Grebe Yachts

This Yacht For Sale

The Grebe yacht "Water Nymph" in the black and white photo is currently for sale. This is a project boat with much work already completed. I'm looking for a buyer who has the resources to continue the project.
http://waternymph.net

jim@waternymph.net

1965 55" flushdeck

Here's a shot of a 1965 55 foot Grebe that I looked at this fall.

There's 1961 Grebe working commercially in Chicago.



Obviously, she is being used as an OUPV.

Now that El Presidente is gone, she's one of only.....two working wooden boats in Chicago.

Lady Grebe

How would one contact the owner of this Grebe yacht Miss Grebe? Doing some research on the boats we contributed our labors to in the late 50's and 60's.
Thanks,
Don Kusterer

chartersales at cruisechicago.com
Do a google search. Lots of info.

Was that boat located in Maine. More specifically is that box office. Because she has been refitted and in pristine condition.

Box office

Yes, that was "Box Office" Tell us more about the refit and current status!

Box Office/Iroquois Refit

Well she got new fiberglass roofs, new teak/mahogany headliner on the top roof. All teak down to bare wood. Formica has been painted over with Hatteras off white with teak trim. All flat Formica covered with teak plywood. new teak & holly soles. Galley has new stainless refrigerator, stove, counter tops. New paint all around. New glass with corresponding teak window trim in saloon and helm.

Hello,
Do you know where she is berthed? I worked for Grebe in the 50's and 60's, as a high schooler in Chicago, and am trying to find all the boats I helped to build.
Thanks,
don

If still interested, GOOGLE has a lot of info.

https://www.google.com/#q=lady+grebe+yacht&revid=1703967156

Beautiful Lady

Just back from a trip to Chicago, and photographed Lady Grebe, and now with the hull number, found out she was the first boat I worked on from start to finish. She's a beautiful lady and I can't find a way to attach a photo, so here's where to find her. She's a part of a fleet, owned by a third generation Chicago boating family. Thanks Bob, for your trust and hospitality.
Don
http://www.cruisechicago.com/our_fleet/lady_grebe/[/URL]

Working on finding all 16 boats (2 have been destroyed) we worked on, 1956-63 as a teenager, so if anyone feels like sending any contact info., pictures or info. please send me a message here or a pm. Just as a point of clarification from the first message that started this thread, Grebe's last boat was aluminum, only one of two, (the other a 36 with a jet engine for the USN as a frogman recon boat), what is now the Santee, a 65, originally Karen J. launched in 1971. Another 60 in aluminum, was logged, but not built according to the records I have currently.
Thanks,
d

Just for you:

Appreciate

Thanks, heres one of the current shots we took

Just back from the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc where we viewed some of the original design blueprints, and am awaiting some copies of boats we have worked upon. What a kick! This museum has some of the original molds of castings for hauser holes, stanchions, the bases for the Ensign and bow staffs etc. in addition to much on Burger and the original Submarine construction base that duplicated 28 Groton CT subs and floated them down the Mississippi on Dry docks as the St. Lawrence wasn't built yet.

This is a must visit museum for WWII historians and boat lovers.
Don

Try this link on for size, then go to the Burger boat and Palmer Johnson sites and take a look at what the new designs look like. We are no slouches for design here, along with the gold one reputed locally to belong to Val Kilmer, there was another under construction with 2 large holes in the bow looking like bow thruster possibilities @ Palmer Johnson. Imagine the length with those. Burger was building an ocean going research vessel, after completing a sister sightseeing ship for the company that owns the Lady Grebe in Chicago. Not sure that this belongs on this site, but beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and the beautiful wooden ladies of the 50's and 60's can never be replaced. I only hope that there are some caring people to keep these ladies alive. The one in the link below is a Palmer Johnson150'

Palmer Johnson launches new yacht | FOX 11 Online | WLUK-TV Home Page | Burger Boat Company Palmer Johnson

I was surprised to find the Fincantieri name on the sign of the old Manitowoc Marine, but am 5 years behind the times, and they are building Coast Guard and Navy vessels again in a partnership with Lockheed Martin. Obviously I have not been following Great Lakes Shipbuilding.

For the record, after finding a post on the Lady Grebe's hull ID plate, we replied, "The interesting thing about the hull plate, is that despite the fact that this was originally about a $120,000 boat in the 50's, the hull numbers were hand stamped (not engraved) into the brass with a steel die, and sometimes it wasn't done as well as others, hand done is not always perfect, but gives each piece character. I can relate, as some of the plugs I put into her teak decks weren't perfect either and one can see both the larger black varnish lines around them (when they had to be done over if not aligned or chipped off perfectly) , as well as a once in a while, an oversize by 1/16" plug on a long piece of teak, as the edge of the hole was damaged, and we couldn't tear out a 12' piece of teak. I can remember the "heavy chewing" more like a gnawing effect, leaving not much left, the first time. <GGG>" Just in case this groupl is interested.
Don

Sights, sounds and taste

This is wild, eating lunch today, an old retired dude with last night's meat loaf on a sandwich and Open Pit BarBQue sauce, taking me back to noon time on the banks of the old poluted North Branch of the Chicago river in the 1950's. What a country!

Millie Jean hull #176

Millie Jean with pic, from 1959. Looking for her.

I found "Millie Jean" with O/N 279851 in the 1968 edition of Lloyds. Her name at that point was "Honey Rose" with a hailing port of Brielle, NJ. I searched 2 data bases for that O/N with no results. If she still exists she is not CG documented, and has not been for a long time.

Thanks Eric,
We'll keep looking.
Don