Boat story

[Kthien915]

So I feel compelled to tell this story pretty crazy and I feel meant it's to be. So here it goes.

Fate has its way to finding you no matter you position in life. I was born in 1989 and my dad bought his first hallett boat in 1990. It was a 32 ft hallett and I believe to my knowledge it was the second or first mold in that size. Before my pops bought the boat in California it was used as a offshore race boat with built race motors. When it was sold to my dad they had replaced the motors with , stock 454's. We lived in California at the time in Rancho Cucamonga and during this time we had gone to lake mead in Nevada so often that my parents ended up leaving the boat at my grandparents house in Boulder city Nevada, so that every weekend we drove up the boat was already there. As a kid on that boat I had so many memories from driving the boat on my dad's lap, to camping trips with my family to a day on Lake Mead I'll never forget where the waves were so big that the boat had to drive up each wave and it would crash over the bow and hit my dad in the chest. Bilge pumps flowing full blast and it lasted about 25 min, remember this is a 32 ft hallett. During that time my dad owned the boat and before 9/11 I remember being able to drive up to Hoover dam and park next to it and touch the dam as a kid. Now a days you can't get within 400 yards. These are just a few memories I have of this boat.
Fast forward to 1998 my parents were in the middle of a divorce and my dad had to give the boat to my mother. ( My dad ended up buying a brand new hallett in 1999) my mom ended up having the boat untill the year 2000. I was 10 years old at the time. She sold it and I never saw the boat again.
Until 2016 I was on the lake with my pops and we were in a cove and a nice big hallett came in a no wake zone, and there she was my childhood boat. Fast forward again to 2020 I had bought my first boat and told so many stories about the 32 ft hallett boat I grew up on, and so badly wanted to own. Randomly, on a Thursday afternoon we made way into a random cove on my new boat and there was a nice blue 30ft hallett. After talking to the owner about the boat and how I grew up in a hallett I said the word maddoggies and his response was wait did you say maddoggies? I replied yes and he then began to describe the boat to me in detail and said his friend owned the boat and that he had been in it and almost bought it from him. He then got a picture of the boat and sure as hell there it was ....this was 20 years later after he bought the boat from my mother. We talked about it and how my life long goal was to find, own and update the boat from the engines, drives, interior, open bow and technology. I never thought I'd find that boat considering it was sold 20 years ago, and how do you track down a boat like that?
On July 18th 2020 my mother passed away with no notice. Three days after she passed I got a random phone call ( I never pick up numbers I don't know) and it was the gentleman that I met at lake mead. He said hey it's _ from lake mead with your parents old boat the owner is ready to sell the boat and wants you to have first dibs on buying the boat. I told him about the passing of my mother and he said " it sounds like your guardian angel just wants you to be happy". For the last 20 years this gentleman has owned that boat. I was just a kid on that boat and now I'll be the new owner of it by this weekend.
It blows me away that I was able to find this boat there are so many old family pictures when I was just a baby on it along with my siblings, so many memories and now more to make.

What are the chances ?

 

[rickym20]

First , my condolences on your Mother passing....I know the pain to lose one of your parents without notice.

That is crazy how life works and the timing of everything with that boat. If a boat ever had sentimental value that boat has it. Congratulations on getting it back into the family!

 

[Riley1]

I am fortunate enough to own the boat that my parents purchased when I was 1. No Hallett and not a 32.
funny that just this week the wife and I were discussing how much we were willing to spend to make it what it should be.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Sorry for the loss of your mother.
I'm glad you found, and got the boat back.
Memories of the past, and new memories for your future.

 

[Riverryder]

That’s such an awseom
Story. There’s a story about another hallett owner and his pops. Wasn’t a childhood boat but a boat he spent time with his pops on. Congrats to you. I boat mead every weekend or every other weekend look forward to seeing your boat out there!

 

[Ziggy]

Awesome story about the boat finding you.
Sorry about your mother
And, welcome to RDP

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Sorry for your loss, but great story. I’d love to get my pop’s boat that he had built when I was 1. He had to sell it when the economy turned and his health went south, but I’ve never seen it again. Wasn’t very nice, but I had some of my best memories on that little boat.

 

[92562]

Wiping away the tears, I am so happy for you!!!

 

[Havasu Rehab]

First off, May your mother Rest In Peace.


