Imagine driving this boat!
I know from firsthand experience that when you pull up to the dock in a classic mahogany speedboat with varnished decking and gleaming chrome, people always sit up and take notice. Mine is 49 years old and I love it, although keeping up the wood takes effort and engines from the ‘50’s are another issue totally!
If you're over 30, wooden boats would probably have been at least some small part of your youth. Seeing a wooden boat often brings back a flood of memories for people; it can be difficult to get away from the dock without spending quite a bit of time in conversation!
Further testimony to the popularity of wooden boats is that the Toronto Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society holds what may well be Canada's largest antique boat show each summer, with over 100 boats in the water and more on land. The annual event on the first Saturday in July in Muskoka, usually draws close to 10,000 people. (See page ___ for more on this year’s show). There are other excellent shows from Lunenburg to Vancouver Island, and we Canadians faithfully turn out in significant numbers to see these wooden boats.
Because of that, there are a few specialty builders who will still create a brand new mahogany boat for you, but there is one in particular, who has taken a different approach to tradition. It's BlackBird Boats.
What makes the BlackBird so interesting is that although this is indeed a wooden boat, the construction is what's called cold-molded wood. Unlike a traditional wooden boat where the planks shrink and swell with the seasons and everything “moves” a bit, with cold-molded construction, smaller pieces (usually less that 1/2 inch thick) are laminated together with glue (in this case MAS Epoxy) to form a unified structure that experiences little or no wood movement and where the wood is a structural element encapsulated in epoxy for enduring strength and water resistance.
The BlackBird has 13 coats of epoxy on the outside and this is then coated in a special formula of “clear coat” like your car. Unlike the car, BlackBird’s craftsmen can sand that out with #800, #1200 and finally #1500 grit wet paper that polishes the finish like no varnish ever could. It looks like glass.
The end result looks like a classic. The difference is that this construction may never need to be stripped and re-done. Keep it stored out of the sun and it would likely outlive a fiberglass boat. Also, the bottom has a 6 oz. fiberglass mat covering–again in epoxy–for abrasion resistance; this means no soaking time and no issues with the bottom drying out. Launch it off the trailer and drive it away just like a fiberglass boat. The bilge stays dry and the whole structure has an impressively solid feeling.
And, the mahogany planks you see are real–they’re just 1/2 inch thick and laminated to a structural plywood substrate that is very strong. Most of the wood framing is also made of laminate and it is all sealed in epoxy.
So, it looks like a classic from the 1940’s, right down to the closest detail. Then, in both construction techniques and materials it is a modern boat and a modern design too, by the noted Canadian designer, Steve Killing.
Killing gave the BlackBird 22 an overall length of 22’ 8” on a beam of 7’1”. For most of Canada’s inland lakes, rivers and cottage areas, this will be a great size. It is a big deep boat that rides high and dry, rides softly as it bridges the waves and delivers the very realistic impression of driving a classic except for the excellent overall performance.
Weighing about 3,500 lbs., the BlackBird we tested ran out at an exhilarating 43 mph, powered by the standard Crusader Captain’s Choice 6.0 L engine. This is a new fuel injected GM vortec V8 block that makes 375 hp and runs like a dream. BlackBird builds its own, polished stainless steel exhaust system with a built-in muffler. The amount of sound deadening in the muffler can be adjusted to suit your individual taste.
Killing used a moderate 10° deadrise vee on the bottom which (because of the length to beam ratio) delivers a smooth soft ride but lots of support for planing and the boat stays pretty level even carrying an unbalanced load. It also planes off easily and most importantly, holds pretty well at any speed with ease.
That means it can idle along slowly without wandering and it will happily hold slalom and wakeboard speeds! A ski tow eye is included.
The acceleration is impressive and shoves you back in the seat quite nicely. We recorded 4.56 seconds to planing speed and about 12 seconds to get up over 40. At any speed, you can haul the wheel over hard and the BlackBird responds gracefully and with good control. It will not power in tight like some stern drove deep vee’s can but that would be undignified anyway!
You want to relax at the helm. There is plenty of room to stretch out and the classic windshield has no top bar to interfere with vision. The test boat had a banjo style wood rim wheel and the throttle was on the side panel and fell easily to hand. With the hydraulic steering acting on a spade rudder, there is never any steering torque and you can run hands-off if you want.
Both helm and companion seats are big and comfortable; I’d say wide enough for two in fact. There is plenty of storage under the long forward deck, in the elegant cabinets behind the forward seats, in the engine compartment, under the aft seat and in the side pockets next to every seat.
Vintage looking but new Stewart Warner “Wings” instruments in an oval cluster with an engine turned finish give all the information you need. The dashboard, in fact, has a heavy reinforcing beam across the back and it is a significant structural member contributing stiffness to the hull.
The flooring is Marvoleum, a material that is environmentally friendly and quite correct to classics of this vintage.
We especially liked the custom deck hardware. Each piece is unique to BlackBird and is either traditional chromed bronze or chrome finished CNC machined aluminum. The heavy cutwater has a clever spot machined out to accept a line or trailer winch strap. The fender cleats have a loop and knob that will hold the fenders quite securely and proper cleats and chocks are included as are Italian air horns and custom fuel fillers.
BlackBird has included an electric lift for the large engine hatch at the stern and it opens revealing sufficient room for a mechanic to reach all parts of the engine, steering systems, battery and electrical systems with ease.
Overall, you could describe the BlackBird as an heirloom quality boat but it is one you can use like any other modern boat. Comfort is good, performance is very satisfying and the looks will certainly turn heads at golf course and the fuel docks!
To see if this boat is available, go to http://www.boatcan.com to check listings!