Dave & son-in-law Chris Burke at Bill Fisk's home picking up the Miss Jean.  
Notice that they used the Close Shave II trailer to pick up the boat.  
They have just finished loading the boat for the return trip to Indiana.
 

The bottom is in very good shape. Dave sanded it and re-applied 1 coat of varnish just to have it covered. We will turn her back over at a later date and complete the varnishing. The inside bottom and bottom battens are if fine shape. It only needs to be cleaned, sanded and re-varnished. The stringers are something else. 

Between Jake Oriel finishing the boat and Bill "Hollywood" Fisk purchasing it there was another owner. That owner went inside to remove the plumbing & electricals. To acomplish that they took what looks like a jigsaw and simply cut holes in the top deck and stringers. Wood will be cut to repair the stringers. With the new wood in place we will apply stainless sheeting on both sides of the new wood, making for a good sound stringer. When the top deck was removed only one deck batten was  found. So, we will be installing additional deck battens for deck support and strength. 
 

All in all, the boat is in pretty fair shape. There is plenty work to be done as we will add additional strengthening to the transom also. Jim Kelley, who was part of the crew of the Close Shave II, will be building a modified Chevy 400 small block for the project. Jim & Dave were on the Miss Madison crew many years ago. All three of us had the opportunity to crew with Ed Cooper for awhile.  That's an era that I won't soon forget. Many people can only dream of working with an unlimited.
 

Time with this project is not a real big concern. Of course Dave wants to be on the water as quick as possible but quality repair for this project is the main issue. I'm sure when we are done the Miss Jean will be around for a very long time. 
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Text provided by Joe Johnson
© 2004 Dave Johnson
 

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