Duane and Sylvia Seaver

Don and Sylvia will be bringing their 25' 1917 Stearns and McKay 25 foot cabin launch powered by a Gray Marine 4 cyl. There is also a great shot of my boat, Amohicana II, on the ACBS website as a banner photo under the "Donations" header.
The Stearns & McKay Company was located in Marblehead, Mass. with their shop (which still stands) located directly on the harbor waterfront. They were producing custom small to medium size launches in the late 1880's, and perhaps even earlier. By 1917, the year my boat was built, the company was advertising in 'Motor Boating' and other national boating magazines with ads showing an artist' rendition of my boat, so apparently they were hoping or perhaps in fact did produce several of this model which is 25' long not including the outboard rudder, with a 6' beam and drawing 24" of water. This boat is most likely the sole surviving example of the Stearns & McKay Co.
This boat was originally named Amohicana II by it's first owner Paul Crocker. Crocker was a prominent name in Marblehead, Sam Crocker was a well known naval architect, a harbor front park is named Crocker Park, etc. At some time in the 1920's, the boat ended up in northern Lake Huron waters in the Les Cheneaux Islands of Upper peninsula of Michigan. A family from Cincinnati, Ohio owned it for many years using her as their island ferry during the summer months. In 1948, the boat changed hands and again served as island transportation for a family who lived for many years year around on tiny Cove Island. During its many years there in the islands, it was well known to the residents as 'Mohican'. It sank once after hitting rocks, its original Sterling engine was changed around 1930, and again in the 1950's, and also probably at this time acquired a turquoise coat of paint covering all of its lovely mahogany wood. It may have helped save the wood, but it required almost 100 hours of stripping, sanding, heating, praying, and every other trick known to man to get rid of that paint. I dreamt turquoise many a night!
I acquired the boat in the fall of 1985 from a local marina where it lay under cover for several years after the parents had died and their two children who had known the boat since birth, decided they couldn't keep it. It needed a complete restoration, but was in remarkable condition for its age. All hardware was intact, even an original "License To Navigate" issued by the U.S. Navy in 1917. This license even has an original photograph of the boat! The license allowed it to navigate within prescribed areas off the Atlantic coast during World War I.
All except one short piece of port side covering board and some cockpit trim is original. Removing the wood rubrail during restoration revealed the builder's pencil marks, as fresh as if they had been made the day before.The boat still has its original bottom made of cedar planks rivited to white oak steam bent ribs. It typically takes a week to soak up before launching. Launch day is ALWAYS exciting!!! Quarters below contain two berths, under berth storage, icebox, a bottle rack, and a tiny 'closet' at the head of each bunk. The head is in front, and originally contained a head (since removed), a water storage tank, and a priceless silver plated sink with fold up bowl and faucet with pump handle. I have aways suspected this sink was the most valuable part of the boat!
This 92 year old boat has given many different families great enjoyment through the years and hopefully will continue to do so as it soon begins its second century of life.