16' Dodge 16A (1931) - SWEET SIXTEEN

The Story of “SWEET SIXTEEN” (handwritten version available in the photos!)

The story about the early history of my 1931 Dodge 16A boat “Sweet Sixteen” was told to me by long-time Fallen Leaf Lake resident Bill Means. Bill’s family has had a cabin on the west side of Fallen Leaf Lake since 1951, and next door were Elliott and Margaret Wheeler of Sacramento who Bill believes built the Wheeler cabin and boathouse which housed their 16A Dodge Boat. Bill states that the Wheelers were the original owners of the boat. Elliott later fiberglassed the bottom of the boat while it was suspended in the boathouse. When Elliott died in 1957, Margaret sold the cabin to Bill and Ina Hart of St. Helena, California, and the boathouse and the boat went to the Harts. The fiberglass on the bottom did not look good so Bill Hart painted it black. Bill Means referred to the boat as “Black Beauty” or just “Beauty.” Bill referred to Bill Hart as “Uncle Willy” and Ina Hart as “Aunt Ina.” The boat was used on Fallen Leaf Lake in the 1960s according to Lee Chase who worked at the Fallen Leaf Lake Marina during the summers of his college years as a gas attendant at that time. Lee recalls that there had been a fire in Bill Hart’s Dodge Boat, and indeed there is evidence that there had been a fire in the engine compartment on the port side behind the driver’s seat. Bill Means told me that he and Bill Hart’s niece Sandy Learned caused the fire as they were removing water-contaminated gasoline from the fuel tank with an old electric pump. When we later restored the boat, we left some of the scorched wood since this was a part of the boat’s history. After Bill Hart’s passing in 1970 at the age of 58, Ina had the boat relocated to her residence just north of the town of St. Helena, where the boat was stored in her garage.

Dan Schwarze of Napa, California was on assignment with the Napa County Assessor’s office when he noticed the boat in Ina’s garage. Dan was interested in the boat and purchased it from Ina about 1985. When dan bought the boat it still had a layer of fiberglass covering the bottom, it was missing the original Owens Dyneto starter-generator, and there was no boat name on the transom. Dan stored the boat in a barn in the Carneros region of Napa County for about 5 years before selling it to Charlie von Uhlit of Napa around 1990. Charlie entered the unrestored boat in a Tahoe Yacht Club boat show as a “pre-restoration” example. The boat need a name to be entered in the boat show, so Charlie named it “Old Whatsername” for the show.

I purchased the boat from Charlie on October 6, 1996. I suspected that the boat had spent considerable time suspended in a boathouse because of wear on the fore and aft lift rings. At the urging of my wife, I changed the name of the boat to “Sweet Sixteen” which reflects the length of the boat. I stored it in my barn and looked forward to restoring it myself, but as a member of the Dodge Boat Owners Association, I became acquainted with its president Dave Triano of Triano Marine Design. I was impressed with Dave’s extensive knowledge of, enthusiasm for, and experience in restoring Dodge Boats, so I asked him if he would consider restoring my boat when his schedule permitted. Two years later, Dave was able to begin the preservation project.

From the beginning of the process, preservation of the original material has been a goal. To this end, approximately 80% of the wood on the boat is original, with each plank and component preserved as close to factory originality as possible. We left the wear on the original lift rings since that, too, is part of the boat’s history. The Lycoming UAB engine, which is the original engine from “Sweet Sixteen,” is stored in my barn, to be rebuilt and installed if we are able to find an original Owens Dyneto starter-generator for it. To maintain the integrity of the original engine, parts from two additional Lycoming UAB engines were obtained, and John Allen of Allen’s Marine Engines of Saratoga, California rebuilt the model-correct Lycoming UAB which is currently installed in the boat.

The interior was recreated by Rod Souza of Rod’s Stitched Interiors of Petaluma, California in a modern analog of the Russialoid Blue vinyl that was originally installed in the boat. Rod and Dave have worked extensively over the last two decades to document all models of Dodge interiors, and the construction is accurate to original including the springs, horsehair, and other period-correct components.

Mark Clawson of Clawson’s Classic Instruments preserved the original instruments using 100% original parts, and Jim Thorpe of Sagle, Idaho created a new cutwater to precise original specifications. Last, but not least, Jim Moser of Grass Valley, California created the beautiful 24k gold leaf transom artwork.

I sincerely appreciate the remarkable skill, enthusiasm, and effort of Dave, John, Rod, Mark, Jim Thorpe, and Jim Moser that have made the preservation of “Sweet Sixteen” possible. And, a special thank you to Bill Means and Lee Chase for their invaluable information about “Sweet Sixteen’s” history.

Bill More
July 4, 2019
Napa, California