After six years of labor, Louis Chenot has completed his scratch-built 1/6 scale Gar Wood 33-50 Runabout. Along with the boat itself, Mr. Chenot also finished and installed the 1/6 scale V-12 Liberty marinized aircraft engine. All told, the project took 12,000 hours to build, and the hull alone took five months to complete.
The impressive wooden runabout was built from a single plank of mahogany and a plank of white oak. Lou went to great lengths to ensure that his model was planked and built just like an original Gar Wood. The Gar Wood model features a polished wooden finish, fully upholstered seating, windshields, working latches, and most other features found on the original runabout. Demonstrating some ingenuity of his own, Lou decided to set up the battery so that the switch would be initiated by pushing in a flagpole on the deck to turn it on.
Over the course of its construction, Lou gathered enough research materials and photos to fill two large binders. This included original drawings, patents, plans, and sketches among other material. Mr. Chenot was gracious enough to donate this first-rate scale model to the Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship for permanent display. Come by and see the remarkable miniature boat and V-12 for yourself, or read more about the Gar Wood in Louis Chenot’s craftsman article.
