We don’t often feature boats here on Barn Finds, but when you see a boat with dual Hemi’s you get everyone’s attention! If you aren’t too familiar with Matthews boats, they started nearly 100 years ago when Scott Jeremiah Matthews introduced the world’s first production cruiser. This 1957 model is a 42′ cruiser and can be found here on Facebook Marketplace for free! The seller was asking $10,000, but for whatever reason is now giving it away. Located in its homeport of Salisbury, Maryland, this looks like an awesome project. Check it out!
The Cricket IV appears to be in fairly decent condition, however, there are only a couple of photos in the ad. It will probably take a serious boat builder/restorer to take on a project of this magnitude. Not only will it be a huge monetary investment, but the space needed to restore a 42-foot boat isn’t too easy to come by. Of course, you could go the route of the seller and just park it in the driveway, that is if your neighbors and significant other don’t mind.
This boat has great lines. It looks like it’s going fast even out of the water. Unfortunately, there are no photos in the ad showing the twin Hemi engines. I would imagine they are 392 cubic inch Chryslers, but a closer investigation is certainly warranted. If it’s been upgraded with more Hemi engines built in the ’60s or ’70s, it would be worth hauling home just for the engines. It would be a shame to see it parted out and scrapped though, as it really is a beautiful and well-crafted boat. So, what do you think, is there hope for this driveway find?
Beautiful boat – majestic comes to mind…
I can’t help to think the sale of this beauty has been accelerated by impatient neighbors. Calling him Noah was the last straw…
…and the Lord said unto Noah, “take ye them onto this boat”, and they came aboard, two by two – 50’s, 100’s, cashed CD’s…
There’s an old saying, the most expensive boat is a free boat. I think this boat fits that.
You’re not just saving an old boat but probably a marriage as well…
Wonder what the name refers to.
Kinda like “Unsinkable VI”?
I can’t afford free…
Like Homer Simpson’s trampoline, it’s free for a reason. Giving it away is probably a last-ditch attempt to avoid paying someone to haul it away.
Girl Scout non fire and sing along
Boat Ownership: A boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money.
More Boat Ownership: It’s like standing in a cold shower tearing up money and watching it go down the drain.
I have owned three. A 27 Formula. Broke even or lost a bit. A Z25 Donzi. Made big on it. Currently a 22 Searay Pachanga. Will make a bit. It is often the unskilled and or those who don’t have knowledge that lose or say this.
Yep, I had a 230 Sundancer sold it for a little more than what I paid for it 3 years later. Most expensive part was the slip.
The best day of your life; buy a boat. The 2nd best day of your life; sold your boat. The best thing in life; a friend with a boat.
I hate this expression. Like most car owners make money on them? Besides, the best days of boat owners’ lives are the days that they’re out on the water building friendships, learning new skills, getting aways from computer screens, spending time with their families, meeting people, making business connections, etc.
I was sad to see two of the three go. This flipper in my circle saw my beauty on the trailer at the bar and proceeded to attempt to embarrass me about boats as an investment. I told him it’s a ton of fun. I actually have the knowledge and ability to wrench on it but have a reasonable skilled mechanic to work on the tough stuff. He is reasonable and sharp. He is tipped, fed and leaves with a case of premium beer when he leaves. If you buy a boat snd don’t have the coin, you will make statements like this.
If he wanted it to float again I would’ve thought he would have sold it before it withered away……..
This has Titanic written all over it if you actually want to float the thing, but if you want the motors and any onboard pieces, you can’t be free-ninety-nine!
A 5 pack of sawzall blades and an open space for the dumpster. Broken keel, no props and gone with the wagon wheel.
Imagine being the first guy to buy this boat, he was rich in 1957, must have been good times!
in 57 a boat was around $1000.00 per foot.
$396,373.48 in today’s money.
It’s posted on FB. Obviously not a lot of shoppers on here. The posting says free. I assure you it is not.
See where it says Serious inquiries only? If it was really free then the first guy who comes along can take it. NOT. This is a common ploy to enticite interest.
The BOAT is free, the motors are 5 grand, but you must take the boat too.
Thinking laterally here…
Build a permanent, respectable-looking support platform and turn it into an ADU, or an air B&B, or a workshop. Clean it up cosmetically and don’t worry about seaworthiness. I can definitely see other uses for this besides putting it back into the water, if you have a suitable location to do offbeat stuff like this.
You could change the name to SS Minnow and offer 3 hour tours. lol.
“Those poor people…”
Dig a giant oval hole. Put boat in center well supported with plumbing and electrical added. Build a cofferdam close around the boat. Fill pond with water and add koi. Build a small dock to the boat. Charge $$$ for a B&B to recoup costs.
THAT, is a cool idea!
You know, if you fiberglassed to just past the waterline, that really would work, and add a lot of years to a classic craft. A few palm trees around the pond – lounge chairs, umbrellas and mai-tais,I could see it. “My man-cave is a boat.”
The Minnow?
Bingo, agree with “That Guy”. I see this as the second and third floor of a cottage. Hopefully a nearby land owner will take it on as such.
Anyone who took the boat to Put In bay passed the bridge of a great lakes ore boat cottage conversion. I think it is the Benson Ford although I could be wrong.
My dad probably worked on this in Putin Bay in 1957 Port Clinton Ohio
You’re correct, it’s the forecastle of the Benson Ford.
I’d show up with a long box pickup truck, a chaninsaw, cherry picker, and a dump box for refuse. I’d chainsaw the motors and drivetrain out, and put it in the pickup truck long box. Then I’d chainsaw up the rest of the boat and throw it in the dump box.
Then I’d call the dump box company to tell them to pick up the boat.
It’s just the engines I’d want along with the transmissions if the were any good for other applications.
