Inland Seas Steel Clipper

"Steel Afloat" is a special one of a kind 1965 Inland Seas Steel Clipper Built in Sandusky Ohio. It was designed by a very talented navelarchitect named Archie Lang who was also the founder of the Inland Seas Boat company.Inland Seas boats were very well madeand werebuilt to last the test of time. They are extremely seaworthy and will take whatever seas come their way. It sports gracefulclassic lines ,is built like a tank, & will ride like a Cadilac. This boat is of particular significants in that it wasoriginallybuilt as a 32 footer as you can still see in the picture of its hull number plaque. It's second owner(in the early 70s) brought it back to the Inland Seas factory and asked Archie Lange if he could lengthen the boats aft cockpit. They loved this boat and justwanted some extra room to better accomodate family and friends. Archie was up for the task and re engineered this boat to include a 4 foot addition just forward of the aft deck. This boat ended up becoming the only 32' Inland Seas that was ever factory extended to be a 36 footer. This addition was done by the same factory thatoriginallybuilt her. We purchased this boat several years ago with the intent to restore her to her former glory. Since then we have tackled several tasks. The entire hull and superstructure was sandblasted to bare metal to remove all the years of paint buildup and to inspect the condition of the steel. At that point we discovered that there was some thin spots mostly in the bilge below the aft cockpit, This is somewhat common on these boats as rain water/ weather over time gets thru the floor and sits under the storage compartment below decks. We had a very qualified mobil welding outfit come out and completely replace approximately 8' of the bottom along with the grid work of frames in that area. The foward bilge at the boat's lowest point below the forward bunk (where bilge water collects) also had some deteriorated steel ,so that area was also replaced as well.After being blasted the hull was treated with a vinyl based sealer similar to what was put on by the factory when new. Then over the sealer we applied epoxy barrier coat primer.Inside the boat we removed the original galvanized gas tanks and had a set of brand new custom gas tanks made. They have never been installed and have been in storage still strapped to the pallet they were delivered on.All of the original exterior philippine mahogany wood trim and teak swim platform wood has been stripped to bare wood and revarnished. These wood parts have been in indoor storage ever since. The stainless bow and stern rails arein good conditionand are in storage as well. All of the deck hardware was removed and sent out to be stripped and re chrome (in triple chrome) plated and is all in excelent condition still wrappedup in paperthe way it left the chrome shop.The dash is 100%in tact and correct with all of the original gauges and switches.It's interior is also all original.

We have never heard the engines run but they were fogged and winterized by the previous owner. These are the original engines to this boat and certainly can be restored and used again. Ford intercepter engines were and still are very sought after motors . When we purchased the boat the previous owner told us that he had the engines rebuilt. Unfortunatelywe don't have any reciepts or paperwork about the rebuilds.The original tags and manuals for these engines from day one are all included with the sale. The original manuals for most of the other systems are all included as well. This boat has never left the fresh waters of Lake Erie in it's entire existence.

There is a trailer under the boat in the pictures. It is not included in the sale of the boat. The trailer can be purchased for an additional $3,000 to the winning bidder. The massive fifth wheel trailer was custom built specifically for another slightly smallerInland Seas but does fit this boat well. We replaced all 8 of its 10 ply heavy duty tires and all of its bearings a few years ago.

As you can see in the pictures, the restoration is not complete. The problem is that I have been restoring classic boats professionally for 20 years but rarely get the time to work on a boat of my own.This unique Inland Seas Steel Clipper deserves to be restored and enjoyed.Inside the boat we removed the original galvanized gas tanks and had a set of brand new custom gas tanks made. They have never been installed and have been in storage still strapped to the pallet they were delivered on.All of the original exterior philippine mahogany wood trim and teak swim platform wood has been stripped to bare wood and revarnished. These wood parts have been in indoor storage ever since. The stainless bow and stern rails arein good conditionand are in storage as well. All of the deck hardware was removed and sent out to be stripped and re chrome (in triple chrome) plated and is all in excelent condition still wrappedup in paperthe way it left the chrome shop.The dash is 100%in tact and correct with all of the original gauges and switches.It's interior is also all original.

We have never heard the engines run but they were fogged and winterized by the previous owner. These are the original engines to this boat and certainly can be restored and used again. Ford intercepter engines were and still are very sought after motors . When we purchased the boat the previous owner told us that he had the engines rebuilt. Unfortunatelywe don't have any reciepts or paperwork about the rebuilds.The original tags and manuals for these engines from day one are all included with the sale. The original manuals for most of the other systems are all included as well. This boat has never left the fresh waters of Lake Erie in it's entire existence.

There is a trailer under the boat in the pictures. It is not included in the sale of the boat. The trailer can be purchased for an additional $3,000 to the winning bidder. The massive fifth wheel trailer was custom built specifically for another slightly smallerInland Seas but does fit this boat well. We replaced all 8 of its 10 ply heavy duty tires and all of its bearings a few years ago.

Inside the boat we removed the original galvanized gas tanks and had a set of brand new custom gas tanks made. They have never been installed and have been in storage still strapped to the pallet they were delivered on.All of the original exterior philippine mahogany wood trim and teak swim platform wood has been stripped to bare wood and revarnished. These wood parts have been in indoor storage ever since. The stainless bow and stern rails arein good conditionand are in storage as well. All of the deck hardware was removed and sent out to be stripped and re chrome (in triple chrome) plated and is all in excelent condition still wrappedup in paperthe way it left the chrome shop.The dash is 100%in tact and correct with all of the original gauges and switches.It's interior is also all original.We have never heard the engines run but they were fogged and winterized by the previous owner. These are the original engines to this boat and certainly can be restored and used again. Ford intercepter engines were and still are very sought after motors . When we purchased the boat the previous owner told us that he had the engines rebuilt. Unfortunatelywe don't have any reciepts or paperwork about the rebuilds.The original tags and manuals for these engines from day one are all included with the sale. The original manuals for most of the other systems are all included as well. This boat has never left the fresh waters of Lake Erie in it's entire existence. There is a trailer under the boat in the pictures. It is not included in the sale of the boat. The trailer can be purchased for an additional $3,000 to the winning bidder. The massive fifth wheel trailer was custom built specifically for another slightly smallerInland Seas but does fit this boat well. We replaced all 8 of its 10 ply heavy duty tires and all of its bearings a few years ago. As you can see in the pictures, the restoration is notcomplete. The problem is that I have been restoring classic boats professionally for 20 years but rarely get the time to work on a boat of my own.This unique Inland Seas Steel Clipper deserves to be restored and enjoyed.