Cargile Cutter Cruisers
I am not sure I totally understand... we are still talking about the boat pictured below correct?
So am I to assume that you think all the stuff H.Depot sells is crap?
Or that all homes are made out of crap?
Or?
The some of the same basic materials are used on the cheapest runabout as the most expensive Nordhavn, but is a different way.
I guess I was not clear enough, the builder or the below boat clearly did not have the "eye" when it came to design, he could of made the vessel less offensive to the eye had he known how. Sometimes home builders of boats take a inexpensive starter hull and mod it to their preference and make it worth less then the original hull.
I walk past a Cargile cutter boat on my way to my boat.. a production boat that the dealers that sold them originally must of been barely able to keep from laughing in the face of prospective buyers.
There are plenty of beautiful boats out there.. no reason to own a fugly one!
HOLLYWOOD
Okay, I realize this is an older thread, but having owned a Cargile Cutter Cruiser, I had to respond.
The late Allen Cargile, of Nashville, TN, made his living designing and building houseboats that were once very popular on the rivers and TVA lakes of Tennessee. I had the pleasure of meeting him by phone while researching Cargile Cutters, after seeing one while on a trip to Montana. He was a fascinating and gracious man that was more than willing to help in my search for one. Until the day he died, I would call Allen every time we cruised our Cargile, just to let him know how much we were enjoying his boat.
After his death, I had the pleasure of meeting his son, who had married one of our daughter's sorority sisters. I learned that on a family vacation to Key West, each day his dad would slowly cruise his Boston Whaler past the Coast Guard cutters at the base in Key West. As he cruised by, he stared at the high bows of the cutters. A few weeks after they returned home, Allen walked out of his "design room" with a carved, wooden model of the Cargile Cutter Cruiser he intended to build. He then registered a patent for the "cupped chine hull" that would carry the boat.
The beauty of a boat, like the beauty of a woman, is all in the eyes of the beholder. Having grown up around boats, there was something about the Cargile Cutter that intrigued me. Like many of you posting about the boat, my son and daughter thought it was ugly. The kids used to joke that when I died, they would not fight over who got the boat, they would fight over who had to take it! The argument ended after our son used it for his honeymoon cruise from Charleston, SC to Morehead City, NC. To his surprise, the boat seemed incredibly roomy for a 30' boat, was comfortable, had storage galore, and in his words "was very utilitarian." To him, that made it extremely easy to maintain.
From 1999 until 2007, the boat served as my efficient and comfortable floating office. When I took over management of a local attraction, the time we had to spend on "SunSmiles" became less and less. In 2012, I was tracked down and contacted by a young man in Portland, OR. Although the boat was not for sale, he wanted to buy it. He said he father bought one when the young man was 5 years old, and he had fond memories of "growing up" on the boat. His daughter was turning five, had seen a picture of "SunSmiles" as he searched for a Cargile, and told him THAT was the boat she wanted. He wanted her to "grow up" with the same fond memories his dad's boat. Sadly, during delivery to Portland, the boat was destroyed 23 miles out of Laramie, WY when the boat and two tractor trailers were hit by what the highway patrol called a "hurricane force wind."
As a previous owner of a 30' Cargile Cutter Cruiser, I can honestly say it was a fun, comfortable boat with tons of storage for multi-day cruising. And for what it's worth, it attracted the attention of owners of much larger boats at every marina we entered. Those who boarded her were amazed at how large it "felt" when they were onboard.