The Boat:

    Endion is a utility-style runabout made by Lyman Boats Works of Sandusky, Ohio in 1950 -51. The boat was customized by Lyman for Commander Eugene McDonald of Chicago, founder and the Chairman of Zenith Radio Corp. Commander McDonald named the boat Endion, an Ojibwa Indian word meaning "place of my home.'' McDonald had a well-known sense of humor, which sheds a little light on the idea of naming your fishing boat "a place of my home"!

    Endion was part of a group of special-order boats and her hull number is X-1008. She's 20' long and 86" wide (to the planks, not the gunwales). Lyman made a total of nineteen boats in this series over about one year of production - a tiny fraction of the factory's production. Some of the details (like the steering wheel and windshield) seem to be the same as those used on the earlier, but bigger, 1947 22' Runabout, so it may be looked at as a little brother to that beautiful series. The hull planking is 3/8" mahogany plywood, (plywood is what you'd expect for the early 50's, though I don't know if they commonly used mahogany plywood) and the ribs and stringers are white oak. The interior is a mix of Honduras Mahogany and Philippine Mahogany (which, of course, isn't really a true mahogany...) The still-original engine is a 125 hp  Chrysler Crown Special (model M47S), although the running gear has been altered a bit from the way it was originally delivered: the boat was originally made with an electric auxiliary motor which could be engaged to the driveshaft through a special gearbox, and was controlled by a wired remote-control.  I have been unable to find the original electric motor, gearbox or relay panel - although I have some working drawings that would help recreate them - send money - as the boat is rebuilt and more information comes along, maybe it can be returned to its original configuration. If anyone has more information on other 'X' boats, I'd love to hear it (I've only heard of one other boat from this series of 19 units). 
    The Endion was customized for Commander McDonald to be used as a fishing boat in McGregor Bay, a small bay at the north end of Georgian Bay where it meets the North Channel of Lake Huron. The waters in that area vary from protected small bays to large, open channels and big water, an ideal place for a good rough-water boat like a Lyman. McDonald had two other Lymans as well -  a custom-built 32 foot cruiser "Mizpah", built in 1942, and a smaller outboard ("Junior"). Notably, the hull of both Endion and Junior were painted black. Bay residents will also remember Benny Black's Lyman - about the same size as the Endion and also painted black.
    As a guy who grew up in Little Current and McGregor Bay (where the Endion will be again), and as a family friend of the McDonald's, I am especially interested in hearing more about the history and personal stories that surround this boat. Please consider sending me any stories, photos or thoughts you may have so I can include them with this web. Like so many parts of our history, it's easy to let time march on until it's too late.

Here are some general comments on the boat's condition.

    This boat would be generally described as a "gray boat". That is, it is so worn out that the original parts are primarily useful as patterns. While its charm and beauty is an A+, the boat was put into long-term storage in the mid-80's because it had lived beyond its useful life. I have taken on the task of spinning back the clock to 1951 - with a few concessions to safety and reliability.    

