Welcome to the Wedac II Home Page

Join us on a journey toward the Island escape.

Wedac II is a classic 1955 flush deck motor cruiser. Built by Chicago shipbuilder Henry C. Grebe, she is 50 feet in length and constructed of mahogany and teak. She was a glorious specimen of her era, but when my family and I found her six years ago, she was suffering from severe neglect. The following is an account of Wedac II's history and of our efforts to restore her to pristine condition.

Below we have included photographs from 1955-1997, excerpts from the Grebe shipyard brochure, Wedac II's specifications, details of some of our restoration efforts thus far, accounts of our cruising and fishing exploits aboard Wedac II and a listing of what we have found to be interesting links on related topics.

As the restoration continues, we will try to keep you updated with the progress made and some of our cruising adventures.

Wedac II was commissioned to be built in 1954 by the late Walter Fondren (one of the original founders of Humble Oil, later to become Exxon). She was eased down the ways into Lake Michigan for her first sea trials on May 6th, 1955. Her name, a bit unusual at first blush, is an acronym for the names of Walter Fondren's children: Walter, Elly, Doris, And Camille. The Fondren family owned Wedac II for the first 15 years of the boat's life. As we have gradually learned through encounters with various people familiar with the boat and the Fondren family, cruising on Wedac II was a popular family pastime for the Fondrens. Apparently, trips from Texas to the Carribean were common and Wedac II was very well cared for and, of course, always attended to by a full time captain.

Unfortunately, ownership of Wedac II eventually changed into the hands of a series of other owners who did not maintain the standard of care she received of the Fondrens. Our restoration of Wedac II began six years ago when we found her in a very sorry state, having been idle and completely abandoned for two solid years.

As the proud and ambitious owners of Wedac II, we have been forced to learn a considerable amount about carpentry, electrical systems, mechanical systems, and even boat handling and navigation. In trying to get to the "truth" about the proper care and restoration of a wooden boat, we have on various occasions consulted with "experts" ranging from workers in recognized shipyards to research chemists working for major manufacturing firms. We hope that sharing some of this information will be interesting, if not useful, to some of you out there in cyberspace.

Below you will find Photographs ,the story of the restoration, accounts of our cruises, and of our fishing experiences.

Please go to our other pages for the full story.

  Photographs of Wedac II                               1955 Photographs

The 1950's Grebe Catalogue. Fortunate enough to have an original 1950's Henry C. Grebe Catalogue we have devoted this page to showing excerpts of it. At the bottom of the page is a list of the very recognizable owners (circa 1955) with the name of their craft. Included are three commissioned by the Wrigley gum family.

Wedac II's specifications This page tells the size, displacement and all other details of the boats specifications.

Restoration so far  Illustrates with photograph and word, the work done so far & our future plans. Included is a copy of one of the many rough drawn plans, this particular one is of the cockpit before its rebuild.

Fishing?!!Included are a few pictures to prove we can, at last, catch fish. We had until 1996 been miserable Fishermen ----- but now! We have included our account of the Fisherman theory.

Cruises and Storms Starts with the story leading to our first cruise and continues with our other adventures with Wedac II, very few photos.

These pages are in various stages of completion.  9/96

Look but don't say I didn't tell you.

Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing Painting,

Woodwork, Cabinetry, Bottom work.

Our favorite Links.

Companies &People Is a tribute to, and plug for, the people that have helped with the restoration.

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Mail us, creative suggestions are always welcome.

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© Copyright 1996