Microplas microboat

[Healey75]

Looks well grumpy as well...

Here's a couple of photos of some of the advertising for the Microboat. Just about readable if you zoom in a bit.

[bergy]

Hi,
This is all fantastic, I really thought I had the only one!
Yes I live just north of Bognor Regis on the south coast, I have only used the boat 3 times, each time in the sea. The 2 hp Honda really wasnt up to much and just vibrated a lot. I am currently looking on eBay to try and pick up something 2 stroke around 8-9hp, I have my eye on a Chryler 9.9 which I'm hoping will make it a little more lively! Although I would only ever take it out on the sea if it was a very calm day

So tell me how you a little more about yours, where did you get the screen? What controls does yours have fitted?
I am thinking of fitting a wheel and fitting some sort of drum steering cable.

So may questions I need to ask but my head is buzzing just knowing that there is another one out there hahaha

Thanks
Ben

[Healey75]

Now here's a thing... what are the chances of one being in Bognor and the other in Chichester...!!!! have sent you a PM with my phone number, give me a call anytime.

[Sea-Jay]

As I recall Petula Clark had one!!!

Just shows what an old fart I am!

[petrolhead]

this is marvellous nes for any large giant too..........we now have a pair of cloggs to suit amazing the two are so close together!

[Tatra Man]

"Seven league boats"!!

[bergy]

Your in Chichester!!!!
Also can't believe you used to use it on the river Wey, I originally come from Woking and my family from Byfleet, I the lived in Burpham right on the Wey for a few years, used to kayak and fish it regularly, small world!!

I got your PM, I will give you a call either tomorrow or Friday, I'd liked to meet up so I can see the boats side by side and get a photo.
Think my renovation job will be over shadowed by yours, I started off with a very very sick hull, had never been painted or used, just been subjected to years of bad storage outside.

Have you run yours since renovating it?

[Healey75]

Mine was kept at Byfleet boat club by Byfleet Bridge, I swapped for a wooden row boat around '62/63 it finsihed up in the garden of a house owned by a local garage owner, the story....

I’ve heard it said that whenever a butterfly lands anywhere in the world it has an effect on our lives, well I’ve never thought much about that before but in the mid of Nov 2010 I realised what my personal butterfly looked like…when it came up for sale on eBay! Meet the Microplus Microboat all 7ft of it.

I’ve been keeping a look out for one of these for the last couple of years without luck and had switched off the searches, then on the CMBA forum a link to a Microboat, I had a look, got excited but had to go out so had another good look the next day and ‘‘I don’t believe it!’’ it turned out to be the very very first boat that I had ever owned, so it had to come home…thanks everyone who sat on their hands, contained their excitement and didn’t bid…no way would you have won though. Speaking to the vendor who does house clearances he was asked to clear a house in Byfleet Surrey part of the clearance was this little boat stashed away


Little boat comes home, I’m sure it was bigger, but then Mars Bars and Wagon Wheels were larger then as well.

So why the butterfly, seeing the boat bought back so many memories and I now realise what a huge influence it had on me and my future life well, I was brought up in Upminster (for those that don’t know where that is , its at the end of the London District Line tube train) and as best as I can date it around 1959 when I was 13 years old the family needed another car, and a 1954 Black Ford Zephyr 6 was chosen (what is now know as a Mk1) Reg XVX 998 the price was £625 a lot in ’59 on the roof of the car as a promotion was the brand new Microboat, I remember how the garage would not reduce the price of the car, take it or leave it boat and all. The boat was duly carted home and turned upside down at the bottom of the garden and left, there was no water near us in darkest Essex… but I remember travelling many mile in that car going on holiday, ice creams, kites sandcastles even driving it in and out the garage…time rolls on and in ’62 I started my apprenticeship at Vickers at the Brooklands circuit in Weybridge Surrey, my parents subsequently moving to nearby Addlestone boat and all. Since the Wey Navigation ran nearby and I got to know one or 2 guys in the area the boat was tarted up and the go faster graphics painted on and Jack who ran the Byfleet boat house and club prevailed to stored the boat on its end leaning against the wall in the office, I remember with a 3hp Evinrude twin on the back we could out run the lock keeper who would chase us along the tow path on his bike ‘politely’ asking us to slow down…I found messing about on boats was for me as well as cars etc. As this is a tale about butterflys we go on… the microboat was sold/swapped in c’63 for a clinker rowing boat needing work, this lead on to a Mirror dingy which we raced all over the south including the nationals in Plymouth (I think we made the top half of the fleet…just, but then there were 120+ boats in a race) During this time I met the opthe half and we needed to buy a place as we were to marry in ’69, house prices around Surrey were out of reach unless you brought a collapsed hovel so we looked further and further south and finished up in Lavant West Sussex, due to my enthusiasm and dubious knowledge of boats I was able to blag my way into a job with a Dell Quay Productions at Emsworth who made dory’s and were them just commencing the build of the Ranger 36 motor yacht. And subsequently with a glassfibre company who made a few boats and a naval architect working on Whitbread round the world yachts amounst others. So we were able to move to Sussex, a succession of boats followed over the years, sailing dingy’s, Heron, National 12 a couple of Fireballs, GP14, Lark, the original wooden Orkney Longliner, a one off wooden sport boat, even a 1/12 share in a 67ft narrow boat, then half dozen sailboards…no doubt others I’ve forgotten…but if it wasn’t for the Microboat none of it would have happened. Eventually I was told to give up dangerous sports, I wanted to be out in at least a force 4 or 5 to get the speed. Subsequently I answered and advert locally for a Delta V4 and joined the CMBA and then there followed a succession of our classics, some worked others didn’t, another Delta with a Fiat 2ltr twin cam, Jinx sport Utility, Fletcher Arrow, Healey 55, a 75, another 75, half share with Ivan in Queen Gull WW2 target boat, Broom Scorpio, a Healey Sprite, another Healey Sprite…all of which happened because of my butterfly landing back in ’59 the memories just keep coming back

So to our current fleet…. ‘Colliwobble’ the ’61 Sport Utility with a Yamato engine and a Merc Mk40H hydro engine (yet to be restored) my half share in Queen Gull, Healey Marine Sprite and my personal butterfly the c’59 Microplus Microboat…if this little boat had not come into my life I don’t think I would have discovered and become hooked on boats and you would not be reading this.

[sean-nós]

I have a bid of €50 on one of these little boats at the moment is it worth buying and how high should I go.



Also spotted this on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1958-Motor-Sp ... 1196225449

[Healey75]

Oh wow! another one I paid £53 for mine on ebay in about the same condition...however nobody was going to beat me in the auction as it was my actual first boat I ever owned over 50 years ago! so I guess it's what it's worth to you. The main thing on this one is it still has the 'Microboat' front cast handle and it looks like the makers plate inside on the transom. The windscreen I made from polycarbonate and the trim around the screen/cockpit is still available. Good luck hope you get it. I've only ever come across 1 other.