1960 13′ Lyman “Toots”

Project Details

Our story with “Toots” started on the virtual trading dock of Lymanboat.com where there was a single picture of a blue interior boat in Piney Flats, TN.

We talked with the seller several times over the next few months and built up the cash reserves to cover the trip expenses and purchase.

Making the 1,600-mile round trip in a 1994 Chevy 1500 w/ manual transmission and no A/C, was an adventure in itself but my loyal dog Abbie and I were up to the challenge! We camped out in the bed of the truck at a truck stop on the first night of the trip with the promise to her that I’d splurge on the second night.

The next day we arrived at the local U-Haul depot in TN for a car transport trailer with the plan to load the boat and original trailer on for the trip back to Florida. I was met with resistance when the small car I said I was pulling was over the weight capacity of my 6-cylinder truck engine. I gave the attendant a better explanation of my plans and a $20 bill to look the other way and we were on to our next objective: to finally meet this boat!

We were warmly greeted by a lovely couple on their farm of dogs, ducks, geese & miniature horses. Finn showed me the properties different sheds, barns, boats, projects and quarry that bordered their homestead. Finally, it was time to see the reason why we were there! She was kept nicely in a white barn and is likened to a Sleeping Beauty.

We loaded her onto the U-Haul trailer and the rest is history!

She’s recently gone through a complete restoration by our professional shipwright and craftsman with a new keel, deck, sole, AwlGrip paint job and too many upgrades to list! Her 1956 30 HP Evinrude fires right up and runs strong!