The last of the Higgins.
 

PT 658, The last operational WWII PT boat. Descriptions of the armaments and interior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLxW-Y8xevg

The last of the Higgins.
 

wrote:
On Mon, 12 May 2014 20:19:15 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

PT 658, The last operational WWII PT boat. Descriptions of the armaments and interior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLxW-Y8xevg

The navy was selling some old PT boats in the early 50s for about $500
in Portsmouth (Va) and my father was pretty serious about buying one
but that was a bunch of money in those days. My grandmother's family
in St George Island offered him a place to work on it and help.
In the end my mother stepped on the idea because she wanted to move
into a bigger house and that was what we did.
My father really thought parting it put was worth more than trying to
restore it but that was not what he said at the time.

My dad converted one to Grey Marine diesels in the 50's for a customer.
They took it out in SF Bay for a run before the engine swap. Dad said you
could actually see the gas gauge move at full speed.

The last of the Higgins.
 

On Monday, May 12, 2014 11:01:15 PM UTC-7, Califbill wrote:
wrote:

On Mon, 12 May 2014 20:19:15 -0700 (PDT), Tim

wrote:



PT 658, The last operational WWII PT boat. Descriptions of the armaments and interior.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLxW-Y8xevg



The navy was selling some old PT boats in the early 50s for about $500

in Portsmouth (Va) and my father was pretty serious about buying one

but that was a bunch of money in those days. My grandmother's family

in St George Island offered him a place to work on it and help.

In the end my mother stepped on the idea because she wanted to move

into a bigger house and that was what we did.

My father really thought parting it put was worth more than trying to

restore it but that was not what he said at the time.



My dad converted one to Grey Marine diesels in the 50's for a customer.

They took it out in SF Bay for a run before the engine swap. Dad said you

could actually see the gas gauge move at full speed.

Yes, from what I've been told, those three Packard's could process the fuel!

The last of the Higgins.
 

In article ,
says...

On Mon, 12 May 2014 20:19:15 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

PT 658, The last operational WWII PT boat. Descriptions of the armaments and interior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLxW-Y8xevg

The navy was selling some old PT boats in the early 50s for about $500
in Portsmouth (Va) and my father was pretty serious about buying one
but that was a bunch of money in those days. My grandmother's family
in St George Island offered him a place to work on it and help.
In the end my mother stepped on the idea because she wanted to move
into a bigger house and that was what we did.
My father really thought parting it put was worth more than trying to
restore it but that was not what he said at the time.

I sailed with a guy who was a disbursing Lt. at war's end on
the West coast. Served in the islands, don't' remember which ones.
Said he made some money buying PT's just for the engines, because his
position allowed him dibs.
I take it with a grain of salt, but he seemed an honest guy.
Wish I kept a journal of his stories.
He had many.

The last of the Higgins.
 

Greg, that boat would be quite a financial undertaking for a typical wording man. I'd love to have one too but I couldn't afford the spark plugs for those Packards let alone the fuel

The last of the Higgins.
 

Now a group is working on restoring the PT-305 from a bare hull. According to the comments, they're 'planning' a launch next spring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNmB-1wq5n4

The last of the Higgins.
 

On Mon, 12 May 2014 20:19:15 -0700 (PDT), Tim wrote:

PT 658, The last operational WWII PT boat. Descriptions of the armaments and interior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLxW-Y8xevg

While working for the Coast and Geodetic Survey in the Bahamas, we used an old, refurbished, diesel
powered PT boat to get around on. Of course, it was civilianized and didn't have any of the military
accoutrements, like guns. The Captain was a crusty old asshole Bahamian, but he made some great
conch chowder. Should have taken some pictures, but they'd be lost anyway. All my slides from
pre-1987 got 'lost' (i.e. stolen) during our move to Germany. They happened to be in the same box as
my bayonet collection. Strange, huh?

The last of the Higgins.
 

On Tue, 13 May 2014 07:35:59 -0500, Boating All Out wrote:

In article ,
says...

On Mon, 12 May 2014 20:19:15 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

PT 658, The last operational WWII PT boat. Descriptions of the armaments and interior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLxW-Y8xevg

The navy was selling some old PT boats in the early 50s for about $500
in Portsmouth (Va) and my father was pretty serious about buying one
but that was a bunch of money in those days. My grandmother's family
in St George Island offered him a place to work on it and help.
In the end my mother stepped on the idea because she wanted to move
into a bigger house and that was what we did.
My father really thought parting it put was worth more than trying to
restore it but that was not what he said at the time.

I sailed with a guy who was a disbursing Lt. at war's end on
the West coast. Served in the islands, don't' remember which ones.
Said he made some money buying PT's just for the engines, because his
position allowed him dibs.
I take it with a grain of salt, but he seemed an honest guy.
Wish I kept a journal of his stories.
He had many.


Tell us about sailing around Cape Horn. That's always a good story.