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  1. #556
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    Well !!! Well !!!! Well !!!!!!! Willabee With Feeling 'it Really Doesn't Get Much Better That'. It's Taken Me 40 Years To Find Out You Do Have A Heart And Feelings.-----------and Your Not Just A Hard Nosed ,walking Encyclopediatic Ex Mercury Ramrod Challenging The World To Prove You Wrong-----------and Another Thing ,you Never Did Get Used To Eating Pasta Without Slurping It All Over Everyone Else At The Table.
    You Were Right About Tullio Waiting Till Lunch Time Before Charging Down The Lake To Show Off His Latest Offering, So Everyone Could See It. Scotti Used To Do It As Well.
    Tom Percival Used To Race An Abbatte Before He Went To Mercury.
    Do You Remember John Had No Idea How To Do American Style Breakfast, So I Would Join Him In The Kitchen And Show Him How.
    I Will Have To Look Long And Hard At The Last Couple Of Offerings. There Is Such A Prodigious Amount Of Memory There For Me To Analyze And You Got Most Of It Right.

    One Thing We Both Totally Agree On It's One Of The Most Beautiful Places On Earth

  2. #557
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    Oh Dear,!!!!Willa dropped A Boo-Boo. ' NO SUCH PLACE AS TORRIGGIA' WELL IN THAT CASE THERE'S PROBABLY NO SUCH PLACE AS RIVA JUST ACROSS THE LAKE. LET ME CLARIFY THIS JUST A BIT. THERE IS A VILLAGE CALLED TAVERNOLA A FEW KILOMETERS BEFORE THE VILLAGE OF TORRIGGIA, BUT IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BUILDING OF BOATS AS WE KNOW THEM.
    YES 'THE CANTIERA TORRIGGIA' WAS BUILT BY JEREMIAH CETTI WHO OWNED IT LONG BEFORE MOLINARI AND HE BUILT HIS OWN TORRIGIA CRAFT THERE.
    I WILL WARN THE FEW HUNDRED INHABITANTS OF THIS VILLAGE, LYNCHING WILL NOT BE NECESSARY AS IT WAS JUST A GOOD OLD FASHIONED MEMORY LAPSE THAT WIPED THEM OUT, UNINTENTIONALLY OF COURSE. THE FACILITY WAS SPLENDID AND A BOAT COULD BE AWAY FROM PRYING EYES IN SECONDS.
    THE BOTTOM FLOOR WAS WHER THE OVENS WERE FOR DRYING THE NEW PAINTED BOATS, AND IT SEEMS THIS IS WHERE MOST OF THE RIGGING WAS DONE. THE MIDDLE FLOOR WAS WHERE THE ACTUAL BOATBUILDING WAS DONE AND THE TOP FLOOR WAS THE SHOWROOM. EVERYTHING WAS TILED IN ITALIAN MARBLE. CAN YOU REMEMBER HOW BOATS WERE HAULED UP TO THE TINY CAR/TRAILOR PARK 100 AND ODD FEET ABOVE THE WATER. YOU WERE RIGHT WILLIAM!!!!!!LIFE DIDN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT. TILL I MOVED DOWN HERE TO THE SOUTH OF FRANCE AND STARTED TO PLAY BOATS AGAIN.

  3. #558
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    The story unfolds

    Quote Originally Posted by jackie wilson View Post
    YES 'THE CANTIERA TORRIGGIA' WAS BUILT BY JEREMIAH CETTI WHO OWNED IT LONG BEFORE MOLINARI AND HE BUILT HIS OWN TORRIGIA CRAFT THERE
    This is what I was starting to suspect ... Chetti sold the place to Angelo. Now the question would be - was Angelo one of Chetti's employees or did Angelo have a shop somewhere else before buying Chetti's shop?

    Angelo is credited as the builder of di Priolo's 100 mph record setter from 1956, but that doesn't mean he had his own commercial enterprise; it could have been built in his garage behind his residence.

    Is the picture in post 377 the mountain/road side of the same building? http://forums.screamandfly.com/forum...&postcount=377
    Last edited by Mark75H; 02-23-2008 at 10:38 AM.

