News

We are very happy that we achieved a new coup last weekend in the USA! One of the few surviving Dodge boats from the Horace E. Dodge Boat & Plane Company from 1930 was auctioned off at one of the world’s rare, pure boat auctions and Gents Barn won the highest bidder! Alongside Gar Wood, Chris-Craft and Hacker, Dodge boats were among the big four US boat builders from the pre-war years and were built in what was then the most modern shipyard in the world – until the economic crisis also crashed Dodge’s boat dreams! Find out more in recurring posts about this Dodge classic here on our Instagram channel! Even if it will be a few more months before we can receive our new mahogany runabout – look forward to an absolutely rare piece of boat building history here with us!

It is with great pleasure that we can confirm today that in a few weeks – after five years of hard restoration and reconstruction work one can probably say “finally” with a big smile – our first test drive of the legendary “Miss Persia”, our 1936 Gar Wood Speedster, is getting close. At the end of September / beginning of October there may even be up to three tests – the first in the water basin of our trusted restoration shipyard, the second trial possibly in the middle of Dortmund city (we will also report on this if we get the okay from the city council) and the third test on the Datteln-Hamm-channel north of Dortmund to extensively test all functions under real conditions. We have already received an exemption from the Münster district government in order to document this event by aerial drone. Many thanks to the super friendly colleagues there and the employees of the WSA Rheine, who made this exception possible. We are incredibly happy because it will be the first time in about 70 years that Miss Persia can be admired on the water again. And almost 85 years after its presentation at the Chicago Boat Show in 1936. Be curious and keep your fingers crossed that everything will go smoothly!

Our wonderful, unique Tarz Speedster “Smitty” is now also known in the USA – today we received the spring issue of ACBS’ (Antique & Classic Boat Society) magazine “Rudder” – and were pleased to receive a wonderful article about our little GDR star . Who would have thought that the Eastern Bloc would still conquer the West? 😉 We are definitely happy, send a big thank you to our Woody friends in the States and wish you all a great time despite Corona – to read, slow down and dream of having fun on the water soon with a smal,l but wonderful mahogany Boat. 🙂

Due to the early completion of the restoration and reconstruction of our famous Miss Persia, the 1936 Gar Wood Speedster of the Shah of Persia equipped with the original Packard Marine racing engine, it was very important to us to join what is probably the best club for Packard enthusiasts here in Europe and to become an active member – at the Nordic Packard Owners Club. With almost 350 Packard automobiles, it is the largest club outside the United States and the few German members are therefore part of the huge, Scandinavian fan community of this legendary, luxury brand. Although Gents Barn is the only member with the two Packard Marine engines 1M-245 and 1M-245 R (acing), it is nevertheless a great pleasure for us to be part of the automotive Packard Club scene. Thank you for the friendly reception – we look forward to the future exchange and participation in many club meetings in the far north!

Our move is now slowly over, but somehow not the trailer-life. Almost three months ago we started moving our office and private facility and soon we can finally greet you at another location… we are so looking forward to it! But until then we’re still on the road – sometimes without really seeing the end of the trailer at the back, or rather the end of the classic car on top … Our Woodie weighs a stately 2,3t and is almost 5,70m long, quite a challenge for a few trailers out there and some towing vehicles, nearing their limits. Thankfully, Gents Barn is always focused on safety, so we always double check everything before we set off and cover more than 550km to our new home. So far without major problems – keep your fingers crossed that it stays that way … Ahoy and see you soon, your Gents Barn team!