Have 63 foot of dockspace near you?
During WWII, Miami Shipbuilding Corp. cranked out some 740 63-foot AVRs (Auxiliary, Vessel, Rescue) for use in coastal search and rescue with as many as 200 being promptly sent as Lend-Lease to overseas allies. As most were co-located near seaside airbases and used to respond to downed planes they were typically dubbed “Crash Boats.”
Post-war, the type was largely sold off or abandoned, leaving very few to live on past the 1950s.
Speaking of which, this bad boy is up for grabs in British Columbia (via Craigslist of all things) :
The stunning P-619 is a WW2 AVR and is a major piece of US naval history. She is the last remaining AVR in the world in original military layout. Consigned by the USN, she was built in Oct/Nov 1943 by the Miami Shipbuilding Corp. Immediately transferred to the USAAF, she served in the Pacific from 1943-45. She went back to the Navy after the War and was stationed at a Sacramento air base until the ’50s when she left active service.
I acquired the boat in 2006 and began restoration which has involved hundreds of thousands of dollars and many thousands of hours. The boat is in excellent condition and while not all details have been completed, she is fully operational as a cruising vessel. She is very well built with a double planked hull of gorgeous Honduras mahogany, aircraft cloth, and fir. There are currently two Gray Marine 6-71s supplying power, and at 8 knots, consumption is about 6 gph. Supplied with the sale are four of the original Hall-Scott V12s with gears. Two of these motors are USN rebuilds (only one has been run) and the other two are apart and supplied on pallets. The two on pallets came from the boat used the 1997 movie McHale’s Navy. When installed, the boat could reach upwards of 40 knots when unladen.
I personally have run out of steam on completing details and the install of the V12s and would like to see someone(or some group) in the Washington area, acquire and look after our girl. Thus, our ‘crew’ could pay regular visits.
Price? $350K
Hi, my father was a US Navy Beach Jumper in WWII and saw action in the Mediterranean in the same model built by Miami Shipbuilding Corp. Wondering if you sold this and where it’s located today. Thanks! Best, Gary
My father bought a number of Miami class air sea rescue boats from the South African Navy when they were selling them off in about 1948 or 9. I have some photos and one the Zest is I believe in a museum in Cape Town. My father converted two of the boats the Zilla and the Zest for weekend fishing and kept them in Simonstown and Kalk Bay Harbour in False Bay . He sold them off in about 1954/55 when he moved the family to England. Zilla was lost in a storm in Walfis Bay but the Zest is as I mentioned still around In Cape Town..
The three other boats were sold and I believe operated along the S.A. coast. I have been trying to find a model kit of the Miami boats to bring back memories.
I also have the original blue print intact from the Miami Boat Co.
Clive Rumble. clivevim@gmail.com
Hi David
I Am not sure if you will get this message but we are currently involved with the restoration of PT-619 in the united kingdom and a set of blue prints to understand exactly how she was built would be really useful.
Kind Regards
Chris
My grandfather worked for Miami Ship Building Co. during the War and helped build AVRs and the first proto-type PT Boats (the early Couch design 58 foot models). When I was a kid in the 1970s we would visit my grandparents in Coral Gables and he would drive by the old Miami Shipbuilding factory near the waterfront and tell us kids about building the boats. I wish I had the space to buy her and restore her. Shee looks in great condition from the photos.