  4. #559
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    It would be great if we could hear from Renato and Georgio directly and learn what they know

  5. #560
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    angelo was a renowned and respected builder and racer of hydro's and had his own workshop and boatbuilding business in the town of Como and was not an employee of Jeremiah Cetti but a friend. I also think they were both hydro racers in the period just after the 2nd world war. If it's important i could ask Phil Rolla who also raced inboard hydros around that time. Giorgio still runs angelo's business after his demize.

  6. #561
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    bugger , i just wrote you a long explanation and it got lost somewhere in the posting.
    Angelo had his own shop and was a very well respected boatbuilder. You posted an earlier picture of his shop.

  7. #562
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    Quote Originally Posted by jackie wilson View Post
    Do You Remember John Had No Idea How To Do American Style Breakfast, So I Would Join Him In The Kitchen And Show Him How...... There Is Such A Prodigious Amount Of Memory There For Me To Analyze And You Got Most Of It Right.
    Now I remember why I choose to skip breakfast . I also remember telling John that we were getting a little tired of pasta and fish, and asked him to fix us some hamburgers for lunch. He responded with dumonya (sp) which meant tomorrow. We'd go in the next day and, in Italian, he'd explain that the butcher didn't get the meat he'd ordered, so the burgers would again be dumonya. Finally I threatened (in a nice way) that we would start having our lunch somewhere else if he couldn't arrange to make us some burgers and he assured me that we'd have them the next day.

    We showed the next day and there was John, smiling and shaking hands as he greeted us at the door. He was happy to say that we were having burgers and fries for lunch. Soon everyone got down to the business of putting the fixin's on their burger just the way they ate it back home. We were a merry bunch, just a eating and a chatting away when Denny Robbins suddenly put his half-eaten burger back on his plate. He had a sickly expression on his face when he said to the group "I didn't see the dog today!"

    Sure enough, the stray mutt that hung around John's and barked continuously was nowhere to be found. John denied any wrongdoing, but for most of us, lunch was over. We went back to Molinari's shop not feeling too good. I am happy to report that when we went back to John's, the dog had returned. A couple of the guys said that this dog had the black spot over the wrong eye, but I chose to believe that it was indeed the same dog we had seen before the "last supper".

    Here are a few more shots of the 9 carb at Como in 1970.....Renato at speed, the powerhead in the shop being adjusted and Renato coming back to the shop after a test.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Renato 9 carb Como 1970.jpg   9 carb.jpg   Renato test 9 carb 1970.jpg  

  8. #563
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    Quote Originally Posted by jackie wilson View Post
    Oh Dear,!!!!Willa dropped A Boo-Boo. ' NO SUCH PLACE AS TORRIGGIA' ..... LET ME CLARIFY THIS JUST A BIT. THERE IS A VILLAGE CALLED TAVERNOLA A FEW KILOMETERS BEFORE THE VILLAGE OF TORRIGGIA, BUT IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BUILDING OF BOATS AS WE KNOW THEM.....THE BOTTOM FLOOR WAS WHER THE OVENS WERE FOR DRYING THE NEW PAINTED BOATS,
    I didn't boo-boo, I said "if there even is a Torriggia".....so, okay, there is one. Depart Como, travel through Cernobbio (Villa D'Este), then travel through Tavernola (Albergo Concord that we stayed at in 70) and stop in Toriggia (Molinari's shop).....I think I've got it!

    I definitely don't remember any paint dryers on the 1st floor. In fact, I don't remember any period. Do remember lots of marble, most buildings that I was in on that Lake had tons of marble.

    Mark75H.....the photo in post #377 is definately not the same building as seen in post #573. For some reason I want to say that the #377 facility is next to Angelo's home in Como (pictured below). I've been to this home, but just don't remember for sure if the boat plant was next to it. Jackie?.......
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Picture 026.jpg  
    Last edited by willabee; 02-23-2008 at 05:37 PM.

  9. #564
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    You guys are amazing!!!!!!!!I am fascinated with the history you are recalling (and documenting by-the-way). Dick had been to Renatos' shop a few times apparently and knew Phil Rolla, He recounted a few tales....however that was a long time ago.
    Great reading!

