This mahogany speedboat could be in a Bond film, but was actually owned by a legendary N.L. adventurer

CBC
·2 min read
This speedboat, built in 1924 and owned by Newfoundland seafarer Bob Bartlett, is now on display at the Marystown Model Ship Gallery. (Marystown Model Ship Gallery - image credit)
This speedboat, built in 1924 and owned by Newfoundland seafarer Bob Bartlett, is now on display at the Marystown Model Ship Gallery. (Marystown Model Ship Gallery - image credit)
This speedboat, built in 1924 and owned by Newfoundland seafarer Bob Bartlett, is now on display at the Marystown Model Ship Gallery.
This speedboat, built in 1924 and owned by Newfoundland seafarer Bob Bartlett, is now on display at the Marystown Model Ship Gallery.

This speedboat, built in 1924 and owned by Newfoundland seafarer Bob Bartlett, is now on display at the Marystown Model Ship Gallery. (Marystown Model Ship Gallery)

A recently donated speedboat to a Marystown museum is getting a lot of eyes on it, thanks to its connection to a legendary Newfoundland seafarer.

The mahogany-made Watson style boat, built in 1924, was owned by Captain Bob Bartlett of Brigus. Bartlett was a seafarer and navigator who led famous, dangerous, and controversial exploratory expeditions to the Arctic before his death in 1947.

"She looks like the sort of thing you'd see in a James Bond movie in a sense. She's very sleek and streamlined, especially for 1924. And she's in still surprisingly decent shape considering what an active hundred years she's had," Jim Myles, the gallery's coordinator, said.

She's really an eye catching attraction…. It looks like she'd be a bunch of fun to use."

The word 'Morrissey' can still be seen on the boat. Bartlett captained the Effie M. Morrissey schooner.
The word 'Morrissey' can still be seen on the boat. Bartlett captained the Effie M. Morrissey schooner.

The word 'Morrissey' can still be seen on the boat. Bartlett captained the Effie M. Morrissey schooner. (Marystown Model Ship Gallery)

Myles said the gallery has learned the boat was built by the American Car and Foundry Company in 1924, and made its way through Bartlett's family before reaching the gallery.

It's believed the boat ended up in the hands of Bartlett's brother in law, who likely left the boat to his son. The boat was then sold to a man in Marystown and donated to the gallery.

Details of the boat called the Effie M. Morrissey — Bartlett's schooner — are still visible on the vintage speedboat.

"He was actually gifted the boat by a supporter, quite a wealthy supporter of his exploration activities. And she actually went aboard his schooner, went north with him at least once in the 1920s," Myles said.

The boat features an American flag, as Bartlett was an American citizen when the boat was in use. Myles told CBC a 48-star flag would be more appropriate than the current flag, as Alaska and Hawaii weren't states when the boat would have been used.
The boat features an American flag, as Bartlett was an American citizen when the boat was in use. Myles told CBC a 48-star flag would be more appropriate than the current flag, as Alaska and Hawaii weren't states when the boat would have been used.

The boat features an American flag, as Bartlett was an American citizen when the boat was in use. Myles told CBC a 48-star flag would be more appropriate than the current flag, as Alaska and Hawaii weren't states when the boat would have been used. (Marystown Model Ship Gallery)

"People that wanted to visit his schooner or one of his other ships when he was in Boston ... he'd use her as a runabout to run the people from the wharf to the ship and back."

Myles said the boat has wowed people young and old, and is a great historical piece to house in Marystown.

"When people hear the story of Captain Bartlett, they're quite intrigued indeed. Especially when you've got a real object like the motorboat in front of them that ... was actually used by the person you're talking about."

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