Just sit right back and hear a tale.....Ever ride on a PT-Boat?

mcgovern61 · Mar 4, 2017

Update! I am seriously looking into trying to get the hull of the PT-486 from the owner in Kingston, New York. It would be the restoration of restorations (only other restoration I would put my money in beside my '82 1100 :hihihi: ).

I am working with a bunch of PT-Boat guys and have a long way to go. But down in New Orleans, they have finished the complete restoration of the PT-305 which is a Higgins PT-Boat. They will be open for rides (at $350 per person) and tours starting in April. Here is a video they just posted of the 305 at half speed:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KazmPfbGrsI[/video]

slabghost · Mar 4, 2017

Even at $350 a ride it will take some time to cover the restoration costs.

dan filipi · Mar 4, 2017

Wow that's 1/2 speed eh? What size engine(s) in there?

mcgovern61 · Mar 4, 2017

3 Packard V-12 supercharged gasoline engines. I believe they are 1200 horsepower each.

If you have Facebook, here is a link showing the engine room and the engines at slow speed:

https://www.facebook.com/bob.maggio.18/ ... 787919264/

[video]https://www.facebook.com/bob.maggio.18/videos/10208038787919264/[/video]

DJnRF · Mar 4, 2017

Man! The cost for a ride on that one today is more than what I was
supposed to pay for a PT boat back in the early 60's. Not only was
the cost of a running boat of my choice only $300, but that also
included as many barrels of fuel I could carry on deck to get it
back home. I really wanted one, but I knew nothing about those
engines, only that the boat ran, and I didn't have anyone else to
help me get it back up river. The boats were in St. Louis then, and
I would have had to travel the Mississippi to the Illinois at Grafton,
and then all the way up to Peoria. Many times over the years I have
wished I would have gone ahead and gotten one.