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Years ago in the cold Canadian winter of 1975 a young 12 year old boy labored through the cold of his parents garage to build his first race boat. The summer of 1975 saw the launch of the “River Rat”. An 8 foot Super Spartan hydro-plane with a 9.9 Chrysler outboard. That rat flew. For 4 summers the Algonquin area lakes watched the River Rat race across the glassy waters of teenage summers.

Shaken to its core, the River Rat sat up on blocks waiting to be re-glassed. She wouldn’t float with wishes nor desires. Her joints were loose and seams had opened. What a surprise would be had by the thief who stole her off the blocks if he tried to launch her into deep waters.

In the summer of 2015 I saw an advert for a super spartan project… free. I called and made plans to pick up this project and perhaps finish it to become the next River Rat. The build project had begun years prior at a local high school, and was about 20% started. She rode home on the roof of my car and was hung on the side of the garage waiting for its turn inside the shop.

The late fall of 2019 saw an opening for another project in the shop, Daivz Boat Works in Ontario Canada, where I restore antique boats, build from scratch, repair and finish project boats. Super Spartan has a bench, time to bend some wood. I decided to use recycled parts for this build. So far every piece of wood that has gone into this build came from another boat. The screws and hardware are recycled from other boats. The deck panels, fiberglass, paint, and varnish are new materials.

I’ve been designing the paint job in my mind for some time now. I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the project. Paint plans are starting to solidify, electrical install will be happening soon. I finally have a deck installed and I’m now looking for an engine. Check back to see more build photos and the finished rebuilt “River Rat” ..cheers

Closing down the deck

You are probably going to notice a few modifications with this build. The double wing cockpit combing for example, not exactly stock. But since I’m leaning towards a steam punk style of vessel I started thinking “Bat Mobile”.

Can you notice any other modifications? I finished the interior of the hull before putting on the deck. Notice the out of reach areas are painted a creamy white and the cockpit floor has been epoxied, and Varnished, I added a bunch of brass sparkle dust to the varnish. Shine on you crazy diamond.