Monk Man

Ever since I was 18 I have hungered for the classic look,lines,and comfort of these beautiful old sedan cruisers, and I was lucky enough to stumble onto one for sale last October. She was built in 1955,is 36.5' long and a tricabin design with entry thru a transom door,about 5' of lazerette, and then entry down to a galley portside, and a settee/dinette and head forward on the stbd . up 3 steps to the Salon/Steerage port, and then 3 steps down to a comfy V berth. She has some rot on the bow in the blocks supporting the anchor sprit, and maybe a 10"x10" spot just fwd of the aft.stbd cleat in the deck as well as another similer spot on the mid deck stbd. The mahogany interior is near bristol, and other than some slight water damage/discoloration and some sloppy painting, should be relatively to restore to her glory days. I had to pick her up in Kenniwick WA and float her down 240 miles to Portland thru 4 dams on the Columbia river, and it was an incredible 5 days sweetwater all the way and blue skies and sunshine until I hit rain at the interstate 205 bridge, 4 miles from her new slip. I'll be posting pix and I'm sure, requesting advice as I go about her exterior restoration.Ist item..I accidently spapped the 3.5" round fresnal globe off the top of the mast. Any ideas on where to look for an item like that??

 

Grocery store....check the jam jars.....really!

She's a sweetie...Chrysler Crown?

 

Thanx Tad...I would never have thought of that but it actually might be worth a try. When I broke it off it did manage to retain enough thread to screw back in but just barely, I'd glue it on but I haven't found a lifetime light bulb yet! She's your basic Monk, and is as much fun to just hang out in as to have her under power....my new high maintenance mistress.

 

I read your post when you put it up. I daydreamed of the old days eversince.

I never owned or worked on a Monk, but plenty of others.

You never said what engine you had and whether you were able to try it out in the water before you took off down the Lewis n' Clark trail.
Did you have an accompanying boat with you? I would love to have made that trip with you.

Are you planning on living on this boat?
They one thing I would advise you of is keeping air moving in that boat. Down in the bilges and in the bow area especially. You may already know that, but if not I sure didnt want to see your prize get worse.
It dont have to be a lot of air but you must keep it moving.

Are you thinking of taking it out across the Bar somtime in the future?

 

Monk man cont'd

Aw shux thudpucker... Yes It was a trip I'll remember always.I couldn't begin to list all the things that fascinate me about these old cruisers, maybe it's those classic lines.they just look like something that should be on the water. I have a '73 Perkins diesel,rebuilt in '05 with about 3700 hours on it. Other than hearing it start instantly I had no prior time at the helm and yes...I had some trepidations about undertaking that long haul to PDX.she actually ran like a top only problem was that when the previous owner changed all the filters prior to the sale, he had a buddy working with him that dropped the fuel lift pumt,and gasket into the bilge, they used the same gasket, not realizing that the plunge had damaged it, and i noticed a slight temp rise about 2 hours out. upon investigationI realized that the gasket had failed and I shut her down and checked the oil. #'4 of a quart low.The drip was steady so I replaced the oil and every 2 hours we stopprd the engine, emptied the bilge into a couple of fuel cans, and replaced that oil. Luckily I had 4 gallons on board as she ended up using 3.5. I had her fixed within a week of mooring in PDX and I'm happy to say she's "leakless". We only saw 3 other "civilan" craft the entire trip, and 4 or 5 tugs, and we did the trip solo with a flost plan left with my son, and our cells..in case.I have no live-aboard aspirations other than extended cruises, and yes, I hope to cross the bar and take her up to the San Juans ,hopefully as early as late summer '09. As to air...yeah I am aware, I have a small bilge heater ( more air mover) on board, and today or tomorrow I'll install the xmas present for the boat..the extreme 600w bilge heater..I didn't want to winterize because of the beautiful days we sometimes get in the off season...any simple reason will have me out for a little tour. Thanx for your suggestion, I'll keep ya'll posted.

 

That Perkins was a stroke of good luck. It sure looks like you got what you wanted. Now to start loading the fishing gear on board.

In the 'old' days some guys used to drain the oil into the bilge and just leave it there. I've worked on a lot of those 'prizes' that somebody picked up cheap enough to pay for some of the Repairs. Some were really slick and slimey in those angled parts of the bottom.
They clean up with Laundry soap and water.
Welcome to the 'work your a$$ off' club.