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Crazy as it might have
been, and knowing Cosmic Muffin needed a lot of work, Drimmer took
on the challenge full-force. “It looked like a bomb had gone off
in there. It was a total mess.” Even worse, the vessel was leaking
in many places. Consequently, Drimmer wasn’t able to move onboard
until a year after his purchase. “The boat needed major electrical
rewiring, the plumbing needed fixing, it needed a refrigerator, a bed,
air conditioning, I needed to fix leaks, and it needed a bilge pump.”
Although he had no intention of making her capable of extended cruising,
he had to make sure she’d stay afloat. He says, “I had to concentrate
on making it livable as a home, which involved more conventional home-repair
and refit work.” He filled in the holes and leaks with something
he calls hydraulic cement and claims, “it dried hard and quick and
bonded to the wood better than anything else and kept her afloat for the
following 13 years.”
Then in 1994, Drimmer
decided to completely rebuild Cosmic Muffin from the ground up,
which he says was “terrifying and the fight of his life,” having
to cash in his savings in order to foot the $150,000 yard bill. With no
marine knowledge or background, he enlisted the help of his New Zealand-born,
boatbuilding friends Jeff Gibbs and Doug Weir; Drimmer got the materials
and oversaw and directed the project, and his friends made it work. “Jeff
was the project director, Doug the construction manager. There were other
helpers, too, who came in every day,” one of whom, first mate Dan
Cormier, “almost got permanently glued to the boat in the process.”
Drimmer says, “I couldn’t have done it without these guys.”
Over the years, he estimates he’s poured about $200,000 into his
plane-boat, joking, “I’ve finally learned the secret of boat
repairs: Do your estimate, crunch your numbers, and whatever figure you
come up with, double it.”
Today, 65 years after
its initial construction as an airplane, Cosmic Muffin still causes
a buzz; Miramax Pictures is reportedly planning on using Muffin
in its upcoming film Aviator, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring
Leonardo DiCaprio as the young Howard Hughes. Additionally, the plane-boat
has been featured in many publications and on many TV shows, including
Ripley’s Believe It or Not and the Travel Channel’s World’s
Best: “Top Ten Outrageous Homes.” Although Drimmer no longer
lives aboard (he opened the boat for public viewing a few years back),
he keeps her in a slip behind his South Florida home. He says, “the
best part about owning this is having the people come aboard and tour
it...people that have always wondered what it looks like inside, people
that have seen it on TV. I couldn’t imagine owning a boat like this
and ignoring people’s interest in it. It’s real special.”
A one-of-a-kind, half boat, half airplane? Real special, indeed.
Cosmic Muffin is
open to the public for tours and available for private and corporate charter.
Plane Boats Phone:
(954) 462-8676. www.planeboats.com.
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