Posted by WRufus on 06/16/15 - 1:02 PM
#1
I spoke with the owner of a classic 13' Whaler from 1968, very nice guy, who told me an interesting whaler story...
According to him, very early Whalers had repurposed Philippine Mahogany originally from PT boats...
it is interesting to think about:
- PT Boats did have Mahogany planks (and were not all plywood (another myth))
- Although many of the WWII era PT boats were burned after the war in the Pacific (vs. being shipped home), there were sizeable squadrons elsewhere including Newport, RI and other locations on the East Coast & Europe
- Those PT Boats could have been decommissioned, dismantled, and had parts sit in warehouses, around the same time as the birth of the fisher pierce hull
I'm curious if anyone else has heard this Whaler tale?
Edited by WRufus on 06/16/15 - 5:52 PM
Posted by huckelberry145 on 06/17/15 - 10:29 AM
#2
After doing some research, I don't see much P T Boat building in the New England area, where I thought that the shipbuilders might have excess mahogany left over after the war. Though, it does seem that P T Boats were not exclusive to the Pacific Theatre and I'm thinking that they may be used to defend the coastal waters, but I wouldn't think that there were enough to mass produce a line of new boats. Since I first read this thread I have been thinking that there is probably some truth to this. If I were starting to build a conceptual boat and heard from someone that there was a warehouse full of Philippine mahogany leftover from the war and cheap, I would be all over that deal. We all know how beautiful the wood is when finished.