Tuffy: A first boating love
by Cliff Steele
Continued...
It didn't take me long to complete the Cheryl
Ann Tug model. In fact, it was a bit boring, with no wood, just a lot of gluing
of all the plastic pieces. I must admit that it looked very professional when I
completed it. The next day my family went up north on our yearly vacation. The
rented cottage came with a rowboat and a small calm lake to float it in. As
soon as my dad stopped the car, I ran to the dock and jumped into a waiting
boat. With my new Cheryl Ann on the seat beside me, I rowed out a distance.
Then, setting my little tug on the water, I turned on the motor switch. I was
pleased with its tight circles, but as they got tighter, the Cheryl Ann rammed
the rowboat, rolled over and went to the bottom! That day my Mom and Dad shared
a good part of my sudden nautical grief.
In spite of the Cheryl Ann disaster, I went on to
build other models-- Chris Craft cruisers, runabouts, and many more that I
enjoyed building. Radio control units were now available for hobbyists. I could
stand on shore and control my little crafts to harass ducks that resided
there.
Years passed and I became involved in other things,
building only a few models now and then. I now had my own car, a 54 Chevrolet
that made me dream about pulling my very own full-sized boat and trailer behind
it. That idea was dashed whenever I would see the prices of what it would cost
- at least $1,800 for an all-new 12-footer with a new 25 hp Johnson on the
transom! Anyway, I had another interest in my life now, a wonderful girl named
Sandy. We had plans of marriage and for some unknown reason, my hobby of
building model boats no longer held my interest.
Working nights as a truck dispatcher during the
slow early morning hours, I read a newspaper left behind by the day shift. A
full-page ad declared "West Bend Marine Division no longer to manufacture
outboard motors". Included was their very powerful twin cylinder 40-hp
Golden Shark outboard motor with rare electric start! I departed work early
that morning.
At 5 a.m., clutching the ad, I drove to the
outskirts of Chicago recalling the rumor that West Bend melted down their old
pots and pans to make outboard motors! At day break I was allowed to enter the
warehouse and immediately hurried over to a crate with "my" new motor
in it! It was priced at $250, a lot, considering I paid that for my car. A
salesman made out the papers and the powerful and streamlined Golden Shark was
now mine. Two husky men wrestled it in my trunk for the long trip home.
Traveling towards Chicago I had one persistent thought as I drove my little car
with the big box sticking out of the trunk: I didn't have a boat for my new
motor!
A few days later an ad in Poplar Mechanics stated
"BUILD YOUR OWN BOAT... SAVE MONEY". It was Glen-L Boats. Without
hesitation I mailed off 8 cents in postage for a picture catalog. I knew I
could build my own boat. After all, it was just another model, only bigger, and
I could save money!
Soon the catalog came and on the front cover was
Tuffy, the boat of all my dreams, since I built my first model at age
10! Tuffy was 12 feet long, could seat a cozy four and would easily
handle the "ultra powerful, 40 HP out board motor". Tuffy
looked lightning fast. As I stared at the photo with glazed eyes, I visualized
Sandy and me speeding along some waterway with soft summer winds blowing
through our hair.
I decided to buy Tuffy and thought it would
be only proper to tell Sandy of my plans. That call went about like this:
"Sandy, I ordered a boat today named Tuffy. It's really nice -
seats four and the new motor should make it fly."
"I know it will be nice Cliff, but we will need furniture when we get
married", Sandy replied.
"But I have thought of everything. We are going to build it and save a lot
of money and still have a real boat!"
Looking back, Sandy handled my idea well, like most
all of the rest I've had these past 40 years!
In March I rented a small garage for our project.
It had one problem, it was unheated and in the north country temperatures can
still be in the 30's at this time of year. I received a call from Glen-L
shipping, that Tuffy had arrived from California and was ready for
pickup. Making plans to transport the large crate to my garage, I borrowed a
new Impala convertible! It was snowing, dark and cold when I pulled up to the
loading dock. With the top down and a good layer of blankets on the trunk (and
me) the forklift operator had little trouble carefully balancing the 14 foot,
497 pound crate, carefully resting part on the windshield brace and the
remainder on the cushioned trunk. The foreman, with my check in hand, just
stood there as I drove off in the snowstorm. Sandy and I now had our
Tuffy... We just had to put it together!
