by Stan Petersen

For those of us who have succumbed to the lure and the love of classic boats, we know that they are more than wood and work and varnish. They are precious vessels that contain not only our lives and our memories but which also carry the histories of all those owners who have come before us and connect us with the past. Some are lucky enough to discover these stories and bring the past alive. Here is one such story and like any good fairy tale it begins with a “once upon a time...”

(Jim and Joyce Brady of Mount Dora wrote the original article. They interviewed Mrs. Rhoades and were the ones who found her in Detroit. I had asked them, when they were returning to Detroit for the summer, if they would look for anyone who might be related to Dr. F.P. Rhoades. It was they who found Mrs. Rhoades. (Stan Petersen)

Once upon a time and long ago, there was a young doctor and his wife and they purchased a brand new beautiful Red and White Chris Craft 25’ Express Cruiser. Their names were Dusty and Nell Rhoades and the time was 1946, just a year after the end of World War II.

During the war, Dusty attempted to enlist in the army several times, but each time he was told that his services were needed more as a civilian doctor. So he continued to serve as a Detroit family physician and to provide wonderful health care to his many patients by making house calls whenever necessary. He was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Nell held the rank of Major as head of the Red Cross Motor Corps at Romulus Airbase, now Detroit Metropolitan Airport. During the war, she was responsible for 15 volunteer drivers working seven days a week, twelve hours a day. Nell was also a certified mechanic and held an army license to drive all army equipment, including amphibious tanks and weapons carriers. For her efforts, Nell received recognition from President Truman for “Meritorious personal service performed on behalf of the nation.”

It is no wonder, that after the war ended, Nell and Dusty were ready to relax and experience the pleasures of their boat, “Little Nell II”, cruising the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and the Great Lakes area. One of Nell’s favorite past-times on was to tie a line to an inner tube and float behind the boat (while anchored) with her transistor radio in one hand and a tall Tom Collins in the other. Dusty and Nell attended boating activities at both the Windsor Yacht Club and the Detroit Yacht Club and went on many rendezvous with their friends. One couple, Katie and Bill Coda also owned a Red and White Chris Craft Express Cruiser and shared many boating adventures together with the Rhoades.

Dusty and Nell’s home was located on canal property where Lake St. Clair enters into the Detroit River. They harbored their boat in a boathouse at the back of their property and every March, they started getting the boat in shape for a new boating season. The first task was to scrap the bottom, which was hard work, but as Nell says, “a labor of love”. Beginning the first of April, once the ice floats had melted, the boat was lowered by chain-falls into the water for its first swim of the season. Throughout the summer and well into the fall, “Little Nell II” was used during every free moment that Dusty and Nell had. Nell recalls that many a hot, sweltering night before central air conditioning, they would be lying in bed when Dusty would roll over and ask, “Are you awake? Do you want to go for a boat ride to cool off?” At 2:00 in the morning they would board their boat in their pj’s and head out for a cruise around Peche or Belle Isle, uninhabited islands located between Detroit and Windsor in the Detroit River.
And so, for the next thirty-seven years, Dusty and Nell and “Little Nell II” were inseparable. As Nell states, “The boat was the joy of our lives for many years.” However, the time eventually came when they could no longer maintain the boat and sold it to a young neighbor – a very sad day, indeed.

According to records that had been kept throughout the years by Chuck Grewe, a St. Clair, Michigan boat broker, “Little Nell II” was sold to Michael Muer on May 16,1983. Mike kept the boat for just a short period of time during the summer of ‘83. On August 15,1983, he sold the boat to a Detroit Police Officer, John Romanowski, who owned a small marina. “Little Nell II” belonged to Officer Romanowski for almost seven years.

On June 23,1990, Chuck Grewe learned that Mark Evans, an ACBS member from Southbury, Connecticut was looking for a Red and White Express Cruiser. Mr. Grewe arranged to purchase “Little Nell II” from John Romanowski; by this time, the boat”was showing the effects of being exposed to the elements and was badly in need of restoration and someone to care for her. Mr. Evans purchased “Little Nell II” which was completely equipped and had Chris Johnson transport the boat to the restoration shop of Roger Standt in Brookfield, Connecticut.

At the shop, a “game plan” regarding the restoration of “Little Nell II” was established. Evans and Standt began by removing all the hardware from the boat. According to Standt, the restoration involved replacing most of the keel, chines, some frames, a new double bottom and some starboard planks. This work was done over a period of time between 1991 through 1993. At that point, “Little Nell II” left the shop and Evans placed her in storage.