Amazing story. Thank you for sharing. Please document the restoration process in a thread! That would be one for the ages!

Throw up some old pics of the boat!


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[Kthien915]

That's a picture of it that I got. Thank you for the responses so far about my mom . She was a very special to me, and ment so much to me it's hard to lose a parent so young (59) I'm 30. . The boat will be
dedicated to her and her memory.

 

[WhatExit?]

Condolences and Congratulations! (How many times do you hear that?!)

Sorry for your loss. Happy for your gain!

 

[FreeBird236]

So I feel compelled to tell this story pretty crazy and I feel meant it's to be. So here it goes.

Fate has its way to finding you no matter you position in life. I was born in 1989 and my dad bought his first hallett boat in 1990. It was a 32 ft hallett and I believe to my knowledge it was the second or first mold in that size. Before my pops bought the boat in California it was used as a offshore race boat with built race motors. When it was sold to my dad they had replaced the motors with , stock 454's. We lived in California at the time in Rancho Cucamonga and during this time we had gone to lake mead in Nevada so often that my parents ended up leaving the boat at my grandparents house in Boulder city Nevada, so that every weekend we drove up the boat was already there. As a kid on that boat I had so many memories from driving the boat on my dad's lap, to camping trips with my family to a day on Lake Mead I'll never forget where the waves were so big that the boat had to drive up each wave and it would crash over the bow and hit my dad in the chest. Bilge pumps flowing full blast and it lasted about 25 min, remember this is a 32 ft hallett. During that time my dad owned the boat and before 9/11 I remember being able to drive up to Hoover dam and park next to it and touch the dam as a kid. Now a days you can't get within 400 yards. These are just a few memories I have of this boat.
Fast forward to 1998 my parents were in the middle of a divorce and my dad had to give the boat to my mother. ( My dad ended up buying a brand new hallett in 1999) my mom ended up having the boat untill the year 2000. I was 10 years old at the time. She sold it and I never saw the boat again.
Until 2016 I was on the lake with my pops and we were in a cove and a nice big hallett came in a no wake zone, and there she was my childhood boat. Fast forward again to 2020 I had bought my first boat and told so many stories about the 32 ft hallett boat I grew up on, and so badly wanted to own. Randomly, on a Thursday afternoon we made way into a random cove on my new boat and there was a nice blue 30ft hallett. After talking to the owner about the boat and how I grew up in a hallett I said the word maddoggies and his response was wait did you say maddoggies? I replied yes and he then began to describe the boat to me in detail and said his friend owned the boat and that he had been in it and almost bought it from him. He then got a picture of the boat and sure as hell there it was ....this was 20 years later after he bought the boat from my mother. We talked about it and how my life long goal was to find, own and update the boat from the engines, drives, interior, open bow and technology. I never thought I'd find that boat considering it was sold 20 years ago, and how do you track down a boat like that?
On July 18th 2020 my mother passed away with no notice. Three days after she passed I got a random phone call ( I never pick up numbers I don't know) and it was the gentleman that I met at lake mead. He said hey it's _ from lake mead with your parents old boat the owner is ready to sell the boat and wants you to have first dibs on buying the boat. I told him about the passing of my mother and he said " it sounds like your guardian angel just wants you to be happy". For the last 20 years this gentleman has owned that boat. I was just a kid on that boat and now I'll be the new owner of it by this weekend.
It blows me away that I was able to find this boat there are so many old family pictures when I was just a baby on it along with my siblings, so many memories and now more to make.

What are the chances ?

Very sorry on the passing of your mother. Great story and welcome to RDP.

 

[Runs2rch]

That's a picture of it that I got. Thank you for the responses so far about my mom . She was a very special to me, and ment so much to me it's hard to lose a parent so young (59) I'm 30. . The boat will be
dedicated to her and her memory.

I think this was Fred Inman's 32 "Just Tits" was the name.

 

[Joe mama]

Losing a parent is tough, but as said above there is a reason you got that baby back. Great story!

 

[Jay Dub]

I am very sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing your story.

 

[sprintcvx]

Great story, thanks for sharing!. Welcome to the forum

 

[stephenkatsea]

Excellent story. Thanks. Many of us have probably heard the theory of six degrees of separation. For true life long boaters on the River, Mead, Mohave and Havasu I believe that's probably more like 2 degrees and willing to help out each other. RDP is proof of that.

