‘Mini Mount’ Restoration Is Complete

By Thomas P. Caldwell

Restoration of the M/V Mini Mount, a one-fifth-scale version of the M/S Mount Washington, now owned by the New Hampshire Boat Museum in Wolfeboro, has been completed and the vessel is waiting to move into its new home at the museum’s Bay Street property.

The original launch of the M/V Mini Mount on July 4, 1995, drew a huge crowd to Wolfeboro’s waterfront. (Courtesy Photo)

The nearly 50-foot vessel that once plied the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee, often mistaken for the actual cruise ship when seen at a distance, has been undergoing a restoration since Doug Smith of Laconia purchased it in 2011. Doug and his neighbor, Tim Lacey, have been repainting it and replacing some rot, but said the overall structure has remained in good shape and the engines had been meticulously maintained.

“It was mostly just surface rust,” Doug said, particularly along the 200 feet of railing which had been covered with a metal mesh that wore the paint off.

Doug Smith holds mascot Tuffy and Tim Lacey looks on as they stand next to the model used for the construction of the M/V Mini Mount, itself a replica of the M/S Mount Washington cruise ship. (Tom Caldwell Photo)

Doug purchased the vessel from Mount Washington Cruises, owner of the M/S Mount Washington, which had acquired it after it had been taken out of the water, but had never found a use for it.

He said he ran across an ad when it was placed on the market for sale, and, “I made what I thought was a foolish offer — and it was, because they accepted it.”

The perspective in the top photo makes the M/V Mini Mount appear larger than the M/S Mount Washington, while the bottom photo shows the true size in comparison with the ‘mother ship’. (Courtesy Photos)

Although he had no place to store the Mini Mount, Doug said he couldn’t stand by and see it destroyed or allowed to rot. Because of its size, there were limited places to launch and dock the vessel.

He donated it to the NH Boat Museum in 2015 while continuing its restoration.

Popularity

Tim Lacey, who has spent most of his life in Laconia and “has had a boat since [he] was five,” was surprised to learn that his neighbor had purchased the Mini Mount — and that he had done so without a place to store it.

“Tim adopted it from Day 1,” Doug Smith said.

Having been friends with Dave Ewing of Dave’s Motorboat Shoppe in Gilford, Tim asked whether they would be able to store the vessel at his shop for two years while they worked on its restoration. Today, nearly nine years later, they have finally finished the restoration, allowing the Mini Mount to move closer to its final destination with the NH Boat Museum.

Mike’s Marine Transportation of Gilford came through for them when it was time to transport the Mini Mount from Center Harbor, where it had spent the winter with its “mother ship,” the Mount Washington, to Dave’s Motorboat Shoppe, where Dave provided space outside for them to work on the boat. They had to erect a shelter to protect it from the elements, and found they had several volunteers who offered to help without compensation because of their love of the Mini Mount.

“The best thing about this is the people we’ve met because of their interest in the boat,” Tim said. “People had either seen it on the lake or read about it, and a lot of people feel a connection with it.”

From the time of the boat’s launch on Lake Winnipesaukee on July 4, 1995, crowds would show up to greet it as it made its way around the lake. They especially loved to see it in the vicinity of the ship that inspired it, when photographers could compare the two vessels or use perspective to make it appear that they were the same size.

While the Mini Mount can carry up to nine passengers, its owners used to create the illusion of a full crowd by placing Barbie dolls in miniature seats on the boat. Viewed from a distance, it looked like passengers on the actual Mount Washington.

Origins

It was Jack Miller of Wolfeboro who built the Mini Mount with the assistance of his friend, Ed Aleska. Although they were in their sixties when they undertook the project, it was a labor of love for the two men, as well as their family members.

“Their inspiration was imagination and resources,” Tim said. “Jack Miller had a huge boathouse in downtown Wolfeboro, which allowed him to do the work there.”

Jack and Ed tested the feasibility of the project by first building an eight-foot model that featured all the details the eventual boat would include, such as the mesh screen that ran along the rails and the passenger windows along the length of the ship.

Having created the model, they set to work on the actual boat, which would occupy them for the next seven years. They built a quarter-inch steel hull with a half-inch Duraply superstructure. The boat was propelled by two Crusader 350 V-8 engines, with a third engine serving as a bow thruster to allow it to move sideways. The Mini Mount could reach a top speed of 15 knots.

“It took them seven years to build, working on it every day,” said Tim.

Captain Jack Miller, who built ‘The Little Mount’ or the “Mini Mount’ with his friend, Ed Aleska, holds a sign with information on the vessel in this photo from the 1990s. (Courtesy Photo)

“It was incredibly complex, with 12-volt and 120-volt systems, a depth-finder, radios, intercom, and generator,” Doug noted. “They didn’t skimp anywhere. There’s a steel driveshaft that’s 16 feet long.”

The boat has two miles of wiring to connect everything, they pointed out.

Irwin Marine helped with the engineering, launching, and winterizing “from Day 1,” Tim said.

Tim was particularly impressed with the ship’s horn, which was designed by experts to achieve the same pitch as the Mount Washington. Tim has a video of their test of the horn to make sure it still worked, saying they thought they might have to notify Gilford authorities when they planned to sound it.

They said it was not unusual to come across the Mini Mount while at the lake in the 1990s because Jack loved to show off the boat. He and Ed used to wear uniforms and they had a recording describing the Mini Mount as a child of The Mount.

“Jack was a showman,” Tim recalls. “No one ever had a bad day with the Mini Mount.”

Swag

After Doug purchased the boat, his daughter built a website to promote it and they had Mini Mount sunglasses, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and books. Tim posted information about the restoration on his Facebook page.

“It would have been neat to get it out on cruises, but it was too much,” Doug said.

They did give occasional tours of the boat, most notably with the Granite Region Antique Automobile Club whose members wanted to check it out. New Hampshire Chronicle featured it in one of their segments, and local newspapers have printed stories about the unique vessel.

Martha Cummings, executive director of the NH Boat Museum, expressed the directors’ appreciation “for all the work that Tim has done to care for the boat and his enthusiasm for the history over the years, and for Doug for preserving the boat and ultimately donating it to the museum.” She added, “I look forward to what we’ll be doing with it for the future — something everyone can look forward to.”

Martha explained that, while the COVID pandemic has presented a challenge to everyone, the museum board and its capital campaign team have been working on plans for the continuing care and display of the Mini Mount.

To keep track of the Mini Mount and other programs at the NH Boat Museum, see https://www.nhbm.org. Information on restoration of the boat also is available at https://www.facebook.com/mvminimount.