Five years had passed when the 1998 winter issue of the ABCs magazine, THE RUDDER, carried an ad offering a Red and White Express Cruiser for sale. “Little Ell II”, owned by Mark Evens, was once again up for sale; however, she was not on the market for long. Stan Peters purchased her on February 29,1998 and arranged to have her transported by ABCs member John Freeman to Mount Door, Florida.

“Little Nell II” was delivered to the “Temple of Reconstruction”, a boat restoration shop located in Mount Dora where Stan, Tom Flood and Jim Dunn spend many hours, engaged in working on their respective projects. For the next two years, Stan could be found at the “Temple”, on any given day, at any given hour, restoring “Little Nell II” back to her former beauty. His was a true “labor of love”, as he devoted many hours restoring the interior, re-fabricating the motor box, seats, floor boards, cabinets, V-bunks and forward storage areas, installing the engine, transmission and wiring. He painted the deck, hull and transom and installed re-chromed hardware, windshield and cutwater. “Little Nell II” was brought up to tip-top shape from stem to stern. The big day arrived on June 6, 2000, when, with the assistance of Red and White Express guru Lowell Arnold, she was successfully launched, to be enjoyed in the waters of the Harris Chain of Lakes in Central Florida.

Stan’s restoration efforts of “Lfttle Nell II” were recognized as she received a Sponsor Award presented by the historic Lakeside Inn of Mount Dora at the 2001 Mount Dora Antique Boat Festival. The following week, in Hartwell, Georgia, she received the Best Chris-Craft Award that was presented jointly by the Chris-Craft Boat Club and Ski-Safe Insurance. In June, she participated in the Dixieland Chapter of ACBS Boat Show at Children’s Harbor on Lake Martin, Alabama and was honored by receiving the Skippers Choice Award.

In her second life, “Little Nell II” has brought pleasure and enjoyment to many people. She’s delighted children who are cancer patients by taking them on a cruise on Lake Martin during the boat show at Children’s Harbor. She is the pride and joy of the Petersens. They traveled with “Little Nell II” during the summer 2001 taking her to boat shows in Lake Chautauqua, New York, Clear Lake and Lake Okoboji, Iowa and Red Wing, Minnesota.

As the story of “Little Nell II” unfolds, there is a true “fairy tale” quality that is found in all these events. Like so many antique boat owners, Stan Petersen had a strong desire to learn more of the history of the boat that he had spent many long hours restoring. He discovered through documents from The Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, Virginia that the vessel was originally purchased by F. P. Rhoades, M.D., in Detroit, Michigan. With this bit of information, he turned to friends, Jim and Joyce Brady, formerly of the Detroit area and asked for their assistance in locating the original owner. With a great deal of luck and some persistence, the Brady’s were able to locate Mrs. Nell Rhoades and put her in contact with the Petersens.

There was a great deal of excitement and joy as a flurry of correspondence and an exchange of photographs began among the Petersens, the Bradys and Nell Rhoades . Over the next several months, plans were made for Nell to fly to Florida for a visit and a renewed acquaintance with “Little Nell II”. During the last week in April 2001, Nell arrived in Mount Dora to meet the Petersens and to see the joy of her life - “Little Nell II”.

Needless to say, Nell was overwhelmed when she saw “Little Nell II” for the first time after so many years. “I just can’t believe it”, she exclaimed over and over again as she examined the beautiful restoration. “She’s as good as new - it’s unbelievable”, Nell said about her beloved boat as she climbed aboard. During the cruise, Nell sat in the captain’s chair and guided ”Little Nell II” along the sun kissed waters of Lake Dora. “This is one of the highlights of my life”, said Nell, as she expressed her thrill of once more being able to take the wheel of “Little Nell II”, “I thought I would never see her again and now just look at how beautiful she is - and how well she runs.”

Before departing from Mount Dora, Nell presented the Petersen’s with the last two of a set of eight glasses engraved with “Little Nell II”. Upon her return to Detroit, Nell contacted a neighbor to whom was given the original life ring that had once hung on the bulkhead of “Little Nell II”. The life ring was returned and then sent to the Petersens. After a good cleaning, the life ring bearing the name “Little Nell II - Detroit” is once again on board and hung in its original place.

And so, like the circle of life, the saga of “Little Nell II” continues. She once again will provide untold pleasure to her owners and admirers as they enjoy her majestic lines, her style and grace and the sweet sounding purr of her engine, cruising through the beautiful waterways of our great country.

Before & After