 

[havasuhusker]

My condolences to you and your family. Losing parents is tough. However, like the guy on the phone said, you're guardian angel wants you to be happy. It's strange how life works sometimes. Be sure to share pics of the upgrades.

 

[SKIDMARC]

Cool story and nice boat! Condolences about you mom.

Those older Hallet's seem to have timeless gel designs. What's the story about the name? maddoggies ?

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

What a lovely story. Sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing with our boating community. Welcome.

You owning that boat is the essence of serendipity I think!

Life's a journey and that boat is a part of yours.

 

[HocusPocus]

You and this boat were meant to be together.
Sorry about your mom's passing.

 

[Kthien915]

I finally got the boat !! Thank you for all the condolences it's definitely been a hard few months I appreciate the rdp family.

 

[Kthien915]

Cool story and nice boat! Condolences about you mom.

Those older Hallet's seem to have timeless gel designs. What's the story about the name? maddoggies ?

To be honest I don't know about the name it was already named when my pops bought it in 1990. These days the bulldog on the side is looking a bit rough but I plan to replace the bull dog with a cartoon version of my Doberman.

 

[Kthien915]

I think this was Fred Inman's 32 "Just Tits" was the name.

Have any more information on that? I know it was used by fred for a year only it was the first 32 out of the mold. He upgrades to the first 34 ft if story serves me right. This boat is a true 32 from the bow to stern.

 

[Runs2rch]

Have any more information on that? I know it was used by fred for a year only it was the first 32 out of the mold. He upgrades to the first 34 ft if story serves me right. This boat is a true 32 from the bow to stern.

Back when Fred had a new boat every year. I forget the power. I do remember him pulling some bad ass skiers behind it. Gary Teague and I were shooting the shit about the good ole days and this boat came up today.

 

[Duck'ed_Up]

Back when Fred had a new boat every year. I forget the power. I do remember him pulling some bad ass skiers behind it. Gary Teague and I were shooting the shit about the good ole days and this boat came up today.

If there’s one person who knows how to set up a Hallett its Gary, That guy has a wealth of knowledge up stairs. Up until a few months ago my boss owned a 320 that was GT rigged and not sure why I loved that boat so much... but man it was timeless and could move!

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[Runs2rch]

If there’s one person who knows how to set up a Hallett its Gary, That guy has a wealth of knowledge up stairs. Up until a few months ago my boss owned a 320 that was GT rigged and not sure why I loved that boat so much... but man it was timeless and could move! View attachment 920324
View attachment 920325


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That's Burt's old boat. Talked about him also. Burt is a huge reason Gary is who he is and does what he does. Sadly Burt is gone.

 

[Duck'ed_Up]

That's Burt's old boat. Talked about him also. Burt is a huge reason Gary is who he is and does what he does. Sadly Burt is gone.

I believe you are correct! Hopefully the new owner doesn’t get upset but it was a clean old boat for its age

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[FROGMAN524]

Such a cool thread OP. Sorry for your loss but great story about finding your childhood boat.


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[Rajobigguy]

Great story but sorry for your loss.

 

[Cole Canadian]

Have any more information on that? I know it was used by fred for a year only it was the first 32 out of the mold. He upgrades to the first 34 ft if story serves me right. This boat is a true 32 from the bow to stern.

Great story , and good to think family still looks after us even if their gone.
Condolences and their never really gone if you can remember the good times you had with them.

 

[Kthien915]

Some updates since i have bought this boat, my life has changed drastically, going from one job to another and finally ending up somewhere I feel I’m supposed to be. Working at the fire department for the town I grew up in, feeling honored is a understatement. Not only has my career changed but I’ve met some pretty incredible people that I’m grateful to have met that’s helping me with my project. I feel it’s all apart of the journey.

My girlfriend finished nursing school and got a job immediately in the ER. She was so upset that last year we missed summer and since we both love the water she decided to get one of her own. She said you can have your boat project and take your time building it, but we are going one the lake this year haha! The boat is nothing special but it will get us out there. We picked up a 202br Crownline with a 350 motor really clean and taken care off.

