Hi Mark..
I still want to see your Flush Deck 17 when I get a chance...
Some trivia for us Lyle Hess buffs..........
The BCC28 and Falmouth Cutter 22 were smooth hulls. I was there when Lyle and
Ernie Gyrie were
long boarding the 22 plug. I watched them lay up the first Nor'Sea 22. (which
is what the first 10 or so
boats were called back in 1978-79)
Previously Sam and Betty Morse hired my friend Bruce Meyers, the inventor of
the Dune Buggy in the
1960s...(now 82 years old; I attended a recent birthday party at his shop)
Bruce will tell you he made
and lost 6 million dollars back in the late 60s....hahaha. but he was a master
mold maker...not as good as
Jerry Montgomery, but close.. Bruce tooled the SamMorseCompany BCC 28 for Sam.
When Heritage Marine sold the Nor'Sea 27 and Nor'Sea 22 at auction, Sam, Lyle
and I went together.
I bought the Nor'Sea molds and tooling and Sam agreed to buy the Nor'Sea 22
molds. Sam changed the name
to the Falmouth 22. This was in April 1980.
Bruce Meyers tooled my Nor'Sea 37 for me in the late 80s. (bad back and
all......) Lyle drew the lines
on the plywood floor we built for the stations......
Sam ran out of work in 1992-93 and sold the company to George Hickama..(sp?)
George had it for about
2 months and ran out of money and took Roger Olsen in as a half owner. Roger
moved George out a couple of months later. Tom and Dick, the two craftsman who
worked for Sam since the beginning stayed on with Roger.
Sam passed away 6 months after retiring in 1993. (NEVER RETIRE. DIE AT WORK!)
They built boats up thru about 2002 when Dick retired and Sumio took over from
Roger. Sumio was a Japanese investor who actually moved to California to
promote a Japanese market for the BCC. But Japan went thru a large recession
and that idea fell by the wayside. Sumio, while a nice guy, just couldn't speak
enough english to sell anything. He built a few boats only.
2 (?) years ago at the Annapolis Boatshow, I was over at friends Bernie and
Kate (of Roguewave Yacht sales) along with Sumio, friend and fellow wine
drinker Bob Perry and several others including former Nor'Sea 27 owner
and new M_17 owner Joe Murphy. (Hi Joe)....It was apparent that Sumio was
selling the Sam Morse Company and production would cease. A sad story. Roger
Olsen was also at the boatshow promoting his book.....Roger told me
when he bought the Sam Morse Company, he had $200,000 in his savings account.
When Sumio took over
(for money he had invested) Roger said he was broke but did get a new BCC 28 to
take with him.
Bernie had a beautiful BCC28 in the show that year. The lines were long. Nobody
bought one. That about
ended the company for Sumio. No orders were forthcoming.
Sumio wanted 50K for the molds and tooling.....I don't know if he got that but
he did sell the 28 and 22 to
Cape George Cutter Marine Works in Port Townsend, Washington.
At the end, Tommy (the other 28 year craftsman) retired as well. I doubt the
market for a new BCC 28 or
BCC 22 exists anymore. To many man hours.
But it was fun seeing Lyle with that longboard, his hair full of grey primer
dust......his big smile.
It didn't get much better than that for Lyle.
Bob
> Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2008 12:51:16 -0700> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To:
> [email protected]> Subject: M_Boats: Our Lapstrake
> heritage> > Hello> Both the Bristol Channel Cutter (28ft on deck) and the
> Falmouth Cutter (22ft on deck) > were Lapstrake Hull design boats, they were
> made of fiberglass just like the Montgomery boats.> I had the pleasure of
> touring the builders yard back in the early 90s. The construction and pride
> of> workmanship on these examples of Lyle Hess designs was exceptional.> They
> even had there own foundry to produce the bronze hardware used on the boats.>
> It has always been a dream to make one part of my life one day.> To bad Bob
> couldn't acquire the molds for these two fine designs when the manufacturer
> went belly up.> It would be truly awesome if the BCC were added to the
> Montgomery line, she would be the Grand Dame> of the design fleet.> > But I
> have to say that I'm very happy to be sailing a Lyle Hess hull design. It's
> comforting to know > Montgomery's have such a solid maritime heritage, we
> have much to be proud of.> > Mark Escovedo> M17F/D> #103> AMY> > > > > > >
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