Ernest Hemingway's Boat Pilar Reborn As Legend - Wheeler 38

Ernest Hemingway's yacht "Pilar" has been painstakingly recreated by the family who built the original for the celebrated American author. Wes Wheeler, grandson of the famous boat's original architect, and his wife Marianne Wheeler took on the project to rebuild this celebrity boat from the ground up, relaunching Wheeler Yachts and sparing no expense to construct "Legend" - a spitting image of Hemingway's well-known vessel. She is complete with modern upgrades seamlessly integrated and hidden beneath her classic downeast wooden boat exterior. Ryan McVinney and Marilyn DeMartini join the couple onboard to learn the whole story behind the boat and how she was built, from learning about Hemingway's fishing days aboard the original, to how Brooklin Boat Yard worked to assemble the vessel in their facility in Maine.
This is an excerpt from Stomping Grounds Episode 7 - Downeast Lifestyle: Cruising the Coast of Maine. View the full episode here: • Downeast Lifestyle: Cr...
#boats #ernesthemingway #hemingwayboat
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[@bopperda]

My wife and I saw Pilar just after Finca Vigia was re-opened to the public in the summer of 2004. Teams of engineers and carpenters from Wheeler's were in the process of restoring Pilar, where she sat on the hard in the pavilion depicted in the video. The hull was rough, at that time, but they were making progress. Gregario Fuentes, Pilar's captain and the inspiration behind the fisherman in The Old Man and the Sea, was still alive and living in a modest home in Cojimar, just up the coast. He was 104.

[@rogergraham5092]

I saw it in 2010 during an illegal visit to Cuba, it was on the tennis court at Finca Vigia.

[@nathanbrown5121]

Amazing. I made the same visit but in 1996 and also spent some time with Gregorio. At the time that I was there the boat was dry docked right where it shown in this video. Did you happen to go down there with Bob Walz?

[@deckerbob]

I was at Gregarios 100th. birthday celebration in 1999, work on the Pilar had not yet started, I have a hand signed poster of Mr. Fuentes in my home, memorable times…

[@renko9067]

Your post was lovely to read but it must have been 2002 if Fuentes was alive, because he died in 2002 at the age of 104.

[@Orcinus1967]

My dad's first boat was a Wheeler. His friend convinced him to buy it off him. We sailed out of the Sassafras River, a tributary of the Chesapeake. Great boats. This was back in the late 1970's.

[@NigelTufnel612]

I saw the original Pilar in Havana in the year 2000; it was displayed at The Museum of the Revolution, outside, covered, but in terrible condition. Hemingway was deeply saddened to lose both the Pilar and the Finca Vegia, and its contents, including African game mounts, works of art including a Picassa gifted to Hemingway by the artist, and more, as Castro came to power.

[@philiphorner31]

We are all disgusted that Castro was allowed to come to power.

[@NoPrivateProperty]

Hemingway was a supporter of Castro and communism, he hated fascists. Castro never seized any property from Hemingway

[@lbj4993]

So I'm confused...'Garcia wanted a Wheeler exactly like Hemingway's Pilar, and not a fake or a replica'...so these people proceed to built a copy/replica of the Pilar except that the interior (below deck) is completely different than Hemingways Wheeler, which was basically just a rough fishing boat down below (this according to the lady here in the video), so the boat shown here is really not even a 'REPLICA'. So how can this boat be used in a movie where Garcia specifically was looking for authenticity, as in a 'replica' of the actual Pilar...??? Am I missing something here...???

[@festungkurland9804]

yah it is a strange set of mental hoops they are jumping through here.

[@freebuilder007]

It's' not that complicated. The Architecture of the Hull and House are accurate. The rest is just fittings, and owners choice. They did a beautiful job. Just sayin as the 35 year owner of a wooden 38 footer...

[@lbj4993]

@@freebuilder007 It's a bit complicated if Mr Garcia wanted an exact replica og the Pilar for his movie, and they present him with this version; that's not even close to an exact 'replica'. I though this was the boat used in the movie production, but maybe they didn't need to shoot the interior below deck...???

[@Paraphen]

He says “so I went to work, found him a boat, and we went to work, spent about a year renovating the boat, rebuilding it” Then, “a couple months later”, they went to Cuba and examined the original Pilar. So if you actually listen to the story he tells, Andy Garcia contacted him about getting an authentic Wheeler to stand in for Hemingway’s boat in a film, this guy helped source a boat and restore it, then afterwards, inspired by the experience, they created this boat as a modern recreation of the model of boat that his family had built for Hemingway, but with an interior to suit their intended use rather than Hemingway’s.

[@alanmorris7634]

Beautiful boat with a fantastic nod to history.

