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CALYPSO E-291 RESTORATION
(HULL #C-2)

(Clicking on any of the pictures* on this page will open a new window with the full size photo)

01/23/10: Don's daughter, Jeanette, has spent the last couple of weeks working on the upholstery.  I was at the shop a couple of weeks ago and she was telling me how she wanted to make sure the vertical lines of dark blue piping on the seat matched the back piece.  Her attention to detail paid off.  It turned out great!  With her mom, Annette, as her mentor, it's no big suprise.  Annette was doing much of the special upholstery work on many of the unlimiteds back in the 70's and 80's, including cockpit covers, engine covers and tonneau covers, complete with the sponsors logos included.  And, she had no patterns to go by, so it was all done by hand.

The trailer that the boat is sitting on in the pictures below is the original trailer.  Last fall we were contacted by one of the boats previous owners (who found us through this website) and he told us he still had the original trailer.  He said it wasn't in good condition, but we could have it if we wanted it.  Don went and picked it up and has since done some work on it.  We think it's pretty cool to have them both as a "set".  Also, you can see that the engine (265 Chevy) is in the boat now too.  It's down to just a few little tweaks and adjustments before she's ready to run.

12/05/09: The cowling, dashboard and tailpiece have all been painted and the Calypso lettering has been applied to both sides of the tailpiece.  Annette (Don's wife) custom sewed the white piping that goes around the outside of the tail and midsection, which was stapled in place.  It really gives it a touch of class!  Today, we put the aluminum stripping around the outer edge of the boat.  He showed me how to round off and bezel the end pieces of the stripping.  It's such a learning experience working with Don.  He knows all the little "tricks" when things don't work out exactly as planned or we run in to one of those little snags that can be so frustrating.  We had a couple of those situations today and he just says, "It's OK, I know what we can do."  And then he works his magic.  Anyway, take a look at the pics below...looking good!

11/21/09: I got a call from Don yesterday telling me that he'd be down at the shop today and that I might want to swing by and see the boat.  "OK", I said wondering why.  Then he told me that Ed (his son) was just finishing putting the final coat of clearcoat on.  He said it's been painted/stained, and the numbers and pinstriping are on it, as well.  So, this morning I headed down to the shop, walked in, and OH MY GOSH...it looks GREAT!  I told Don that this was going to be one of, if not THE, prettiest boat in the Vintage circuit.  Take a look at the pictures below....

11/07/09: In the last couple of weeks, Don's had the "Calypso" letters and the boat numbers (E-291) made.  The "Too" on the decal (shown below) will not be on the boat.  Also, the boat numbers will be outlined with a dark blue pinstripe as was the original Calypso E-291.  Today, we finished cutting the stain lines with an Exact-o knife, using templates Don made from the original deck pieces.  These small cut lines will keep the stain from bleeding over too much.  Like the original Calypso, a 1/4" light yellow pinstripe will cover over the cut lines and also cover any minor bleeding from the staining.  We also sanded the entire deck, and put on the first coat of sealer.

10/17/09: Today was great!  My brother Pete was in town visiting from Spokane and came to the shop to help work on the boat.  His timing was perfect as today we put on the front deck pieces, and really needed a third person.  I put the final coat of sealer on the deck pieces while Don and Pete put a layer of epoxy on the frame.  Then, we carefully put the first deck piece on.  I began drilling holes around the perimiter of the deck in 12 inch intervals and Pete would follow, screwing in wood screws in the pre-drilled holes.  We then went back and did the same thing, but in 3 inch intervals.  We repeated the entire process with the second deck piece.  This one gave us a little trouble when we tried to get it lined up in the center, but all three of us worked together and got it to fit and completed the fastening.  Don also layed down the template he made to outline the rear stain pattern.  It was awesome working with Pete and Don, especially when we could see our efforts at days end.  The bottom two pics in this set show Pete (left) and myself (right), proudly standing next to the boat.

Keep checking back for updates...

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