A Rare Find 1956 22'

Shepherd Sportsman.

A couple years ago I received a call about a wooden boat in a garage that had been sitting there for a while. The owner had passed away and the family had no interest in the boat. They wanted to know if anyone in the area was interested in an old wooden boat that needed to be restored. Someone thought of me since I have redone several Lymans through the years and completely restored my 1953 45-foot Chris-Craft Woodstock that my family enjoyed for 20 years

My son and I went to look at this boat, which was only about 20 miles from our house. When we arrived at the owner’s home and they opened the two-car garage door, there were actually two boats inside: A 14-foot Wolverine cold molded and a 22foot Shepherd Sportsman that had been in the garage since 1983!

As you can imagine, it was pretty dirty, but the overall condition of the boat wasn’t too bad. We loaded it up onto a flatbed truck and brought it back to my home shop. Over a period of about two years and a lot of cleaning, I replaced the complete transom, sheer plank and a number of sideboards, and refastened the entire bottom. The rest of the boat’s bottom was in very good condition since it had been stored inside for almost 40 years.

Shepherd boats were built out of

Honduras mahogany, which is a very rare wood but excellent for boat building. These boats were built in Canada near the St. Lawrence river in Niagara on the Lake. They have a high freeboard and are a good rough water dayboat. The boat is powered by a Chrysler M475 6-cylinder flathead with Zenith carburetors.

The engine was also in very good condition. After a compression check we found only two stuck valves. We pulled the head off and did a complete valve job and then a test run on the engine. The engine fired right up and ran perfectly.

I had many hours of sanding, varnishing and refinishing, and we had a new canvas Bimini made. A custom trailer was also made just for this boat. On our first launch, my sons, along with the gentleman who had originally told me about the boat, put her in the water and it went flawlessly! It was a dry ride and very comfortable with about a 25 mph cruising speed. The sound of the Chrysler flathead engine was beautiful.

These boats are very rare and I am so glad I had the chance to come across this one. We can’t wait to put her back in the water next summer to make some more memories.

—Tom Stock, Amherst, OH