We all remember Gilligan's Island.....
Original S.S. Minnow Found!
Minnow three has been found and is now owned by a delightful Scotsman named Scotty Taylor and he resides on Vancouver Island in British Columbia (Canada). While Scotty was travelling in Hardwick Island in 1996 he noticed that a crew was pulling a capsized boat out of the water at Johnson Street, also known as the Johnson Reef. A storm had swept through this area and the American that owned the boat piloted the vessell into the reef, sinking it. It was underwater for three days rendering all of the electrical equipment useless. After the boat was towed out of the water, it was easy to see that this boat would never set sail again. But Scotty noticed that this particular boat was a 1964 "Wheeler" built in Carson, New York. He knew that this model was very well made and had a good reputation. The american sold this boat to Scotty for $3,500. This boat was called "The Bluejacket." The american told him that this particular boat was rumored to be the infamous S.S. Minnow. Scotty didn't pay much attention to this because he really wasn't a fan of the show. After Scotty purchased the "Bluejacket," he did his own research and found that the VIN number did indeed match the white boat that was purchased in 1964 for the second season of "Gilligan's Island." You can see this boat in the opening theme with the Professor loading something on it, Gilligan standing on it and then watching it go out of the Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles. It took Scotty two years to restore it and cost him a mere $150,000. He changed the official name to, what else, the "S.S. Minnow."
The specs on the Minnow: A 1964 "Wheeler" measuring 38'6" in a straight line from nose to tail. It's certified as a 40' boat because in America the measurement is taken from the outline of the deck. It houses two Detroit Deisel engines @ 230 hp each. Maximun speed is 14 knots, with a cruising speed of 12 knots.
The Minnow is docked at Schooner's Cove Marina
in Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island and it available for public viewing.
So what is the Minnow used for? Not too much. Scotty takes it out fishing and parades the boat in a handful of shows at Maple Bay. An interesting story is that while Scotty was at Cape Beale a storm hit and a 40 foot wave knocked the dingy and zodiac off and almost capsized the S.S. Minnow, again!
Scotty Taylor is the owner of the River Bend Resort.
I was up at Schooner Cove, near Nanoose, this past summer and after hearing a news report that the Minnow was for sale I went up and took these pictures. I thought it was pretty cool to find the Minnow so close by and what a neat story. The asking price was $99,000 --- I took a pass --- LOL
Still can't find the damn Elmhurst cow (it wasn't in the boat) - but as one can see the cow search has led me quite far a field !!!!
Gary
Saanich, BC
1 comment:
Good find, Gary. Will have to stop and check this out next time I'm going down island. Now do you suppose those darn cows could be found out this way also? lol Cheers.
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