1913 60' NY Yacht, Launch & Engine Co.

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Originally commissioned as Sispud II in 1913 by Joseph B. Cousins, Esquire, a well known lawyer of his time. 

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She was then sold to James Adams. During this time, Edna Ferber, a celebrated author, spent many nights aboard the Sispud II, where the inspiration for her book "Showboat" came from, which went on to become a beloved Broadway musical of the same name. The Sispud II was then sold to Nina Howard.

 

She was lost for most the 1950s, '60s, and 70's. 

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In 1990, Earl McMillen found her in a boatyard in Georgia. He renamed her Zapala and enjoyed driving her around the Maryland Waterways.

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In 2003, Palmetto Bluff got a hold of the vessel, renaming her Grace, after the sister of R.T. Wilson Jr., who owned Palmetto Bluff in the beginning of the 20th century. Grace was married to Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt III. 

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When she came to us December 2014, she needed to be updated to fit modern Coast Guard standards as well as fix up the problems she had aged into. Almost a year to the day of arrival, Grace left on her way back to Palmetto Bluff.

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We had replaced 31 bottom planks and 40 ribs. More than 65% of the keel was dead wood that had to be replaced. The engine was rebuilt and reinstalled. Fourteen floor timbers were replaced from the galley going forward and so much more. 

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"They are true magicians. To know every bit of material, to source woods and grains that haven't been used for decades, they are craftsmen unlike I've ever seen," Chris Story of Palmetto Bluff said of Moores Marine. 

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If you'd like to read more on what we did or on the history of Grace, click HERE.