As you may know, our first boat "Two Wrights" hasn't been doing too well. She was in need of some parts that are not too easy to find given that she was built in 1971. As much as we loved Two Wrights and wanted her to live on, we decided it was best to let her go. We initially posted a for sale add on Craigslist, hoping someone looking for a classic boat project would sweep her up. After a few months and no bites we looked into donating her. We spoke to a few different companies and settled on Kars 4 Kids. (You may be familiar with their commercial jingle.) They came and picked her and her trailer up and now they'll get her ready to be auctioned off. By donating we get a $500 tax write off. They then sell her at an auction. If the sale price is greater than $500 we can write off the final sale amount. The money earned then goes to the charity. This is the standard operation of all these donation companies.
Sail Away
We are sad, but it was time to let her go. She served the Wright/Rosenwinkel families well since 1983!
It was fun telling people we had two boats, but in all honesty since Two Wrights wasn't fully operational it made sense to send her off. We considered a Viking funeral, but there are probably Coast Guard regulations against that, and she only needs a couple parts to live again. She's too nice a boat to be scrapped. What a lovely boat Sea Ray built in 1971. The quality is unmatchable today and the lines were beautiful. Sure boats today are faster and more reliable, full of speakers and cupholders, but they don't have that feel, or that smell that an old boat does. She was a lot of trouble in her later years, but most everything had been redone, replaced, or massaged to work beautifully again. From the interior to the engine she was and is ready for many more years of fun.
Bought by Kevin's uncle Virgil and his family in 1983 she was mostly trailered to Lake Geneva in the summers. Kevin didn't spend too many days on board back then, but one of his best memories was around 11 years old and taking the big wooden wheel and throttling up. The Rosenwinkel clan used her for many years until Don Wright, who has been Kevin's Mom's boyfriend for over 20 years gave her a second life as a fishing boat on Lake Michigan. Two Wrights wasn't designed as a fishing boat so after many years Don decided to upgrade to something more purpose built and properly stored her in Virgil's barn. Six years later, we caught the fever and pulled her out of the mustiness and brought her back to life. It took some work, more than we anticipated, but when we got her in the water for the first time (again) in 2011 we enjoyed every minute. She broke down and had to be towed once, nearly catching on fire. She failed to start numerous times with waiting passengers anxious to spend a day on the water. We replaced spark plugs, wires, distributor caps, engine oil, drive oil, the propeller, the starter, multiple solenoids, rebuilt the water pump, and rewired a lot of her systems. We put in a stereo and speakers, a new marine radio, compass, redid the carpet and upholstery, bottom painted twice, and polished and cleaned almost constantly. It was a lot of work, let me stress a LOT of work, sometimes adapting new parts since the old ones weren't available. But neither of us would trade the experiences we had with that boat, our friends, and family for anything else.
So water we thinking about saying goodbye to Two Wrights? Well, I think we just told you!
Bought by Kevin's uncle Virgil and his family in 1983 she was mostly trailered to Lake Geneva in the summers. Kevin didn't spend too many days on board back then, but one of his best memories was around 11 years old and taking the big wooden wheel and throttling up. The Rosenwinkel clan used her for many years until Don Wright, who has been Kevin's Mom's boyfriend for over 20 years gave her a second life as a fishing boat on Lake Michigan. Two Wrights wasn't designed as a fishing boat so after many years Don decided to upgrade to something more purpose built and properly stored her in Virgil's barn. Six years later, we caught the fever and pulled her out of the mustiness and brought her back to life. It took some work, more than we anticipated, but when we got her in the water for the first time (again) in 2011 we enjoyed every minute. She broke down and had to be towed once, nearly catching on fire. She failed to start numerous times with waiting passengers anxious to spend a day on the water. We replaced spark plugs, wires, distributor caps, engine oil, drive oil, the propeller, the starter, multiple solenoids, rebuilt the water pump, and rewired a lot of her systems. We put in a stereo and speakers, a new marine radio, compass, redid the carpet and upholstery, bottom painted twice, and polished and cleaned almost constantly. It was a lot of work, let me stress a LOT of work, sometimes adapting new parts since the old ones weren't available. But neither of us would trade the experiences we had with that boat, our friends, and family for anything else.
So water we thinking about saying goodbye to Two Wrights? Well, I think we just told you!
Putting in Spring 2013
Happy Times
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