Shepherd Speed Boat Deep Water

In the 50s, wood boats were all the craze, just like old muscle cars. Fast forward to 2019 and you can come to Jims Classic Garage and find them all and reminisce.

The attached wood boat is one of the elite wood Mahogany boats ever built. This is a rare 1955 22 all wood boat built in Niagara-In-the Lake, Ontario. Lloyd Henry Shepherd and his son Howard Henry Shepherd founded Shepherd Boat Works in 1928 in St. Catharine's. In 1939 they opened the plant at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario with few boats ever crossing the border. Shepherd boats were designed and constructed to meet the highest quality standards. As one of the first pioneers of the "V" drive Shepherd discovered that by implementing the new "V" drive in it's runabout and mounting the engine further back it created more room in the cockpit.

From their humble beginning Shepherd boat appointed a single U.S. dealer, Jafco Marine Basin, Inc. out of Buffalo, N.Y. to begin distribution of their fine mahogany boats. Shepherd speedboats were on display at the 1950 New York National Boat Show and stole the show with rave reviews. Their popularity quickly grew in the Midwest with multiple dealers in some states. This was quite a feat for a small, custom boat builder. The 50's were a booming era for the production of Shepherds. The firm was bought out by Trojan Boat Co. of Pennsylvania in 1958. By 1960 aluminum and fiberglass boats were 'all the rage' and had completely invaded the wood speedboat market. Most inboard builders made the switch from wood to follow the trend, however Shepherd did not follow suit. The market for wood boats had all but dried up. They phased out construction of all Shepherd runabouts by the early 60's. Trojan eventually retooled the old Shepherd plant to accommodate production of their larger motor yachts. In the restructuring the historical information and materials were most likely discarded as little information can be found today.

They refer to these Shepherds as Deep Water Boats youll never find a safer boat to head out on a classic cocktail cruise, or a quick jaunt at 40 mph to Roche Harbor or Canada.

The Gm engine was manufactured by KEM industries in Oregon. Shes got a brand new V6 with over 250hp and a new velvet drive transmission. Weve had the entire electrical system replaced new, along with all new hoses, belts, cooling system, steering systems packing, etc. $15k went into de-winterizing the boat after being in storage for over 2 years.

Ive got the boat in the water and have found no leaks whatsoever. The interior feels new and is quite comfortable. Between my wife, myself and Trigger the lab, weve put over 50 miles on it in all kinds of weather on the boat. At 30mph shes smooth. At 40mph, she runs over anything with her fiberglass bottom.

The wood deck in back and foredeck need attention. Because of weathering in Canada where it was stored, it took a toll on the wood and although theres no reason to sand on it, weve estimated that our shop would perform all sanding, finishing and re-stain from the water line, all the way up and including the dash for an additional $30k.

She also comes with an extremely nice Ez-Loader tandem axle trailer.

For more details and possibly a test drive, please call Jim @ phone. As work on the boat continues, the price goes up.