 1970's on the USA east coast. Does anyone know this boat, or anything about it? The various pictures are just after the boat was pulled from the barn before it was trucked to Bayfield, Ontario on Lake Huron.

Because everything about this boat is a mystery, I have decided to name it MYSTERY.

Please check out each picture in my album, because each picture has it's own narrative about MYSTERY.

I will be refitting the boat to sail on the Great Lakes during my retirement. Any information about this boat would be greatly appreciated. If any one has any questions, I will attempt to answer them and will take additional pictures after the snow melts. At the current time MYSTERY is tarped and covered with about two feet of snow, so there be no additional pictures until spring when I can start the refit.

Cheers, Ric

Dark Horse was a Canada's Cup Rule designed racer from the 70's. Tried hard to earn a place in history but was mostly forgotten about. A lot of effort went into the project by some well-heeled individuals, which I will suggest passed on pre-Covid. (I think this will be the new way we describe our ages and time) There will be something in the history books and the Marine Museum in Kingston and your best living contact might be Jake Rogerson up in Bayfield. There are a couple of other senior sailors in the area who you may search out as well. Both, blue water cruisers, both with an interest in things like this. Whether they see this page or not I do not know. You do have some work in front of you. If I can help more, reach out. slowasmolasses@hotmail.com

[4runner]

Post your story on the SAILING ANARCHY forum. There will be someone there who knows the boat, built it, designed it, repaired it or sailed on it.

[jmsomes]

This looks very much like a Swan 44. They used Hood Masts and had the companionway entry, and window cabin top design these pictures suggest. There are two 1973 for sale on YachtWorld for you to compare against. Nice boat!

[justlearnin]

You need to post closer views of the stern and deck configuration.

[cottonsail]

Possibly a Ranger 45?

[svSnow]

Hello Russel,

What a great story and a beautiful yacht.

Could this be a Sparkman & Stephens design? Based on the lines and the markings on the nose and aft side of the ship.

She has some familiarity with a S&S Swan 44, but I would say it is not. Just look a the window shape and the stern. The stern of the Swan 44 is more narrow.

But the design looks very S&S to me, so are the markings.

Success bringing her back alive.

[thlamers]

Wish you the best for restoring and floating your new boat. From the cove stripe marking the boat is clearly a C & C. The bow rake is consistent.

Sure hope the previous owner's widow can find you the paperwork as it should make registration much easier. If she can't, ask for a bill of sale.

The situation with the keel is a mystery too unless the owner was planning to convert to a centerboard or other modification.

[Brob2]

Originally Posted by svSnow

Hello Russel,


Could this be a Sparkman & Stephens design? Based on the lines and the markings on the nose and aft side of the ship.


But the design looks very S&S to me, so are the markings.

Success bringing her back alive.

Originally Posted by thlamers

Wish you the best for restoring and floating your new boat. From the cove stripe marking the boat is clearly a C & C. The bow rake is consistent.

I would follow up with S&S- they designed a few boats for Hughes Boat Works North Star line, and she does show a bow rake, forward-leaning trapezoidal shaped cabin port, and cove-stripe similar to North Star boats such as the NORTH STAR 1500/35. The cove stripes of C&C, North Star, and some S&S were very similar and I don't have the resolution on my laptop to to be determinate.