All members are encouraged to participate.    Please send your articles & photos to Dick Sherwood  click here to return to the main menu

click icon to view guest log       Last updated July 22, 2005  by berkshire television

George Zeth    Morehouse Program Chairman

FOR SALE:  1920s-vintage 14-ft. Sutherland double-ended trout boat in good condition.  Asking $2000. OBO.  Also, 1910? 16-ft. Edwin Long rowboat in very good condition with original oars.  Asking $3000. OBO.  Garrit Heerkeens, 585-924-3923.

FOR SALE:  1955 Century Resorter with 135hp Gray Marine engine.  Boat & engine each ready for reassembly.  Great project boat.  New upholstery & restored original trailer.  Asking $7000. OBO  Loretta Prusha, 607-962-4055. 

The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Whitney offered APHRODITE to the government for War service and the boat was commissioned in April 1942 as a Coast Guard auxiliary vessel (CGR-557). It spent most of its war-time career ferrying dignitaries up and down the Atlantic coast and transporting President Roosevelt to and from his home at Hyde Park on the Hudson River.

In the early 1960's Mr. Whitney no longer needed such a large boat so he donated it to Anthony Drexel Duke and Boy's Harbor, a summer program for disadvantaged inner ­city youth which operated on Mr. Duke's estate at East Hampton, Long Island.
In the late 1960's or early 1970's APHRODITE was renamed MOONFIRE and under that name it went through a series of owners under which its condition quickly deteriorated to the point where it was parked ashore with weeds sprouting around its neglected hull.

Around 1970, Mr.John Pannell started a marine repair business (Harbor View Marine) on the site of of the old Purdy Boat Company  where APHRODITE was originally built. In 1983 Mr.  Parnell was approached by a gentleman from New Jersey who told him he had just bought an old boat  and asked if he would be interested in a restoration project. He added "the boat's got MOONFIRE on the transom but I think it's APHRODITE"! The boat was launched and towed back to its original birth place where it was then hauled out and restoration work began.

The unexpected death of the New Jersey man shortly after work was begun brought restoration efforts to a temporary halt. Work began again in earnest when John Pannell accepted ownership of APHRODITE from the heirs as payment for work in progress.

After relaunching in 1984, APHRODITE could be seen traveling up and down the East Coast and in attendance at many classic boat events where it garnered many a prize.
In the fall of 2000, John Pannell sold APHRODITE to its present owner, a true classic boat enthusiast. Despite Pannell's loving attention to the boat, the new owner found that overall the boat was in an advanced state of deterioration. He  could not stop the clock and retain the boat's past glory. In the late fall of 2003, APHRODITE was delivered to the Brooklin Boat Yard where a complete restoration of the boat is returning it to its original appearance while bringing all ship's systems up to today's standards. The first stage of this project was to extensively catalog all aspects of the boat for later reference. Once this historical documentation was completed, forms were placed into the boat to retain the hull's shape. Next, the job of disassembly began with the removal of the deck, superstructure, bulkheads, all interior structures and ship's systems leaving only the hull in place.
Reconstruction began with the replacement of the original backbone, stem, floors and the reframing of the intricate curves of APHRODITE's signature torpedo stem. Next on the list was the removal of the original hull planking and the fastening of temporary rib bands to the original frames. After all planking was removed, new white oak frames were fabricated and steam bent into position, and the original frames were removed.

On September 2, 2004 the final original frame (last wood of the original boat) was removed marking the transition from old to new. Work on this project continues at a rapid pace with interior longitudinal stringers, blocking for shaft and rudder apertures and bulkheads being fabricated and fitted into place .

Once all structure work has been completed replanking of the hull (as original donble­planked and copper riveted Philippine mahogany) will begin followed by ship's systems installations and the reconstruction of the interior accommodations spaces, decks and superstructure. Ship's systems will, of course, be of a more modern nature than those with which the boat was originally equipped, but interior accommodations, deck and superstructure will be as originally  built.      Original power was a pair of 800 HP V12 Packards that moved the boat faster than its contract speed of' 38 MPH. These engines were replaced by 1350 HP Packards and there followed 1500 HP Packards when the government took the boat over in 1942. Supposedly, it did 60 MPH with those engines and it became the pace-setter for all PT boats built during World War II. Later engines included 275 HP Hall-Scotts, 275 HP GM diesels and lastly, 350 HP V8 Crusaders. A final all-out run just before the start of restoration reached 25 knots and caused an engine to blow!  A pair of new Caterpillar C-18 diesels "painted black with plenty of chrome," each rated at 1001 HP, has now been installed for maximum reliability. A new variable speed reduction gear has also been installed so that at low engine RPM, the boat won't be doing eleven knots (theoretical speed at the normal operating [lowest] ratio of 1.03).  The engines will be electronically controlled and the control units are being modified so that the original helm controls can still be used. Top speed is predicted to be an impressive 41 knots!