1920's Hicks Marine Gas Engine

Fantastic model! Thanks for the memories. I've known a Hicks or three over the years, but, sadly, that was back when I was too young to really foresee the day when there wouldn't be any of the old timers left who knew these "one lung-ers" like the back of their hand. I remember in the early 'seventies I had a friend berthed next to me with a 34' Monterey (a large one) with a Hicks in her. (He'd been given the boat for free. Nobody else wanted it.) We'd lean back against the side of the hull to get some purchase and get the flywheel spinning with our foot to start her up! Another boat, a little 1923 Anderson and Christofani-built scow sloop, Squarehead, built for pleasure use, was restored by Ned Martin, the harbormaster at Pelican Harbor in Sausalito, CA, and had a brand new Hicks installed. That Hicks came from the legendary ship-breaker, Donny Arques in Sausalito. He had it in his warehouse for decades, still in its original crate, and gave it to Ned to put in the boat so it would "have a home." I don't know now whatever happened to those boats, though. Back then, nobody really appreciated them much. ("Too big. Too heavy. Too dangerous. Too old.") All the old working boats were repowered with diesels and their old "one lung-ers" went to the scrap yard.

There was nothing quite so evocative of the San Francisco Bay that once was, and never will be again, as the "ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk" of a Hicks pushing a Monterey towards the Gate as dawn was breaking over the Berkeley hills. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be!  

An incredible example of outstanding craftsmanship......a pleasure to review the photos. Thanx for sharing...Moab

On 12/21/2019 at 11:32 AM, Bob Cleek said:

Fantastic model! Thanks for the memories....

Thanks for YOUR comments, Bob. By any chance was that big 34 footer "St. Erina"? She's seen some hard times since then. 

News on that, and hundreds more photos, at my Monterey Clipper site: https://montereyclippers.wordpress.com/

-Patrick

Don't recall her name, if she even had one at that point. We just called her "the Monterey." She'd had her fishing gear stripped off of her and was basically just a hull and pilothouse with the Hicks sitting in her. MY buddy got her for nothing, just something to play around with. He was always doing that with old boats. Back in the early seventies, if you were around the harbors regularly, there were boats to be had that nobody else wanted.