Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Aug. 29, 1985, edition 1 / Page 68
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roge 36?Supplement to THE BRUNSWiCK Sailboc BY TERRY POPE When Horton Mllliken of Shallotte found the model sailboat back in 1954, all that remained was its lead-filled hull amid the scattered ruins caused by Hurricane Hazel. Hazel had Just slummed into the Brunswick County coast and Milliken had returned to Oak Island to help repair a friend's service station. It was there, while clearing away debris, that the hull caught Milliken's eye. The model boat builder pulled the hull from the ruins, but decided not to repair the boat. Being somewhat of an expert In the hobby. Milliken wanted to give the boat a reconstructed body based on its original appearance. But Hurricane Hazel may have robbed the boat of that chance. From 1954 until 1984. the boat's hull sal idle until Milliken's grandson, Bobby Williamson of Shallotte, decided to give the vessel a complete body and a name. Now 30 years later, Williamson is seeking the boat's original owner, to see how well he fared in his first adventure in building a model boat. "I was wondering if anyone remembers the boat in its original form," Williamson said. "This boat had a lead hull, so 1 tend to think it was a working model that someone use to tie a string to and sailed in ponds or lakes." Williamson, whose favorite hobby is sailing, was skimming through a magazine on sailing prior to Thanksgiving last year and noticed an article on the Jtlass yachts which were very popular in the 1930s, the golden era of sailing It was the J-Class hull that caught his attention, because he knew that be had seen one before. It matched the hull of the mystery sailboat that his grandfather had salvaged from the debris left bv Hazel "So 1 rigged it back in that fashion." Williamson said "1 modeled it after the "Rainbowwhich won the America's Cup back in 1934." Everything about the model sailboat has been reconstructed according to scale, Williamson said According to the information he received, the mast on a fuU-siie J-Class sailing yacht stood IMMrrt above the watrr level. It was the type of yacht that only the sailing elite could afford Its body measured over ISWeet long Model boats were often made byhand from the originals Milliken has eonatructed a number a# model k?k (ran memory of the ships that oner sailrsl up the ShaUott* Hi vrr to supply the town with floods "Back before the turn of the century. ShaUotte m supplied by schooners.' Williamson said "It was the fastest way to fet freight In My grandfsther worked In that trade until the roads and trucks came along " Such large vessels had to dnft in and out of the Shallotts Riser sccordtng to the tides, because the rtvar BEACON, S?pt?mb?r-Octob?f. 1985 it Still Searcl wasn't large enough for sailing, Williamson said. His grandfather has built at least six models of the old schooners that once docked in Shall otte. Williamson used fishing leader and a white fabric to reconstruct the sails on the "Rainbow" which included a "Park Avenue boon" so wide that two men could have walked down it I side-by-side, he said. I It is the only model boat that Williamson has ever repaired. i 9HIH! tt- ,A v MM % PA BOBBY WIUOAMSON <4 Sh?lloltr rr wm I ound ?mid ibf rgti c?a?jjjgf_Hii hoping la (tod tb* boat'* original owner East Goa Vinyl Siding All Storm Windows C Corporis Miscella FREE Mi LKFETIft Rt. 6, Box 400-7 Oceon Isle. N.C. 28459 ling For Its "The interesting thing about this one is, maybe it didn't look like this in its original form," Williamson said. He painted the hull white, trimmed in red. It was originally a clear varnish, along with the refinished deck. He began repairing the boat last Thanksgiving. "It took a couple of months at different times," he added. "The problem was figuring out what it was supposed to look like. I didn't have anything to go by." 9bmh9HHS 3HH STA*? PHOTO * Tt??t routrurted the model sailboat that rricane Haiel to 1*4. WOliamjoo U sfc Siding uminum Siding )oors Canopies neous Carpentry ESTIMATES IE WARRANTY s * s i Business: ? (919) 579-4747 | , Long, Los Williamson is hoping that someon may remember the boat from it days spent on Long Beach. Th B .ICENSED GENERAL COI MAKE DREAMS COl Frank Be OPERATIONS f ^UUl REALTOR! OCEAN ISLE BEACH, ST9.3S35 j_ CT1 IBP BajwH BP iSr t, Home e chance of finding its original owner is s "probably slim and none," he said. * "But you can never tell." t A # r~ r\ I in ^ 1 t ^ Wt tiUILU HUMbb UPERIOR UILDERS ^TRAfTOR^ lirFhKF #1731* ME TRUE (IN 8 WEEKS)! aird y UNiWK* MACON ST Ml
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 29, 1985, edition 1
68
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