As we approached the Powell River marina we were delighted to see the Lillian Rose still there. Last summer the owner said that he had found a buyer and was busy giving it a fresh coat of paint. While we were comfortably moored and enjoying dinner dockside, the owner of Smooth Jazz, a 1947 beautifully restored Chriscraft, regaled us with a story of a derelict boat that sunk in the marina this past winter, taking the entire dock with it, to the bottom. This man expressed his dismay at having his prized possession being tied so close to the Lillian Rose. A tongue-in-cheek letter he wrote to the editor of the local paper suggested that a Viking burial might be appropriate for the once proud and beautiful vessel. This resulted in a feud with an owner who feels the Lillian Rose still has some monetary value.
Each year we have watched the Lillian Rose deteriorate, the latest being a 25 foot chunk out of the gunnel and hull as a result of being rafted with a tug boat. As we tucked in for the night, listening to the creaking from the old girl, our delight turned to doubt ….. maybe even worry…will she and the dock (and us) be afloat in the morning?
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Some years back, a woman owned this boat and it was listed on e-bay. I believe the purchase price was somewhere in the mid-to-upper twenty thousand dollars range (Somewhere among terabytes of storage items, I have a complete saved listing.) I was very tempted by this listing and even spoke with the former owner a few times, over the phone...
I realized however that this would be a vessel that would require substantial amounts of work to assure safe onboard living, and well, I just sort of let it go...
Over the years, I wondered whatever became of her and hoped that someone "loving" and skilled had come along, to rescue the "old girl."
Sadly, seems she has further deteriorated and at this point, she seems to require extensive "corrective surgeries" just to continue to float.
I think I would begin by hauling her completely out of the water, addressing the severe hull neglect first (in worst-case scenario, one would end up with an almost new hull?) I have a pair of nice Mercedes-Benz five cylinder diesel engines, and one would fit nicely into this boat. A heavy-duty diesel generator would come next and once all the below-the-deck “stuff” has been addressed, I would move on the “other” areas.
To the person who has posted this picture: Do you happen to know who owns this boat, currently? Is it still for sale? Would you happen to have contact information? Would you happen to have any further photos? (Especially of the interior.) There was also an oil painting, depicting her sailing into dark starry night... Likely that has since long vanished…
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