I’d probably be able to get two Hemi engines for $600.00 USD.
Bob
@Robert White: Would you still be happy if they were 276cid hemis from a ’52 DeSoto?
I grew up around wooden boats, including Mathews. This would be a fantastic Deco era boat, if properly restored, but that would set you back at least 100k.
It’s in his driveway! What was he thinking and he is asking 10 K and it will cost probably half that to get it back out of his driveway.
Dad worked on Matthews Boats in 1957 Putin Bay Port Clinton Ohio, wish I could ask if he worked on her, great looking vessel
I helped paint the bottom of this boat every year since I was 8 years old to 18 years old. This was my grandparents boat. So many great memories on Lake Erie every summer. It’s sad to see her in this shape since he kept her in pristine condition. That boat went from Sandusky to Put-in-Bay every holiday weekend for so many years. I am 55 years old now.
Worked for a charity that ran a 98′ wooden sailing junk; it was a beauty. It alternated every year between a dry dock and slipway. Annual maintenance (re: keep the bloody thing afloat) cost $18K to 25K minimum. Twenty five years old and the charity’s surveyor reckoned that just about all of its wooden hull had been replaced in it lifetime already. Scary stuff.
Typical FB ad- no pictures of the engines
It’s free because it’s full of “soft wood.” You can see it in the bottom and at the waterline in one of the side pics.
My dad tried selling his back in the 90s and got so frustrated with the process that he donated it to a church and wrote it off as charity on his taxes
pop the motors…burn it …rake up the brass
Funny, that’s what I told my wife to do when I am no longer running…
Checking the seller out on Facebook he is holding a sign reading “We buy houses”. My guess possibly they bought this house from the owner and the boat came with it. They know nothing about boats and when they could not sell it they are trying to get it off the property so trying to give it away.
That said a lot if these old wooden boats have some cool lines but the restoration and transportation if this old girl is not for the faint of heart or shallow pockets.
SRT8
You have it reversed. The best day is when you sell it.
Lesson Learned…. I rented a lot to a guy that stored and refurbished boats once a- pond – a -time. After striping and parting what was good on them, he left me a Mess to clean up. $40,000.00 (not 12 footers, but 20, 40 to 60 footers). Hope this helps some of you.
boat. break out another thousand
Do like others have done with wooden boats, replace the soft, bad wood the cover with fiberglass from Gunnel to gunnel, no more wood problems
Just looking at these photos made my wallet feel lighter.
RUN… The other way!
BOAT: n. A large hole in water one pours money into.
I’m sure there are those out there thinking “Get the hemi engines, build a couple dragsters, and sink this thing!
Just sit right back and you will hear a tail…..
FB Market Place, home of the lazy seller, that wants a lot of cash, with no work….The American way since COVID. There are many in the bottom of the water in Knoxville.
Would not want to be caught dead on that boat, come to think of it, alive getting caught, the result might be the same.
Why do I think of Gilligan when looking at this boat?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcIFlmm_WbU&ab_channel=TheHouseofDracula-MonsterModelMuseum
This boat has the Chrysler M-45S 250 HP 331 cu in hemi’s. It would be a good restoration project if the keel wasn’t hogged, which could be due from careless blocking. Hull is now worthless (it would be cheaper to build a new boat). If the engines were upgraded, they could be the 354 cu in 275 HP M-45SP-3 “Imperial” engines, which I doubt. The engines only have their intrinsic vintage value.
The Chrysler M-45S 250 HP 331 cu in hemi is an industrial engine. Major problem is that they have the “NON” automotive bell housing bolt pattern. These were used for large well pumps, generators, hydraulic pumps, etc. So an adapter plate would be needed in an automotive/light truck application.
Just sayin’
I had a ’57 DeSoto with the 331 hemi. Yes, they were also used in industrial applications, but with different cranks and cams. Here’s what you apparently don’t get – the marine versions (M-45S) were flywheel forward. Nothing drove off the flywheel, except maybe a raw water pump or extra alternator. The power came off the “front” of the engine which also supplied oil through the crankshaft for the reverse/reduction gear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RonzcZ2pTc
Found a deck pic on another listing. Not bad. Gives hope to an interior in good nick.
If the engines are original, they are indeed Chrysler 331 CI.
Long storied history for Matthews boats. Wish I had a lifetime of history and knowledge to tackle something like this. A live-a-board was a youthful dream.
https://www.uship.com/listing/758559046/1957-42ft-Matthews-Cabin-Crusier/
Sink along with Mitch….
Other than the hauling expense, this would make a great addition to the back 40 in Marfa. Somebody already had a ~30 ft cabin cruiser as a party hut.
B.O.A.T = Break Out Another Thousand.
Chuck out the wood and keep the metal these old timber boats can become giant money pits unless you have a very big wallet
I had an old 1974 Thompson Cruiser from 2005-2010.
I gutted the entire thing. I re-did the interior and decks. It looked great.
Unfortunately, it was out of the water being repaired more than it was in the water.
In 2009, the AL fuel tank let loose and spilled about $500 of gas into the bilge. That was the last straw.
It became a ‘free’ boat. It took a year to find someone to take it off my hands. He actually wanted to buy the trailer, but I told him they were free and couldn’t be separated. Best moment of my life was seeing him drive away with that boat!
This boat was listed for $75,000 not that long ago and looked considerably better.
https://www.docksideboatworks.com/matthews.html
Hagerty should put more old wooden boats in Barn Finds. Seems like they draw more comments than old cars! lol
Check out the Antique Boat Museum if you want to see really nice boats.
abm.org
Does anyone know if this boat still available? I knew the original owner and if you could see pictures of this beautiful vessel, you would be very impressed.
440-853-9373