Back to Cortez Village

I went back down to Cortez Village (Florida) today to their annual seafood festival. The boat shop had many boats on exhibit. Here are a few of them.

The Sallie Adams is a centerboarder and one of the first boats built by the Cortez boat shop.

The Esperanza is a genuine Cuban refugee boat that was found beached and abandoned and has been restored by the Cortez Boat Shop.

Mighty Sparrow is a traditional Abaco (Bahamas) built sailing dinghy. She may have been built by the Malone family.

This is another larger Abaco built sloop with a "smack" well. The well that you see in the center of the boat is water tight to the bilge at the bottom. Holes are drilled in the bottom planks of the hull to allow seawater to fill the well like a live baitwell. Thus live fish and Conch can be harvested and/or transported over great distances without refrigeration in the tropical climate. This type of construction is still used and can be seen even  in large sloops called "Smack Boats" or in Bahmian dialect "Smaak Booats".

"Salty" whale boat conversion

A good friend of mine is cruising on his sailboat in the Florida Keys and ran into this converted navy motor whaleboat in the mooring field in Marathon. It is perhaps one of the nicest whale boat conversions I have seen.

Legnos Mystic 20 Cat Boat for sale

I found this fiberglass LEGNOS built 20’ Mystic cat which has been totally refitted by a very knowledgeable yachtsman in Tampa, FL. and is offered for sale at a reduced price of $15,900. She has a Thoosa state of the art 48 volt D.C. electric motor that also recharges the batteries when under sail providing for good range under silent power. For more on Thoosa motors click here and check out the 7000 series. She has a tabernacled mast with a 12 volt winch for easy raising and lowering of the rig for trailering. She has been painted inside and out with cream colored Awlgrip and shines like new. The exact build date is unknown but believed to be in the middle range of these builds. For further details go to: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1977/Legnos-Mystic-Cat-Boat-2306321/Tampa/FL/United-States or Yachtworld listing# 77008-2306321. Call Craig Starns at (813) 340-0227 or email craig@rossyachtsales.com for info and to arrange an inspection.

The Legnos cats are know for their handsome lines, wineglass stern, and fully underwater rudders that do not extend beyond the transom top.