CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH MARISTELLA  – A Peek Down Below

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH MARISTELLA  – A Peek Down Below

At the recent Classic Woodys Boat Show at the OBC Marina one of the stand out craft was the 40’ classic wooden launch MARISTELLA, built in 1936 by Sam Ford. The WW camera got to have a gander down below and today we get a peek at the rolling restoration that is underway.

We have commented many times on WW about lucky boats and lucky owners – well MARISTELLA is a double winner. She has in past lives – sunk, caught fire and been on the rocks, and not all at the same time. A succession of good people have put their hand up to bail the vessel out and what we see today is a reflection of everyones vision and commitment.

In particular her current owner gets the big ups from WW having undertaken significant work to the cabin to get her closer to what Sam Ford sent down the slipway in 1936.

Most recently we had a wonderful visual flashback of MARISTELLA from the 1960’s – link below to that story https://waitematawoodys.com/2025/07/30/a-snapshot-of-the-classic-wooden-launch-maristella/

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1 thought on “CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH MARISTELLA  – A Peek Down Below”

  1. She is looking ever so much better than she did with those little round portholes all the way along the coamings aft of the bridgedeck, in my view, but it would be so wonderful, if the job could be completed, & she was put back to how she was when I first saw her in 1946. She had a 4 cyl. GM Detroit diesel)

    It has always been my view, that the MARISTELLA & LADY KARITA, were the 2 most beautiful boats Sam Ford ever built, as original. — KEN R

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