His
business card says "sublime beauty in boating." Sublime is how
Phil Spencer is guided in his work. His current project is what
he calls "his bliss." The project is Phil's creation that is
based on a 1927 Chris-Craft Cadet, He calls it his own design,
not a reproduction or replica. He describes it as being
fashioned on a Canadian style boat, like a Ditchburn or Millet.
The
original Cadet was 22 feet long and has been lengthened to 24
feet for this project. Most of the wood needed to be replaced
with the exception of the side frames and the upper stem. Phil
started by stretching the boat and replacing the transom. The
transom was narrowed to give it a different look than the
original Chris Craft. It has a nice barrel back look to it from
the stern.
Next,
Phil started working on the deck. He said, "I needed
inspiration, so I did the deck first. The sides are easier
compared to the deck." The sides have several of the planks
attached, but is still a work in process. Phil put in a rear
cockpit along the lines of a speed launch. There is a front
cockpit, but that is expected to be more for utility, that is,
access to the engine compartment, than for riding.
Interestingly,
this project started about three years ago. Phil expects it will
take another year to complete it. Like any busy shop, the
creative side sometimes gives way to the bread and butter
aspects of his business, boat restorations. Phil opened his shop
in Wolfeboro in 1982. He has been building and restoring wooden
boats ever since.
Phil first fell in love with wooden
boats as a boy in Minnesota. He recalls his mother taking him
for a ride around Lake Minnetonka where he spied many a boat
sitting in the unique canvas boat houses of the area. While his
parents realized his creative side, they tried to get him to
direct his energies into piano lessons and art classes. In art
class, Phil built boat models out of clay. He built a lot of
models as a kid, boats, airplanes, anything that came to mind.
He convinced his parents to end the piano lessons and went water
skiing instead. When his Dad retired, his parents moved to Lake
Winnipesaukee where they had a home. So, at sixteen, Phil
arrived permanently in New Hampshire.
After
high school, Phil attended college but was unsure of his future.
He had a subscription to Sail Magazine and saw the first ad for
The Landing School. The School had just started and Phil
enrolled in their first class. It was in 1978. The class
consisted of nine students who used
a cow barn as a classroom and built two dories and two 18-foot
sailboats as the curriculum. The
Landing School has advanced a lot and now offers educational
programs that result in a diploma or an associate's degree. The
national organization, the Antique and Classic Boat Society,
supports The Landing School as part of its charitable giving
program.
Phil's
first boat project was a 17 ft. McDuff. McDuff was an engine
builder in Lakeport. It entered the boat building arena when it
copied a Dodge utility and manufactured its own boats. Phil
found the McDuff in a barn, retrieved it before it could get
tossed on the junk heap, and kept it in his mother's garage for
3 years. After paying his brother to remove the fiberglass
bottom, that the previous owner had wrongly conceived of as a
fix, Phil restored it to its original lapstrake design. He used
to keep the boat at George Johnson's place on Back Bay before
there was a marina there. Phil said George let him keep the boat
there for free. Phil said, "I think George liked to see my wife
in the boat in her bikini, so he never charged me anything to
tie up to his floating docks."
Currently,
Phil's house and shop are on the market. Phil expects to
continue in business, when the property sells. He is planning to
move his winter quarters to a barn in Eaton, NH owned by his
significant other, Marla Browning. The barn in Eaton is larger
than his current set-up and will serve his needs better. His
current operation consists of a wood shop, which, he says, is a
secondary manufacturer of sawdust and kindling. "It is the most
expensive kindling I've ever used in my stove," he remarked.
While a serviceable shop, Phil could make better use the larger
space of Marla's barn. However, he will have to record the
telephone numbers he has inked on the door frames before he
moves. In addition, Phil has a small refinishing shop and
several outdoor storage sheds. Even after he moves, Phil will
maintain a satellite shop in the Wolfeboro area during the
summer.
Phil
served as the President of the New England Chapter from 1996 to
1997. While serving as President, he instituted the Fall Boat
and Car Rendezvous at the Wolfeboro Public Docks. This event
will take place again this year on September 25, 2010. Phil will
be co-chairing this year's event along with Dennis Schauer, the
Vice-President of the New England Chapter.
Back
to the yet unnamed project. The raised deck has a darker stain
than a typical Chris-Craft. The original transom frames were
also retained to keep the Chris-Craft hull no. 1757. Phil said,
"Of course, that is really hull number 757 as they started the
series with 1000."
He
will use a 350 Chevy V-8 engine which he will change to look
like an old style engine by using period connections, hose and
wire. He calls it "undressing the V-8" to make it look vintage.
He has a birds' eye maple center dash flanked by two pieces of
crotch mahogany. The side mahogany pieces were not stained, just
varnished. The varnish has given the mahogany a beautiful dark
color. That is the color Phil needed to match for the rest of
the deck. He took a basic Chris-Craft stain and started adding
pigments until he got the color he wanted. All the gauges and
switches will be placed in the center dash into the birds' eye
maple wood.
