THE EXACT REPLICA OF Ernest Hemingway’s 1934 38′ SPORT FISHING BOAT “PILLAR” $395,000 OFFERS ARE ENCOURAGED!!

   "The whole project started one sunny day with my wife on stools at Schooner's Bar in Key West four years ago. I realized that there were no small harbor tour boats capable of giving passengers a tour of the island that has a rich and interesting history. Because Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West, he has become a is a big tourist attraction there. To date there have been many books written and movies produced about the man,  some movies still in the works. A smaller Wheeler replica (32') was converted to look like Pilar for a movie and there is a boat out of the water in an Islamorada clothing store that resembles Pilar which is a huge attraction.There is obviously a great fascination with the man and his boat and soI thought it would be an "interesting" idea to create a replica of Pilar to be used as a historical harbor tour boat."

Did you consider building Pilar from scratch?

                         "I knew that building a wood replica from scratch would cost well over a million dollars and out of my price range. But 5 months later I suddenly realized that I owned a 1960 38' wood boat  that I had restored years before, sold, and then bought back from the owner who could no longer keep it. It wasn't worth much in its present condition, but after taking a few measurements, to my surprise I realized that the length, beam and draft were very very close to Hemingway's Pilar."

Where did you get the lines and details required to build a replica?

                         "I had a long and informative conversation with the grandson of Wes Wheeler who designed and built the original Pilar for Hemingway and a Shannon owner who was able to get into Cuba on a special visa and photographed every detail and measure the cabin to scale. I had more than enough information to start my replica Pilar project."

Your "Pilar" looks amazingly close to the original "Pilar." What did you have to do to make the transformation from one boat to another?

                          " I had to cut away just about all of the original boat's plywood cabin structure and build up a new solid mahogany cabin, raise the sheer to create a step up, build a false stem or bow and graft it onto the boat's bow, remove the cockpit sole/floor, install laminated frames in the aft sections, replace the fuel tanks, replace the electrical system, replace all of the plumbing, pumps, exhaust hoses, install new twin helm steering system with autopilot, build new window frames, install new deck hardware, fabricate Hemingway's unique pipe "flying bridge" with steering along with an additional long list of work including air conditioning in the cabin and a new stall shower and toilet."

What about the underbody, and did you consider the boring worm issue in the tropics?

                         " The underwater condition of the hull was in remarkably great condition. The former owner spent a great deal of money over the years on the bottom. I didn't really have to do much to the bottom planks but I had a major concern about boring worms.  I developed a system that I used successfully on two other wood boats. It's very expensive, but effective solution. First we coat the entire bottom of the boat with a special flexible adhesive compound. Then a layer of 1/8" cedar is diagonally set in the compound and stapled with plastic staples. Another layer of cedar is epoxied and stapled in the opposite direction. Finally, two layers of 6 oz. cloth is epoxied over the entire bottom for abrasion resistance. Over a period of years, the high cost of the bottom covering will be recaptured by reduced maintenance costs."

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