Spot the boat (with a twist)

MapisM said:
Nope V, surface drives were not around at all (yet) in early 60s, IIRC. Below is the boat layout, showing the very classic straight shafts.
Btw, since you mentioned the accomodation, actually there is some. Accessible via porthole+ladder in the bow section, as you can see... :eek:
Re. the construction, she's built in glued laminated mahogany. Four layers of it, crossed at 45° - a typical Levi technique.
I would loooove to see you involved in a restoration project on this boat! :)
UltimaDeaSezioni.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow - great find. Perhaps a forum project? :rolleyes: Shame we're all so scattered as it certainly deserves saving!
 
rbcoomer said:
I can see she retired from the Viareggio/Bastia/Viareggio on July 24th, but yet can't see why. (I'm working my way through here: http://www.viareggiobastiaviareggio.com/1966.html but you'll no doubt do that much quicker than me as my Italian is almost non-existent :o)
...
Edit: Ultima Dea suffered a broken rocker arm after 5 miles on the Viareggio to Bastia run.
Click to expand...
I just had a look, and yep, that webpage confirms that Ultima Dea ran the VBV in 1966, but retired pretty soon.
Btw, if you understood the brocken rocker arm after 5 miles, actually your Italian is quite remarkable! :)
They also say that the 3 Maseratis had already been replaced by two BPM V8, by that time.
 
MapisM said:
I just had a look, and yep, that webpage confirms that Ultima Dea ran the VBV in 1966, but retired pretty soon.
Btw, if you understood the brocken rocker arm after 5 miles, actually your Italian is quite remarkable! :)
They also say that the 3 Maseratis had already been replaced by two BPM V8, by that time.
Click to expand...

Sadly the translation credit must go to Google... :rolleyes:

Quite a find you made there - is it local to you?
 
Well done MapisM what a find!

Are you going to enquire about the price? Now where are am I going to find three Maserati V8s... cos owning a Levi boat with only one V8 seems petty lame now.
 
Yep W, they do.
Actually (in reply also to other previous posts), the finding was already reported on this webpage of theirs:
http://www.altomareblu.com/il-ritrovamento-dellultima-dea-da-barca-offshore-a/
As you can see, it's dated Feb 2008, and the boat is still in the very same place.
Btw, in the second to last paragraph of the article, they also say that someone tried to purchase and restore the boat, but the owner request was ridiculously high, considering the boat conditions.
Which after all these years surely didn't get any better...
...so, who knows, maybe the owner made up his mind and became more reasonable in the meantime.

What do you reckon folks, should I try to get in touch with him? :)

As an initial contribution for the project, I'll throw in an idea.
Since marinized Maserati engines afaik do not exist anywhere on the planet (and they obviously weren't so reliable also back in their days, considering that they were swapped after just a few years), why not think of Seatek diesels instead?
Of course, it wouldn't be a 100% kosher restoration, but if the boat was good for almost 50 knots with 3 petrol hot tempered beasts, delivering 1300 hp or so at 6k rpm, just imagine how she would ride with a couple of military rated diesels, overall lighter, and 1600hp @ 3k rpm... :cool:
I bet Levi would also have gone for such setup, half a century ago, if only he would have had the choice...
 
Seatek or new FPT diesels would do the trick....

I read that article on AMB as I am a fan of that site. Have read that like 90% of it, altough when seeing the boat it did not click.

That boats need some love and in my mind I think you could give it to here M.
 
As a Levi owner I find this thread interesting and informative. It would be nice to see the boat restored to her former glory.
 
Glad you've found this of some interest. Which Levi boat have you got, if I may ask?
WIth apologies if you alredy mentioned that and I forgot (and/or I forgot the association between her and your alias... :)).
 
I have a Corsair but fishing style rather than sports boat. Not come across another one like her though.
 

Attachments

  • 07062009.jpg
    07062009.jpg
    84.8 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
gordmac said:
I have a Corsair but fishing style rather than sports boat. Not come across another one like her though.
Click to expand...
Neither did I, so far.
Interesting boat anyway, with an unmistakably (and beautiful) Levi hull.
Otoh, the superstructure has an afterthought flavour, TBH. Is it original?
 
Spi D said:
FYI Salpa boats in Italy claim to be Levi designs.
Click to expand...
Yep, I'm aware of that.
To me, their hulls always looked more like Levi "inspired" than designed, but I can't tell for sure...
I'm not surprised to hear what Levi Jr told you, anyway.
 
MapisM said:
Neither did I, so far.
Interesting boat anyway, with an unmistakably (and beautiful) Levi hull.
Otoh, the superstructure has an afterthought flavour, TBH. Is it original?
Click to expand...
As far as I am aware it is original, I was kindly sent an old ad for my boat and an advertising type picture for similar (or same). A bit underpowered with two Ford D6s on shafts.
 
MapisM said:
That's just what inspired the pic, in the first place.
It's rather because the boat, in spite of its sad state, believe it or not is actually a one-off example from one of the most famous designers ever...
...Which made me think that it could make a nice saturday's STB... :)
Rainbow_zps0e6138bf.jpg
Click to expand...

This is a great thread.:o The video links took me back to Donald Campbell era.:cool: I just love the 'Pathe news' style commentary.

It is one thing to find the boat and take the picture.

What made you think it was a one-off?

And can you let us in your path of research to come up with what the boat is and her pedigree?

It must have taken some time...
 
Well, I can't honestly say that I had to invest a lot of time on this search... Quite the opposite, TBH.
I've been aware of this boat and of her history for years, though this thread eventually revealed some further details/videos I wasn't aware of.
Fact is, I though of taking a pic just because of the nice rainbow against the stormy sky, and only after seeing the pic on the PC, I though it was worth an unusual STB... :o

Otoh, I fully agree that this kind of STB is much more interesting than the usual friday stuff.
So, I won't miss the opportunity to post another one if and when I'll come across a similarly interesting boat.
Though it would be nice if also others (Jack/YBW included, maybe? With all due respect for the "traditional" but imho a bit boring STB...) would take up the gauntlet.
The chances to find interesting and rare boats can obviously be much higher, with more than just a couple of eyes looking around... :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top