Category: 1959 Lyman Runabout

Ahhh…. The beginning of the end of preserving our 1959 16.5-foot Lyman runabout is just barely beginning to peek over the horizon.

Rick first wet sanded the varnished exterior and interior through six grits, starting with 600 and finishing with 1500.

Buffing using our go-to suite of Presta cremes followed. The result? Pure glass. While he was buffing, Joe was busy in our clean room transforming the sea of parts into a forest with each suspended from the ceiling. The result? More glass and no dust.

The suspended parts have yet to be final varnished on the reverse sides of what you see in the clip.

It has been almost exactly one year since we shot her intake video, and now, final assembly of all wooden components cannot be far off.

These 16.5’ Lyman runabouts from the 1950s are truly iconic, and this example is not exception.

She spent time in Ohio before being in Florida for many years, and arrived needing significant structural and cosmetic preservation.

Finally, however, we are applying the final coats of Pettit Flagship varnish to her hull and windshield, and to a seemingly endless sea of components – no pun intended.

Since much of it was just wrong, we still face the challenge of sourcing period correct hardware items like chocks and cleats, etc.

For us, reassembly is the absolutely most enjoyable element of the preservation process.

What for so long presented as piles of wood in odd shapes begins coming together organically, and her absolute beauty reemerges.