    All the wood near or below the waterline needs to be replaced. The engine is completely worn out. All the metal has shed it's plating. Almost none of the original parts work (one wiper and one bilge pump). However, the hull is straight, more or less. I have been able to remove a lot of the wood in whole pieces, or at least in big enough sections, so that I can use them for patterns. The boat was properly stored indoors for about fifteen years, and although it was full of dead animals and their debris, it was more or less straight, and more or less intact. It did need to be put away: there are almost 1000 copper rivets and more than 2000 copper clinched nails below the waterline - every one was loose and would have leaked. Although it might have been tempting to some people to spray a coat of "magic dust" (insert the word fiberglass, epoxy or whatever is currently in vogue) over the hull, nothing would have really lasted. With the fasteners that loose, and holding one rotten board against another, the hull would have worked itself apart in no time. Now that I've turned the boat over and pulled off half of the bottom planks (many of which fell apart just being carried), I've found it will be prudent to replace all the framing anyway - what little white oak isn't rotten is so brittle you can snap it like a twig.
    The good news about the wood on this boat is that it is still dimensionally correct - that is, all the pieces can be carefully removed to become patterns for new material. Plus, I'm going to use a couple of modern products that will help the hull last many more years than it did originally. Combine that with the proper restoration of the interior and decking, and the Endion should outlive me.   
    Some more details: I have to replace the entire bottom - every organic anything that is at or below the waterline. The hull planking is OK above the waterline, which is good, since it's mahogany and could look really nice inside. From the waterline down, it's shot.: typical of plywood, the inner and outer faces look lousy enough, but the real damage is in the inner plys.
    The oak is all bad. The stem, gripe, keel and keelson are goners - real woodworking there - as Stan Ferguson (who stored the boat for many years) said, "She's gone in the nose".  The lower transom bow is soft, and the transom has a nice fat crack all the way across; I may have to remove the transom to fix it (although with all the bottom planking off I might get lucky).
    The engine needs to be completely rebuilt. It was not frozen, but had a lot of wear on the cylinder walls. The carbs were almost non-functional, and the exhaust manifold was severely damaged from freezing, so I can't imagine how it ran when put away 15 years ago - not well, according to hearsay. It has also had some 'cob' repairs over the years. I went to a great deal of trouble to locate an hour meter that is exactly the same as the one originally in the boat (a very cool dial-face Hobbs Meter). It is brand new and reads zero hours, so I want to have the engine as good as new when I hook it up.
    The interior mahogany is in usable shape, but either covered by too many coats of varnish and gobs of stain and filler, or stripped bare by time and exposure. I think I'll be able to reuse almost all the wood, even most of the two motor boxes (both of which fell apart in my hands). I'll be even better at hiding nail hole filler by the time I'm done.
    Almost none of the 'things' work, except one wiper and one bilge pump (burned out from continuous running?; the gauges are broken, the switches are corroded, the the rudder's bent, all the hinges are loose; etc. etc. Everything you look at needs re-chroming or replacing (If you want to boost your blood pressure, check out the cost of re-chroming...). One blessing - the vinyl/foam cushions (later replacements of the originals) are in great shape. One seat back was eaten, but I hope to find a fabric match for it. The top is fine too, although the sun always shines in McGregor Bay, doesn't it?
   Like many wooden boats, this one has reached a time when it needs to be completely redone. One look at those hull lines though, and you know it's worth the effort!

December, 2005 
    Looks like one of the small jobs I need to tend to this winter is this web. Maybe I'll get a snow day... although then I'd go skiing!
    All you who have experience in restoration will know how it feels to be in the middle of a long project like this. It's really a dozen or more little jobs all moving along at the same time, with none really finished until it magically all comes together in the end. I'm in the middle now, with better-than-new engine parts all ready to go together, several hundred board feet of custom-milled white oak air-drying in my shop, and original-style engine instruments half rebuilt. The interior wood is all stripped and ready to be reused or used as a pattern, and the upholstery is all set. The old planks are set up as patterns, for which I built a new 22' long lighted bench, and the ribs and keel are all marked off and ready to be replaced. I haven't done much to this web, though,  since it seems sort of lame to show a buffed and cleaned water pump or a rebuilt starter.
    I spent my spare time visiting my father this year - moments that can't be replaced - but I still had a lot of fun working on the various engine parts and doing a bit of modernizing (just a bit) on the old flathead Chrysler. I look forward to running the beast, which I'm sure I'll do long before it gets back in the boat! Look for most of the updating to this web to be about the engine.
    I'd appreciate anyone who has comments on setting up a small chrome shop getting in touch with me. I want to do this boat all by myself as much as possible - it's fun to learn new skills. So, I'm toying with the idea of electroplating parts myself. The hurdle I see is disposal of the solutions needed, and I don't get straight answers from the guys who like to sell the stuff (!).
    Watch for more on the engine page soon.
    Grant   

APRIL, 2005    I haven't done much on this page, but have lots going on with the boat. I've tracked down a lot of parts, sawn wood for the keel and ribs, and rebuilt the engine block. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate any white oak that is already air-dried, so I have lots of time to work on odd parts before the fresh-sawn wood I have is ready to be used.

SEPTEMBER, 2004

This is a corner of my business web I've put up for my current hobby project - the restoration of the Lyman runabout "Endion". This is a typical "mosaic" of ongoing small projects - as we enter the fall of '04, I have the  boat completely disassembled, and am attacking one thing or another while my schedule allows. As an example, I have recently finished opening up the bottom to expose the framing, and have found that every piece of oak below the waterline is either rotten or brittle from age. That's no surprise, but I have to stop there while I locate the correct air-dried white oak pieces I need to continue. Meanwhile, I'm looking for a piece of chrome-plated brass for the Stewart-Warner dash insert, and when things slow down at my friendly machine shop, we'll strip the engine and start working on it...

At the moment, I'm going to load some of my photos on different pages so you can see what's going on (follow the links above). I'll have to wait until later to sit down and write some comments. Watch for an updated "I need this" page as there are some hard-to-find pieces I'm having trouble duplicating.   On my webs, a click on any photo should get you an enlargement, though I may not get those done right away.