A classic wooden motoryacht sitting abandoned since 2009 in a Hawaiian marina can be had for as little as a buck, according to the local harbormaster.
“For a wooden-boat enthusiast, $1 would be the right price,” Charles Barclay, harbormaster for Kewalo Basin Harbor in Honolulu, told KITV News. “I have to be sure the person has a plan [and] they have the wherewithal to take the boat out so that it doesn’t become a problem at another state harbor.”
Click play for a video report by KITV News.
At least one estimate cited in the news report sets a $150,000 price tag to appropriately restore the yacht, named Vida Mia throughout its 84-year history. It would likely take much more to fully restore her.
“I want someone to be the angel for this boat and return it to the glory it used to have,” said Barclay.
The yacht will be destroyed if an owner is not found.
The 61-footer was built in 1929 by Stephens Brothers Boatbuilders (now Stephens Marine) of Stockton, Calif.
Of the 14 yachts built by Stephens Brothers that year, the diesel-powered Vida Mia was the largest. It was featured in Pacific Motor Boat magazine, according to a story in WoodenBoat magazine.
Built as a private yacht, Vida Mia was operated as a charter vessel in recent years and reportedly hosted such celebrities as Elizabeth Taylor, Louis Vuitton and John Travolta.
Vida Mia is showing her age, with considerable rot and peeling varnish.
She last exited the harbor under her own power in February 2010 to avoid a tsunami, Barclay told WoodenBoat. A month later, her bow chocks were ripped out in a southerly swell.
Anyone interested in acquiring Vida Mia should contact Barclay at (808) 594-0851 or [email protected].
For a closer look at the yacht, click here for a photo album posted on Flickr.