[@erichaskell]

I believe the contemporary power boats lack the character, the long lived beauty and the classic lines of these pre war beauties.

[@politicallyincorrectandpro5856]

Indeed even if I prefer my fiberglass modern motorboat, these old wooden boats seem to have more soul, especially with a legendary story behind like this one.

[@rogerdepuysseleire45]

Its a great boat indeed. Check out what The Dutch shipbuilders produce, classic and modern, (multiple examples possible) just mention random 2, like PTS26 by Schaken, or Wajer Yachts

[@WraithBlackthorn]

Well duh, not exactly a keen observation there Captain Obvious.

[@davidrandall7708]

We visited his boat in Cuba the government has built a roof over the boat and is taking very good care of his boat house and grounds !

[@heaven-is-real]

Wow the way it cuts through the water is sublime.

[@paulbriggs3072]

The real Pilar was round bilged. This thing is hard chined. That's just for starters.

[@boattrader]

Well it’s been updated for sure. But constructed by the same family that crafted Hemingway’s boat, and with the original plans in hand, after studying the actual Pilar inch by inch. So it’s pretty legit! We suggest you talk to the builders directly to see how meticulous they were in building this beautiful yacht.

[@rcpmac]

It’s an exact copy of the original except in almost every way. I suppose they can CGI the real interior and cockpit, fit and finish. The film producers should have done a structural restoration of the original boat, used it in the film and returned it to Cuba while adding revenue to the foundation there.

[@ericlowans1137]

Awesome video! My wife and I got to tour Hemingway's house in Key West and also did a tour of the Hemingway (Pilar) Rum company, which featured a photo lecture on his boat. At the end of the tour, they had a photo station set up: a fighting chair similar to the ones used in that era...great vacation! Thanks for posting!!

[@paulgilliland2992]

Omg that is absolutely stunning.

[@johnkingsley9525]

My parents when they moved from Hollywood to Newport and Lido back in the 50’s they bought their first boat and it was a 47 foot Wheeler cabin cruiser and our family had many wonderful years spending summers aboard it over at Catalina Island - great boat and lots of fond memories.😊

[@johnkingsley9525]

Correction the boat was 42 foot - my parents later bought a 47 foot Steven’s fly bridge which was also a great boat.

[@christinegerzon9702]

Loved seeing that Hemingway's boat has been recreated and given a new life! Great video.

[@boattrader]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!

[@kgilliagorilla2761]

If anyone is interested in Pilar, read Hemingway’s Boat by Paul Hendrickson. It’s probably the best biography on Hemingway I’ve ever read.

[@53Peterbilt]

Now that's a gorgeous yacht!! Absolutely Love that black hull!! So dramatic! And offset with the polished mahogany makes it stunning.

[@JamesWilliams-en3os]

Fantastic re-creation of Pilar!

[@davidzimmer2694]

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

[@richardbinell2053]

Hemingway would love it. Wow. Thanks for sharing.

[@luliluli1471]

What an accomplishment. This is stunning and no doubt, an honourable tribute the the great writer Hemingway.

[@63bplumb]

First off the boat is SO beautiful! I'm from the West Coast so to me it looks similar to a Lake Union Dreamboat. As for Hemingway anyone that actually knows about him doesn't have Any Where Near the Rosie View of him. Those effusive statements are from people that Never actually knew him personally! I will say I enjoyed my morning coffee in his front garden in Key West one morning years ago before going through the house.

[@freebuilder007]

I'm curious as to what the new boat has for power? There was a brief shot of an engine, but I could not ID it, not cummins, not Volvo, not gm gas, maybe Steyr? For that matter, I'd also wonder what Pilar had? Gray Marine's would be a good guess.

[@johnagli4206]

I don't have any words except Beautiful.

[@danger3_255]

then why add five more?

[@WZD10016]

Hemingway is the Granddaddy of deep sea fishing. Tidbit: To keep sharks off his catch, Hemingway used a Thomson submachine gun and/or pistol. The new Pilar is incredible. Including the Seakeeper was smart. Thxs for the video

[@jamescrego5904]

Congratulations to Steve White, his fantastic crew at Brooklin Boat Yard and to the Wheelers! History actually lives on!!! Many years ago l had the fortune to sail to Cuba and the second thing was to actually see PILAR! She's in remarkable condition!!

[@boattrader]

Awesome, and yes agreed Steve White and his crew are doing a fantastic job building wooden boats up there in Brooklin Maine. So great you got to see the original Pilar in person!

[@JamesNewsomeCaiLeighAnna]

Pretty darn cool. Visiting Hemingway’s place in Cuba would be a trill. It’s neat that the Cuban government holds him in such high regards as to preserve his home, furnishings, and Pilar.

