Bill Healy

[straupe]

I was hoping that someone can help me with some info on boat designer Bill Healy. I am looking at this beautiful boat that is 3/4" x1 1/2" clear fir strip plank, then cold molded ¼ “ plywood & fiber glassed inside and out. And yes I know it is wood but I figured should be strong as any other material if there is no water intrusion.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, straup.

[HopCar]

That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. I knew a Bill Healy that built plywood boats back in the seventies. I wonder if it's the same guy? He was a friend of my Dad. Sorry I don't remember much about his boats but my Dad seemed to think well of them.

[HopCar]

I had to Google Bill Healy and here is a story I found about him on the Wooden Boat Forum posted by Tristan.

"When Bill Healy built boats in Miami he usually built them for himself, used them for a while, then succumbed to someone's offer. My friend Jack Fell wanted Pago Pago, a nice little sloop that Bill had built the year before. They were drinking beer in a little bar on the Miami River when Jack started in on how he wanted that boat. Healy implied that he might sell if the price was right. Jack's price wasn't quite right. More beer flowed and finally Healy had to put his head down on the bar and take a little nap. Jack wrote out a check, stuck it into Healy's shirt pocket, and went home. A couple days later Jack ran into Healy who looked worried. After a few minutes of small talk Healy finally asked the question, "Jack, did I sell you my boat?"

I bet the bar was the Falcon on South River Drive next to the 27th Avenue bridge.
I miss guys like Healy, what a character.

[straupe]

Thank you. That is one funny story. Lets see what the surveyor will tell me.

[S/V Alchemy]

That's a hell of a one-thousandth post, Mr. HopCar. Stories like that seemed to have ended, for better or worse, prior to the early '80s. I've heard some similiar doozies involving crazy boat dealings inspired by spiritous liquors.

[HopCar]

Wow,a thousand posts, I'm spending too much time on this forum.

[S/V Alchemy]

At least I have the excuse that we have a five-month winter!

[Scuppergirl]

Hi. I think I know the Bill Healey that you are seeking. He was my step-father. He was a wooden boat builder out of Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He designed and built wooden boats by hand. All of his boats were constructed upside down and then "flipped" over once the hull was completed. I am lucky enough to have grown up with him on a 34' ketch named "Motu Atea" (meaning "Distant Island" in Polynesian) that he built in the late 70's. I am currently in the process of tracking down his boats and would love to eventually write a book or do a documentary on him and his boats. There are too many great stories and beautiful boats not to share. He has since passed away, but leaves an amazing legacy.

[HopCar]

Scuppergirl, Welcome Aboard! Please keep me in the loop as you do your research on Bill. I think one of our employees, long retired, owned one of Bill's boats. I wish I could remember the name of the boat. He kept it on a mooring at the Coconut Grove Yacht Club.

[Jamo]

Scuppergirl,

I knew your stepfather well. I worked with him as a boat carpenter/shipwright at Riverbend Marine in Fort Lauderdale in the early 80's. We went out for catfish fritters after work several times. He always described Florida as having only two cities: Miami ( which he didn't like so much) and Tarpon Springs ( which he liked a lot).

His boats made a lot of sense in both their design and the way he built them. I really enjoyed the man...

If you write something up on him, please let me know.

Jamo

[Sailornorm]

Scuppergirl,
Please keep me in the loop as you learn more about Bill Healey's boats. I love wood boats, and I have always appreciated his boats. I want to learn more about his construction philosophy and techniques.
Sailornorm

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Scuppergirl, Jamo, & SailorNorm.

[little mo2]

I owned three of Bill's boats. The 30' ketch "Skip Jack", 24' sloop "Motu Iti", and the 34' ketch "Motu Atea". All of them were built at River Bend. Skip Jack was plywood, glassed over. The other two were strip planked and glassed. We kept the boats in Riviera Beach, Fl., at Old Slip Marina. Later we took Motu Atea to Frenchman' Creek in North Palm Beach. Later, around 1997, we took her to Indian Town marina - selling her in 2003. Last time I saw her she was in a small marina just off I-95 and SR76. Motu Iti was at Frenchman's for years but had moved last time I visited.

Happy to answer any questions. Still have found memories of Bill and Heather.

[Tropicrover]

Scuppergirl, i owned and cruised Pago Pago for many decades. The boat is still in the family, sailing out of Victoria, B.C. Not the tropics but she is in the Pacific, one of Bill's dreams. There are still some of Bill's friends and boat owners around, if you decide to write the book. Others have aspired to the project, but no action. It is a project that should be done. BTW, I corrected the purchase story on the wooden boat forum. Close, but not accurate.