It was a joy building Glen L's Tuffy
kit. All the frames were pre-cut and glued up. All materials were there in the
giant box. It was really no different than one of my first models, but
Tuffy wasn't going to leave us on the shore. Sandy and I worked on
Tuffy every weekend. Snoopy neighbors were going nuts trying to guess
what we did in that old garage for hours on end. They would have to keep
guessing until May! Sandy remained throughout the project to support and
encourage me. She worked long and hard hours so as a team we would succeed.
Some nights it was so cold the water-based glue would freeze. Nearly 40 years
of marriage (and boating together) we still do everything together and still
encourage each other's projects in life.
My dad would occasionally drive from Chicago and
help sand and screw in the thousands of screws (no drill drivers back then).
Friends forgot us, like "The little red hen baking bread"
children's story. Everyone was supposed to help, but no one did.
Tuffy's instructions were complete with lots of photos and hints for
success. The black-and-white photo of Tuffy shown in the instruction
booklet was all I needed to spur me on. I decided to fiberglass Tuffy as
the weather got milder. It was a new medium then and I had fiberglass
fingernails for months afterward.
I needed one other thing to complete our project -
a boat trailer. I had found one really cheap - $35.00 - my kind of deal. It sat
in an old barn as the farmer displayed it to me with about 50 roosting chickens
on it, claiming it home! The farmer proudly proclaimed, "the tires have
air". Standing there, I silently added, "They need it with 60 pounds
of chicken dung on it!" It was dark (luckily) as I left with my bargain
chicken dung trailer in tow behind my newer car, a 61 Chevy Impala (coup). I
already installed a sturdy hitch to be ready for the big day soon to come.
Tuffy was finished and looked so handsome. The
steering was cable and pulley as the newer types still hadn't been
invented. I painted Tuffy in white and blue flecking. The West Bend
cover matched perfectly and little golden plastic sharks adorned the hood on
each side. Tuffy was ready and just reeked of excitement and speed.
The word leaked out. Tuffy was to be
launched this day. When Sandy and I drove up to Tuffy 's garage, we
couldn't park. Cars all over were waiting to go on a boat ride. Some of the
anxious "supporters" were inside the garage looking at
Tuffy's sleek lines and handsome colors. The little red hen and her
chicks, remember? The work of making the bread was now complete, and each
wanted a slice. The $250 outboard motor, the $199 Glen-L Tuffy Boat Kit,
and the $35 chicken dung boat trailer were ready to go. Our life of boating had
now begun.
Tuffy was launched on a beautiful spring
day, sliding smoothly into the Fox River from the newly painted blue trailer.
All stared as Tuffy just floated serenely, level and proud. Climbing in,
I clicked my life jacket (just in case), checked for leaks, turned the key and
started the new 40-hp motor.
Easing Tuffy 's controls forward,
together we had began our first boating adventure. Inching the fuel to wide
open, we easily did 40+ and I still remember my eyes watering either from the
wind or my emotions.
Sandy and I were to enjoy so many great memories as
Tuffy cruised the Illinois River, Lake Michigan and protected waters of
Lake Cumberland. Tuffy was very forgiving to a new boater. Sandy had
made padded seating to help cushion Tuffy's flat bottom upon
ours.
Seasons later, we traded Tuffy for our first
commercial boat. It was a 16' Winner and had the newest 105-hp
four-cylinder Chrysler outboard in production. About a year later, we stopped
at the dealership and asked what had happened to Tuffy? The owner took
us out back and pointed to some tall weeds. Just visible was Tuffy, just
left to rot away... miles from water and someone to enjoy her. As Sandy and I
walked away, I thought that whoever said "You will never forget your first
love", also must have been a boater.
Dear Gayle,
This story is dedicated to Glen-L Craftsmen (and women) throughout the world in
the hopes that some day 40 years from now those same builders of your kits can
look back and remember the memories (and the work) of building their
handcrafted vessels.
Odd as it seems Sandy and I still talk about those wonderful memories we shared
in a empty garage in the dead of winter building little "TUFFY" It
will always remain so dear to our hearts.. ...Cliff
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