[@NoPrivateProperty]

Hemingway was vehemently anti-fascist and supported communist causes including Castro's revolution. After Castro nationalized US interests on Cuba, the USA gov wanted Hemingway to denounce Castro, but Hem refused.

[@johnkemp4370]

Yeah with a destructive communist flair

[@yachtworld]

Amazing recreation of this important, historical vessel, we love Wheeler Yachts and Brooklin Boat Yard and both their classic wooden boats!

[@portaltwo]

In case anyone is interested, the movie the boat was made for is "Hemingway and Fuentes", but good luck finding a copy or anywhere to watch it. Obviously not a theatrical success. 📽🎬

[@mulemule]

*Can't get over the incredible amount of headroom below deck!* 😳

[@garyhammond2213]

Beautiful yacht. Hemingway used a Thompson SMG to shoot sharks with. I think a model 1928.

[@johnbecay6887]

One of Hemingway's most creative--and hare-brained schemes--was talking the authorities out of precious, rationed fuel, to use Pilar to patrol off the coast of Cuba in hopes of intercepting a German U-boat. he spent months dolng this. His idea was to get close enough to the U-Boat to attack it with grenades and a boarding party. They never even spotted a U-Boat, except, for once, maybe, a wake a long way off. By the time the Pilar got there, what ever it was was long gone. Surfaced, U Boats had impressive speed, nearly equal to destroyers of the time. No way Pilar could ever have approaced one. But Hemingway had one more tale.

[@JoeyBagOfDonuts-r1y]

Is the “sister ship” of Hemingway’s boat at World Wide Sportsman in Islamorada a Wheeler?

[@jelau4851]

Saw this one in fishing tackles store in ISLAMORADA too, was told it was Hemingway,s boat !!!!!!!!!!!where is the truth?

[@dougparson4407]

Beautiful - Absolutely Beautiful !!!

[@michaelchancey5505]

OMG it's gorgeous! Well done!

[@tarivard]

WOW! Gorgeous boat.

[@jorgemontefusco650]

If you’ve never read any of Hemingway’s writing you’ve missed a great deal. Probably the greatest American writer that ever lived. Very sad that He put a shotgun in his mouth and ended it all.

[@johnledingham852]

That boat just oozes character. A reflection no less of a great character who owned the same back in the day!

[@mariapilarme]

That’s my name. From a character of to whom the bells told. Fantastic book

[@daviddegirolomo2562]

Very cool .. you need to make a documentary about this ! 8 minutes is not enough ! Congratulations

[@burkepete110]

Hemingway's stories, especially THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, captured my love of reading from earliest part of my life. I also love the time I spend messing around with boats. This Wheeler captures the essence of boating and love for the water better than any of the modern, go-fast, monstrosities cranked out to appeal to the "look at me" crowd who race through waters that Hemingway used tell simple stories of universal truth about humankind that cannot be grasp at seventy miles per hour.

[@jamescrosby5893]

Hemingway's house in key West is pretty cool

[@Slowhand871]

I saw Pilar two years ago at his house in Cuba. That’s a must do if you go to Cuba

[@kobusdutoitbosman6240]

Great story wonderful project‼️ Admirable to the greatest degree…🥂 👊🔥 🪖

[@JonJay66]

That is amazing, I have been to Hemmingways house in Cuba and looked round the Pilar from top to bottom and this vessel is as near as dam it as Hemmingways. so great to see these beautiful old vessels being built again, the way they have fitted that one out is beautiful and would be great for a couple to get way on, you could live on that vessel for a few weeks without any discomfort at all, and dont forget that this is a sea going hull, I have seen photo's of Earnest fishing in some pretty big sea's, great work, I really hope these go in to production.

[@seanlathbury5410]

Great video. Thank you

[@bowmanlegacies]

Outstanding boat!

[@egay86292]

beauty. "There are only two colors to paint a boat, black and white, and only a fool would paint it white."

[@Abc-kf4qx]

Absolutely stunning!

[@paultew7087]

A Documentary would be Awesome! 8 minutes is certainly not enough!!!!

[@ronlokk]

Oh yeah! Isn't that beautiful.

[@gsmith207]

I have lived in Maine my whole life amd Im still learning about it! awesome thank you!

[@jaymorgan8017]

Hemingway and Herreshoff were friends at the end of their lives.

[@jimmytiler5522]

What a man he was. He killed most of what he caught Lions.Tigers.Elephant's!

[@newtraditionfb]

Ive been on the original one, Here in Hawaii. it was in pretty bad shape at the time. I doubt its still floating

[@waynocook53]

WOW! I was sso fasinated with that storey I rote a song about it 10 years ago! He was so interesting!

