The best 8 minutes/6 seconds of your life! Stripertime
This was posted on stripersurf...too good not to share. Wow lookit the footage of that Mackenzie boat. I'm not going to burn the posts here but those look very much the same today. WAY cool. But that ain't no 45lber
Last edited by UserRemoved1; 04-06-2009 at 03:57 PM..
I have seen that video before. Its a great one. Typical dead fish hauled up for the camera and the weights of the fish is all off. But a great insight into the past.
I did some research a while ago:
the Cutty fisherman was Coot Hall---a famous Cutty Charter Captain. I found this on him from that infamous New York Times Article on Cuttyhunk:
In the morning, the breeze was up and we were out on the boat with Mr. Borges casting flies into the rocks. He first came to Cuttyhunk when he was 16 to work for Irwin Winslow Hall, a legendary striped bass charter captain known as Coot. ''I did everything for old Coot,'' Mr. Borges said, ''pumped gas, made up eel-skin rigs for trolling, and eventually ran my own charters.''
Turns out that Coot was responsible for developing the famous Cuttyhunk wooden Bass Boats. A Montauk fisherman named Otto Scheer first took NJ skiff designs and developed a bass boat named the "Punkinseed" for Montauk. He was one of the first to fish in boats close to the shore and his boat could bounce off boulders. It was lost in the 39 Hurricane and rebuilt. Coot Hall was visiting Montauk and saw the boat and had one built by the Lyman Boat Co. of New Bedford. The boat you see in the video is probably that boat. The boats developed and were perfected by Ernie Mackenzie who made the Mackenzie Bass boats.
Cool stuff Scott! I love the old-style narration, almost like watching a one of those old WWII "Victory at Sea" documentaries.
Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn.
This one has slightly different footage I believe it's not the same as the previous one I posted. Similar voice-over but different fish...still not a 45
The lure shots are the schnizzle. Old Atom plugs, the block tins. Did anyone see the tube radio built into the back of the boat? THAT was cutting edge back then. I couldn't imagine keeping that thing working in a salt environment.
Photographed and directed by Van Campen Heilner, too -over 50 years ago
"He's a surfcaster - part of a hard-bitten tribe that disdains boats!"
What a classic - not much has changed
And apparently 'boat fish don't count' didn't start here...or start last week either...
"There is no royal road to this heavy surf-fishing. With all the appliances for comfort experience can suggest, there is a certain amount of hard work to be done and exposure to be bourne as a part of the price of success." From "Striped Bass," Scribner's Magazine, 1881.
Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&
This one has slightly different footage I believe it's not the same as the previous one I posted. Similar voice-over but different fish...still not a 45
I just went to watch it again and the footage was different - the other clip was definitely much better and not vignetted...
"There is no royal road to this heavy surf-fishing. With all the appliances for comfort experience can suggest, there is a certain amount of hard work to be done and exposure to be bourne as a part of the price of success." From "Striped Bass," Scribner's Magazine, 1881.
Looked like the surf rods only had 2 guides and a top? Thoose were great! Brought back fond memories of my grandfather who has been gone 30yrs. now...remember throwing my first rod of the back of his boat when trying to cast, finding out snapper bluefish had teeth (got my knuckle), miss being a kid physically still am mentally (at least when it comes to fishing). Really wonder about the 2 guide surf rod, I've got to get my rod done and have been told 7 guides by one guy and 10-12 from another?
The first rod I used was a bamboo one with 2 guides and a squidder with a block tin. It was probably 20 years old at the time, late 60s.
The 6'6" rod refers to the tip which fit in the wooden handle that was about 30" long so that made it a 9' foot total rod.
I love this old stuff.
Frasier: Niles, I’ve just had the most marvelous idea for a website! People will post their opinions, cheeky bon mots, and insights, and others will reply in kind!
Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&
This was posted on stripersurf...too good not to share. Wow lookit the footage of that Mackenzie boat. I'm not going to burn the posts here but those look very much the same today. WAY cool. But that ain't no 45lber
Turns out that Coot was responsible for developing the famous Cuttyhunk wooden Bass Boats. A Montauk fisherman named Otto Scheer first took NJ skiff designs and developed a bass boat named the "Punkinseed" for Montauk. He was one of the first to fish in boats close to the shore and his boat could bounce off boulders. It was lost in the 39 Hurricane and rebuilt. Coot Hall was visiting Montauk and saw the boat and had one built by the Lyman Boat Co. of New Bedford. The boat you see in the video is probably that boat. The boats developed and were perfected by Ernie Mackenzie who made the Mackenzie Bass boats.
