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View Full Version : Bill Menger has "Crossed the Bar"


santone
12-02-2004, 10:48 AM
A giant in the Catboat World has "crossed the bar". Long Island's Newsday printed a nice tribute to Bill Menger today.

"William Menger loved the shallow, shoaly waters off long Island's South Shore, and he spent much of his life building sailboats to ply the seas." Menger, a boatbuilder and longtime resident of babylon died Sunday at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center after a battle with lymphoma. He was 70" "He was a gruff old sea dog but everyone loved him," said Jerry Thompson , general manager of menger Boatworks in Amityville, the company Menger founded.".......... ......" Besides his wife Beryl, Menger is survived by a son, William C. of Babylon; and a sister, Helen Bredes of Stony Brook. the family will receive visitors today from 2-4:30 nand 7-9:30p.m. at the Boyd Spencer Funeral home in Babylon. A religious service will be held at the funeral home at 8:00 p.m. today"

I visited Bill Menger at his factory in Amityville Long Island in 2003. He considered building the Phil Rhodes design Woodpussy in glass after a building pause of 40 years. He thought it would be a nice complement for his line of Catboats, some of the finest built in the world. Bill agreed to "study" an un-restored hull in my possession and did so for several months before deciding not to proceed with the project. Perhaps he know that time would not permit him to follow through. The Sailing world will miss Bill Menger. Tony

Buddy
12-02-2004, 01:14 PM
Sorry to hear that. He, his family, and the crew will be in my thoughts. That's much too young for such a vibrant man. The catboat world needed his contribution and competition on the fiberglass segment to keep alive a shallow water tradition ( he obviously deepely loved and understood) that's not exactly over supplied by the larger manufacturers. I believe Bill Menger had a lot of oldtime, build-the-next-one-for-you "boatshop" pride in his individual contact with customers and the fact that the molds, parts , and assembly were all handled right in house. The mighty J Boat folks can't say a bit of that.
I'll have to pull out my copy the Menger Demonstration Video tonight, with him as the host, not an actor cast for the role, and let him take me sailing on his babies.
That the tradition ot Menger Catboats carry on would be a fitting memorial.

Nora, BTS
12-02-2004, 02:50 PM
His wife and family are in our thoughts. Fair winds and following seas Bill.....