I finally got the engines out of the boat I’m going to take everything out and start fresh. Going to take some time but it will be worth it when I’m done. Engines are going to get a rebuild and upgraded to hopefully to 550 hp each. Going to replace the transom assembly , and possibly rebuild or replace the bravo 1 drives . Rebuild all the hydraulic systems. Little by little it will all get done just will take me some time.

I also had the upper cap in the hull redone, will need more gel coat repairs but have to start somewhere it’s a 32 year old boat . Still need to get the trailer all redone but that’s down the road.

 

[n2otoofast4u]

I had a 202BR as my second boat. Probably best boat I’ve owned. You’ll get lots of drama free trips out of that!

 

[Jay Dub]

We had a Crownline 202 br. Ordered it new. good boat. Lots of great family memories we made in it.

 

[Riverryder]

Congrats to you and your wife!
Why department did you get hired on?

 

[rivermobster]

Can't believe I missed this story the first around...

Congratulations!!!

 

[Roosky01]

Time to add the boat into your family trust with stipulation that it can never be possessed by anyone outside of it.

I absolutely love stories like these whether it's a boat, car, motorcycle, tractor, etc. So happy for you, Sir!

 

[Kthien915]

Congrats to you and your wife!
Why department did you get hired on?

Thanks! Boulder City fire department.

 

[Riverryder]

Finally you got that dam boat Kurt! I can’t remember how my dam times you would talk about this boat! Hahaha

 

[4Waters]

Thanks! Boulder City fire department.

My uncle is Constable there in Boulder City

 

[MotiV8]

Thanks! Boulder City fire department.

Good looking Hallet and awesome that you got it back! I remember seeing it on the lake over the years. Will be cool to see it back out again.

It always amazes me how small of a world this is sometimes, especially Boulder City. I grew up here in BC and over the years have run into many people that have mutual friends or relatives in town. The guy I bought my Daytona from in Glendora was good friends with a guy who lives a couple streets over from me and used to be friends with my dad and uncle. Small world.

 

[Mandelon]

Serendipity is a thing. Glad you were able to get that great boat back in the family. That's so cool.

59 is way too young to go.

 

[Kthien915]

A little more progress on the boat got some things out going to take to powder coat . Transom assembly’s coming out tomorrow

 

[Kthien915]

Got the transom assembly’s out and found some interesting things . Looks like the assembly holes were either mounted in the wrong spot and moved or it was relocated due to bad wood in the transom.
Looks like I might have to get the transom replaced . Any recommendations for transom rebuild or fix?

 

[Ace in the Hole]

@Kthien915 Is that something you could use seacast on?

Another option and You'd have to bring it to him, but Pedro @ Saleen does some solid work.

 

[RiverDave]

Are you sure the transom is bad? You check for moisture? See rot? Or is it Jist a couple extra holes?

Is it soft?

 

[Kachina26]

I know shit about shit, but it looks like maybe they were playing with the x dimension. Might be good to go.

 

[Kthien915]

Are you sure the transom is bad? You check for moisture? See rot? Or is it Jist a couple extra holes?

Is it soft?

I had it surveyed by Jim Lang from northstar marine. His moisture meter showed that there was some areas at risk on the outside of the boats transom interesting enough everything around the transom assembly was virtually dry.
Then he got inside the boat and checked it from the inside. There were a few areas of concern for a lot more moisture in areas that on the outside was dry. He said the meter read about 1/4 inch deep. He tapped the transom all over checking for soft spots seemed to be solid with nothing found. He said he would suggest getting the areas of concern drilled to see if there were any rot inside but did say since it’s a old boat and being a hallett it was not in terrible shape. The stringers read dry he had no concern there.
Once I got these assembly’s out is when I found these extra plugged holes. Btw the bolts for the inner transom were super loose . Boat never suffered from water intrusion or water inside the engine compartment when it was running.

But from there I was poking around these holes, one of them is super thin on material i was able to get one of the dowels out, it was loose once it was out the dowel definitely had moisture and had some rot to it so not sure what to think. Pic below is dowel that came out .

 

[RiverDave]

We’re the wet areas near anything else? Steering? Exhaust?

 

[Kthien915]

We’re the wet areas near anything else? Steering? Exhaust?

No which was also odd to me, it was mostly between the drive and the trim tabs on the inside of the engine compartment. . The other spot of concern was outside where the cable for my water speedometer pickup came through and down to the v of the boat but just in that small area. But it wasn’t a crazy reading just area of concern.