Sea Lyon:  The Epitome of Sport

On a chilly April afternoon, a group of men stood adjacent to the overhead traveling hoist, where a sleek thirty footer hung.  With the flick of the lever, the electric winches growled, and the craft slowly descended to the water below.  The slings were carefully derigged, and two well dressed men clambered aboard.

One man sat behind the four spoke wheel, advanced the throttle slightly and tugged on the choke cable.  He turned the key to the right, sending six volts of electricity to the dual coils, and pressed the large black button on the dashboard.  The starter motor strained to move the six 5 _" pistons up and down their 6" bore.  Lightning flashed through the dual sets of spark plugs and the 200 horses inside the Sterling Petrel galloped to life.

The driver grabbed the "S" shaped shifter lever, yanked it into the reverse position, and backed the runabout away from the barnacle encrusted pier.  Being a veteran of Gold Cup racing, he was comfortable behind the helm.  Once clear of the dock, he rammed the throttle forward without hesitation, and the hull leaped into the choppy waters of Long Island Sound.  Caleb Bragg had just taken delivery of his Sea Lyon Model 46.

The large boatyard he had just departed from was the famed Lyon-Tuttle Shipyard.  Howard Lyon, originally a Gar Wood dealer, decided to begin building his own runabouts in 1927.  He commissioned Ned Purdy of the Purdy Boat Company to design an elite runabout that would rival if not out do any other boat on the water.  Lyon, a man with a sense of humor, called the new line of boats Sea Lyons.

The early Sea Lyon line offered runabouts from 24 to 36 feet, and a stellar 42 foot commuter that was designed by George Crouch.  Within a couple of years, the line was trimmed down to just runabouts from 24 to 30 feet.  But according to Howard Lyon, not all runabouts are created equal.

Lyon claimed that Sea Lyons were designed for the most discriminating of yachtsmen.  He incorporated what he felt were the best features from Chris Craft, Gar Wood and Hacker Craft, and then engineered the boats to be beefier for the rough waters around Long Island.  Sides were higher, and with greater flare in the bows.  The hardware was custom designed and built of high percentage nickel silver, supposedly more resistant to the corrosive elements of the salt water.

Each and every Sea Lyon had a similar construction.  The keel was a single piece of 1 _" x 6" select white oak ship stock.  The stem, chines, frames, battens, butt blocks and engine beds were also of white oak.  A double planked Honduras mahogany bottom was flush fastened and treated with pure white lead.  Sides were planked with Honduras mahogany and were back-fastened from the battens inside.

Decking was again Honduras mahogany supported by 2" x 1" white oak carlins alternating with airplane spruce carlins on 24" centers.  The bilge was finished with three coats of a special waterproof paint to seal the pores of the wood against moisture.  The engine compartment was finished bright and the bottom received four coats of the best Marblehead Anti-Fouling Green.

Side planking and decks were finished in natural mahogany with five coats of the best spar varnish available.  King planks and covering boards were walnutized.  Interiors of the larger boats boasted blue dyed genuine cowhide accompanied with padded cockpit lining of Spanish leather while the smaller vessels were finished completely with Spanish leather.  Seats were constructed of coil springs over oak frames.

Sea Lyons came from the factory virtually ready for use.  The equipment list included:  battery, horn, automatic bilge bailer, fog horn, fog bell, boat hook, paddle, anchor, anchor line, tie lines, six life preservers, three fenders, basic hand tools, a pilot rule book, yacht ensign, bow pennant and the government registration numbers painted on.  All that was needed was a full tank of fuel and a picnic lunch basket.  Instant fun!

With such a list of standard equipment, Sea Lyons did not come cheap.  Caleb Bragg's thirty footer had a sticker price of $6500.00, f.o.b. New York - - a good sum of money in 1929.  But the entry level 24 footer could be had for a mere $2575.00

As such, Sea Lyon marketed their line to the affluent of the era.  The Sea Lyon Social Register was published in the 1930 catalog, and included some well know names like Major H.O.D. Seagrave, Edward J. Noble, Lawrence P. Fisher, David M. Goodrich, W.K. Vanderbilt and Igor Sikorsky.  Predictably, after the stock market crash of 1929, Sea Lyon boats were doomed.  Production dropped off drastically, forcing many of the 200 craftsmen on the payroll to seek other employment.  By early 1933, Sea Lyon ceased production.

Only a handful of Sea Lyons still exist today.  Whether fully restored, a work in progress, or a pattern boat, they are still an interesting chapter in the history of wooden runabouts.  Howard Lyon summed it up best in this excerpt from the 1930 catalog:

"Sea Lyon is, in every respect, the epitome of deluxe marine construction.  More carefully and expensively constructed than any other standardized runabout, Sea Lyon has set a standard in faultlessly dependable performance - not alone for a season, but for seasons on end - performance which will not be excelled in many a year....and then perhaps only by some future Sea Lyon."

Indeed, the epitome of sport.

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