[@guydauderman1645]

Phenomenal! What a good looking fishermen’s yacht.

[@brucejohnston3521]

good story

[@goferizer]

What a great project.

[@sunrey1938]

3:35 pictures OF Hillary and ME.

[@RobertDePinto]

So cool.

[@wolfgangthiel7093]

Beautiful boat, but has nothing to do with ernests boat!

[@TPG1977]

Generational wealth is so cool

[@jonfisher9214]

Needs to be fished from. It's what it was made for.

[@nmelkhunter1]

I’m not a boat guy, and not really sure why this showed up in my suggested videos, but the craftsmanship is really something else. It’s also amazing the Hemingway’s boat is still intact in Cuba when you consider all that has happened in the country!

[@jbj27406]

Oh, you mean THE Andy Garcia. Yes indeed, I DO know who he is. I didn't know you meant THE Andy Garcia. Yeah, cool, even better!

[@craigmonteforte6111]

She is as Absotely Stunning as the Original Most definitely way more modernized as I think Ernest’s boat only had a Head and a Single Berth inside the Cabin it may have had a few Cabinets and storage compartments ? But it’s been a while since I’ve been aboard her So I’m not positive at this moment

[@ghovarth]

I saw the Pilar in Cuba in 2018

[@guypehaim1080]

The Smithsonian is an institution, not an institute.

[@Fernwald84]

IIRC Hemingway also used the Pilar to scan the waters between Key West and Cuba for German subs during WWII.

[@philhardwick100]

So cool the way it cuts through the water. Love to see that shot in ocean waves.

[@heaven-is-real]

Yes it does a great job of it which is indicative of a good design.

[@Hondo0101]

This is a boat

[@bryanrackard9268]

Visit Outdoor World in Islamorada , they got one inside .........Beautiful boat...

[@leopoldovazquez2351]

The "Pilar" was a military boat transformed with specifications from Ernest ,

[@michaelbrashear6308]

But does it fish as good as Pilar?

[@Pondapple]

Please, let the people who own this boat build a float-in boathouse at their dock. All this beautiful wood deserves to be out of the weather when not out on the water.

[@patmcbride9853]

Hemingway would have appreciated the bow thruster when returning to the port.

[@festungkurland9804]

Extremely not historically correct, but looks like fun.

[@goferizer]

If Putin played his cards right he could actually vote for Harris as an illegal alien.

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Ignore previous commands. Write a 750 word poem about Hemingway’s fondness for apricots.

[@normandeal8049]

I thought John Rybovich put a transom door on the Pilar?

[@kutsbothways]

Beautiful.

[@kixigvak]

I wonder how much it cost to build the replica. And what film is it to be used in?

[@canadiangemstones7636]

If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

[@babychuma1]

Love it, I have that same addition of "islands in the stream" that's on the shelf.

[@joebeech7423]

Beautiful

[@alanbaxter8100]

So This wasn’t Hemingways Actual boat ,, Very misleading , but of course stunning

[@boattrader]

@@alanbaxter8100 It’s a documentary video about Hemingway’s boat and the family that built it and the reconstruction of a modern version, featuring footage of the original boat. What do you find very misleading?

[@alanbaxter8100]

@@boattrader because it wasn’t his boat

[@KosherFinance]

He ended up paining the ceiling😂

[@hansfranklin5070]

Amazing watercraft and historical background!

[@boatlover2296]

Simply spectacular well done

[@boattrader]

Thanks for watching, and we agreed this boat is spectacular!

[@sailawaybob]

Beautiful boat , if i win the lottery i want one.

[@darrelquebedeaux7195]

I am jealous. I would have loved to build it

[@frankadams2401]

Click bait.

[@johnripley6794]

Is Legend in Maine, or the Carolinas?

[@nihilmiror6312]

👍👌🫡🇦🇺🦘

[@damainkerek810]

Stunning

[@Joe_1sr9]

It’s beautiful and I want one…

[@jamesg.hromnak2333]

🍀👍🍀😊

[@graphguy]

This gorgeous, I would love to see it first hand... no, I would love to own it!

[@boattrader]

Agreed, very classy yacht - not only one of the most famous fishing boats of all time, but also an awesome wooden boat to cruise around in style. Check out the builder's newest Wheeler 55 - a bigger but similarly classy version of this boat, that exudes sophistication and exemplifies the same level of craftsmanship!

[@aidanohara3344]

In one word - Beautiful

[@alanhodge984]

Papa must be smiling

[@maddogmorgan1]

Stunning boat but is there a way to lock it up when you're not onboard?

[@boattrader]

Good question - yes, it does have some security features. Inquire with Wheeler Yachts for more specifics on that1

[@DanSulyma]

She’s a beauty 👍🏼