MACKENZIE BASS BOATS
AND THE JONES RIVER LANDING
MacKenzie Bass Boats were lofted and built in several locations in Massachusetts, including Marion, Padanaram, Fall River, Taunton and Hyannis, but none had the history of The Jones River Landing in Kingston.
Ernest MacKenzie built his famous lap strake fishing boats at The Landing from July of 1951 until he moved his operation to Fall River in 1956. During this time many boats were built for the fishing guides at Cuttyhunk. These guides made Mac’s boats famous, catching boat loads of stripers for their clients. In the early years Mac attached the moniker "Cuttyhunk" to his boats and they soon became known as "Mackenzie Cuttyhunk Bass Boats."
During the Landing years, Mac built boats of several sizes. The smallest was 19 feet and the largest was 28 feet. Other boats built at that time included 20, 23 and A 24 Footer. Depending on the owner’s wishes or the intended purpose of the boat, building materials varied from Atlantic White Cedar, Honduras Mahogany and marine plywood to Douglas Fir framing stock and native White Oak. All boats were assembled with silicone bronze screws and copper rivets in the laps. Many boats of this time had their frames assembled with bronze bolts, while others were assembled with galvanized iron bolts. Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of a MacKenzie was the "reverse lap strake" which became the trademark of Mac’s design. This design was said to make his boats "grip the water and track better" than any other boat built at the time. To this day, there are few who would argue that this is not true.
The over all design for these boats was for fishing the rip tides around the Elizabeth Islands, so many were built with no cabin or windshield. This design, with only a spray shield ahead of the cockpit, created a wonderful platform for casting or jigging for trophy fish. Other Macs were built with a windshield and usually had a canvas Navy top to keep the spray and wind off of the crew and clients. Very few boats were built with cabins around this time. One "Kingston Boat" that does sport a cabin is a 28’ Mac built in 1955 as Scram for a family in Duxbury. As the story goes, Mac felt that adding a cabin to his boats would affect the handling and seaworthiness and he refused to build them that way. Scram was one of these boats. Because the owner wanted a cabin, Mac delivered Scram as a hull only and she was finished in the owner’s barn. A favorite at antique and classic boat shows, this boat is still plying the waters of Plymouth and Duxbury Bays as Let’s Go.
Another unique 28 footer was built in the early ‘50s. This boat was built for Carl Haffenreffer, operator of the famous Herreshoff yard in Bristol, RI. This boat was very unique, with a stepped sheer, raised foredeck and custom hardware and fittings. Because he owned such a famous boat building company, Haffenreffer refused to acknowledge that he had gone "outside" for the boat he wanted. Unfortunately, Skidoo was lost off her mooring in hurricane Carol in 1954.
Several other Kingston built Mackenzie’s, in addition to Let’s Go, survive today. Grouper, a 20’ 6" plywood planked Mac resides in Sesuit Harbor; White Cloud, a 24’ mahogany on oak Mac is moored in Clinton, CT; Connie J, a classic 23’ Mac, is kept in Westport, MA; Hey Jude, another 24’ Mac, resides in Fort Weatherall, RI. Other boats built at The Landing surface from time to time, though they are rare.
Described as "curmudgeonly and headstrong," Ernie MacKenzie was in several business partnerships during his boat building years. While at The Landing he was partnered with Dr. Herbert Lotz of Plymouth, then Thomas E. Stott of Kingston. Mac left The Landing for Fall River in the Spring of 1956 for another partnership, this time with an outstanding gentleman named Al Grey who has been a treasure trove of information on these boats.
No matter where they were built, Ernie MacKenzie's Cuttyhunk Bass Boats inspired and spawned a whole genre of salt water fishing boats of a style that is still being built a half century later.
You mean Capt Chet aka nor-easter? He hasn't been on here since September....
“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed, unlike the people of other countries, whose leaders are afraid to trust them with arms.” – James Madison.
When I was a kid... 1950s and 1960s, the McKenzie Cuttyhunk was THE boat to own if you fished from a boat anywhere along the RI south coast, the bay or along the Elizabeth Islands/Vineyard Sound. Perfect set-up for trolling and casting for bass. I think there are 3 in Wickford. There is also a similar design vintage bass boat built one at a time by an Italian or Portugese builder in the east bay in the Wickford Shipyard. A very nice boat as well.
Great posting on the history of Mackenzies at Jones River Landing. Have you been in there lately? They are back to building classic wooden boats. Three in the works right now.
I read somewhere that those boats with an inboard have a extra heavy duty skeg to keep the prop off the Cuttyhunk rocks, any one know more about the design ?
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