Syd Herwig and his Wooden Boat, Calypso

Syd Herwig and his Wooden Boat, Calypso by Shannon Lee Mannion
	Syd Herwig’s old pipe sends a wisp of smoke into the morning air. He tamps the Amphora to get a better draw. An earlier field-repair with duct tape doesn’t help. He clamps the stem between his teeth and says, “I remember the time....” He’s a born story-teller but there is no opportunity for reminiscing this morning.
He’s got yards of brass to polish on his 1924 mahogany runabout, Calypso, and there’s his son-in-law’s cruiser to get ready for an antique and classic boat show that is about to begin. There's always a boat show about to begin and always work to be done on a boat.

yd’s a consummate sailor but not of a vessel with sails flapping in the breeze. He is the skipper of what the square-rigged boys call a ‘stink pot,’ a boat with a smelly, gasoline engine. He bought Calypso in 1959 and the boat's powered by an inboard gasoline engine that doesn’t belch fumes. In fact, the engine sounds to be in perfect tune and produces not the slightest vibration, as if the 318 small-block respects being encased in the richness of well-polished mahogany, surrounded by ribbons of gleaming brass.

Calypso was designed by renowned North American naval architect George Crouch who was employed by the Horace E. Dodge Company in Detroit, Michigan. She is one of the first production planing hulls built. A planing hull is different from a displacement hull inasmuch as the later displaces water as it moves smoothly through the waves while the other skims the boat on top of the water rather than ploughing a trough of resistance. “Good on gas this way,” Syd notes, saying that Calypso uses about five gallons per hour.

Type: Pleasure - Mahogany Runabout
Engine: 318 cubic-inch eight-cylinder, 210 h.p. at 4,000 rpm
Length: 22.6 feet
Width: six feet on the beam
Top Speed: 50 mile per hour
Designer: George Crouch
Production numbers: low on early models
Price: (1959) $650
Value today: $100,000 (US) to right buyer

Syd and his boat have won numerous international awards, including the Craftsmanship Award at the Shipyard Museum in Clayton New York in 1983, and was deemed Best Antique Runabout at the Ottawa International Antique and Classic Boat Show in 1983 and 1985. In 1987, she took Antique Boat of the Year. The same year, Syd was honoured with the highest award given by the Antique and Classic Boat Society, the Founders Award, which recognizes outstanding lifetime achievements in furthering the goals of the Society.

At the upcoming show, there will be 85 or more wooden boats but few so rare as Calypso. Early production numbers were low, and as Syd explains, “There was a period when boats like this caught fire and burned. People weren’t as careful back then. What with gas fumes and fittings being not as good....” His voice tapers off at the thought of a fire onboard. But Syd’s been lucky and except for a few minor situations, his maintenance is flawless and, knock wood, (go ahead, use the hull) Calypso will always ride high on the waves, like a dauntless sea gull in the morning sun.

"If God wanted fibreglass boats, he'd have made fibreglass trees," Syd Herwig

When did you start restoration on Calypso?
I began in the Spring of 1982 in the family garage where the boat was stripped completely. Hardware and decks were removed and the deck frames were completely replaced. On July 1, Calypso was moved to Millar-Potter Boat Restoration in Manotick, Ontario for replacement of stem, transom, decks, numerous side-planks and finishing by John Millar. The work was completed on August 10, 1982.
Is there anything that impeded your restoration?
Two factors: the absence of the original engine and the fact that the previous owner discarded the original steering column and wheel.
Do you know what original engine the boat might have had?
According to Charlie Grafflin, a well-known mechanic in the employ of Horace E. Dodge Co. in the 1920's, the original engine was probably a Curtis OX5 (an aircraft engine.) These engines were beset with problems due to long push-rods which bent when over-revved. The engine was only a 50-hour (before service) engine in the air and would last only 25 hours in marine use.
What engine did it have in it when you bought it?
It had a St. Lawrence converted 1941 Ford V-8 (flat-head) that performed admirably for 23 years.
What happened to that engine?
The old flat-head Ford rusted out between the water jackets and the base of two cylinders in June 1986. Water poured into the base until the oil pump sucked up water, the upper cylinders dried out, and band! End of a great old engine. It was decided then to put a rebuilt 318 cu. in. Chrysler, vintage 1969.
Were you able to find an original steering wheel and column?
No, the originals were impossible to obtain. The decision was made to substitute a facsimile as near as possible to the original. The current wheel is of solid wood with Bakelite inserts. It was removed from an early Dodge automobile and it is known that Dodge boat wheels of that time were very similar, with the exception that their spokes were made of metal.
Is it true that you’ve taken this 75-year-old boat some amazing distances?
I started the trend in river tripping in antique boats. Back in the mid-eighties, Doug Porter and I decided to go to the first boat show the Lake Champlain Antique and Classic boat chapter ever held. We had a good time.
What about trips made more recently?
In 1990, I made one we call the Long Island Odyssey. I drove Calypso from Long Island here, through the eight locks at the Chateau, down the Ottawa to Montreal. I took the Richelieu River and Chambly Canal down into to Lake Champlain, to the Hudson River and right to the south shore of Long Island at New York City. We drove right past the Statue of Liberty. Then last year, 20 antique boats went from Dubuque, Iowa up the Mississippi River 300 miles. Calypso was only Canadian boat.
Where does the name of your boat come from?
When I was a young lad, about 16, there was a runabout up on the shore at Mooney’s Bay and I fell in love with it. It was for sale for $50.00. In those days, you could buy a quart of milk for 10 or 15 cents, so $50 was like $500 to a young guy. When I bought this boat in 1959, it didn’t have a name on it so I immediately named her Calypso, after the other boat.
Why are boats referred to as ‘she?’
That tradition goes back hundreds of years from when they used to put a figure-head on the front of ships, such as a mermaid. It’s part of our heritage and language.
Do you have any idea what your boat might be worth today?
Someone told me that I could take it to Lake Tahoe and get $100,000 for it but I don’t know if that’s true. All I know is that I’ve had $500,000 worth of fun out of it. A boat is a wonderful thing.