JunkB4

Junk B4 – 3 litre Holden

OWNERS – Grant & Kevin Grech.
SEACRAFT 1965

With a name like that, it’s pretty obvious.
As far back as I can remember Kevin and I have wanted a “Butter Box”!!! When a friend of mine told me that he had an old piece of junk given to him, I laughed and asked, “What the hell are you going to do with that?” I went along to have a look and that’s where my hard work started. Sitting there was an old ’65 model Seacraft, separate cockpit, full of dry rot and holes, a basket case. It hadn’t seen water for 19 years. He had no idea where to start or what to do. I asked him to pass it on to me but there seemed to be no chance of that. So, as all smart guys know, start on his Missus. After 6 months of hassling her, the torment was over. I went and picked up the rotted heap on the worst excuse for a trailer I had ever seen and brought it straight to Kevin’s. “MARIKA III” was home. The only person to have any sort of excitement was Kev. The rest of us just shook our heads and said, “Lets just burn it”. Once Kev took to it, it was worse than expected. What was expected to be a re-skin was now a complete rebuild. Kevin and I removed every stick of timber, piece by piece, and remanufactured them. The frame was now done. That’s where my father came into it. After a lot of arguments, blood, sweat and tears, the boat took shape and we were ready for polish, a motor and an interior. Oh, and a new trailer, once again, Kev’s handy work. With a total of 3 months from start to finish, it was ready to see the water. With the original 179 HP it was no power pak but it was “OUR”, pride and joy. We skied our butts off with it.

Twelve months later back to the shed it went. Kev’s head had been ticking over again. Out with the old Holden six, in with the new 3-litre Commodore motor. A new coat of polish and it was off to Extreme Design where Matt gave the appearance a bit of a lift with the very different style of sign writing.

With our new look and power sauce, we now have a boat that looks good, goes well and handles sensationally. Kevin and Jenny’s girls, Melanie and Courtney are skiing very well and are looking for more power already. If I’m not wrong I can hear Kev’s head ticking again and looking to please his girls. For now we will be happy to say that we have a boat that we can truly call “OURS” and be proud of what has come out of the shed. Reliable and lots of fun.