  10. #565
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    Quote Originally Posted by willabee View Post
    I didn't boo-boo, I said "if there even is a Torriggia".....so, okay, there is one. Depart Como, travel through Cernobbio (Villa D'Este), then travel through Tavernola (Albergo Concord that we stayed at in 70) and stop in Toriggia (Molinari's shop).....I think I've got it!

    I definitely don't remember any paint dryers on the 1st floor. In fact, I don't remember any period. Do remember lots of marble, most buildings that I was in on that Lake had tons of marble.

    Mark75H.....the photo in post #377 is definately not the same building as seen in post #573. For some reason I want to say that the #377 facility is next to Angelo's home in Como (pictured below). I've been to this home, but just don't remember for sure if the boat plant was next to it. Jackie?.......
    Bang on William, That's the Molinari residence and the workshop is just a little to the left, The coffee shop is just out of sight to the right.Cernobbio i think,
    The paint shop at Torriggia took up one third of the floor space and was one of the most state of the art facilities in Italy. [at that time]. It was well sealed from the working area and the ovens could take 2 boats at a time.
    Ridgells house next door was all marble and carvings, and had a terrace out into the lake.
    Still laugh about the time Pruett thought that the boy Ridgell should be initiated into the joys of Montmarte, he was well and truly 'Blooded' that night------but that's for another day.--------I;m very happy that you can now find your way from Como to Torriggia and not get lost------Bloody Hooray it is on the same and only road up that side of the lake. Hardly rocket science

  11. #566
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    Maybe Willabee spent most of his time there before the paint shop was fully developled

  12. #567
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    The Original Torriggia Boats Were Things Of Beauty And Works Of Art. The Finish On Them Could Only Be Compared To The Very Best Of American "custom Paint Jobs". So The Ovens Were 'inherited'
    I Am Really Surprised That Willabee Never Noticed The Paint Shop. But Then Again, I Don't Remember The Name Of The Guy Who Did The Painting. !!!!! Sei La Vie. [that's Life].

  13. #568
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark75H View Post
    Maybe Willabee spent most of his time there before the paint shop was fully developled
    When I was there, they hoisted the freshly painted boats over the side of the building and let them air dry and bake in the sun .....exactly the same thing they did to a visitor if he didn't play by the rules .

    No, at the moment I can't remember what any paint dryers looked like or where they might have been located. I did look at some film of the shop and saw finished boats, including hydros, stored in that upper half story with the balcony. When we arrived, all of our boats would be on the first floor, ready to be rigged, and they would rig Renato's on the 2nd floor. There was also a small area to work on powerheads, an engine parts stockroom and a bench with some grinding wheels on the 1st floor.

    Since I remember how to get there..... all the way from Como.....all by myself..... I think I'll just stick with my original recollection of what happened on each floor. Jackie, you can put the paint booths anywhere you want, they won't be in my way.
    Last edited by willabee; 02-25-2008 at 05:12 PM.

  14. #569
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    Again William ,you almost got it right !!!!!!!
    When they hung the boat out-------it wasn't to dry the paint,-----but to send it up the side of the mountain to a waiting trailor and then on to the next stage of a boats life, ie. Paris, Berlin, the U.S.A.
    And another thing, when did rules ever come into the equation.!!!!! We were boating people, this was flower power time, knicker chucking time, bra's were burned to cook the burghers, boys found girls, y'know--the himing and hering. That was before the himing and himing came about and why do i get that feeling i just opened a huge barrel of worms-------shutup Wilson.!!!!!!! Back to the paint shop, i can see what happened here. The opposite side to 'THE HOLE IN THE FLOOR' is where the small areas to work on powerheads , and an engine stockroom, and a coupla grinders and a mill and a linisher a drill press or two and an anvil and a coupla benches and a compressor and room for a coupla Merc engineers. Yup, i reckon that was where the original paint shop was.
    The middle floor was a woodwork shop with every conceivable piece of machinery known to man, now we both know wood dust and paint is a no - no. Soooo- where did the boats get painted. ????
    The top floor was strictly posh showroom, finished kit only, the occasional boat cover and always the well used skanky ,ashamed to put your boat on Italian tralor.
    So what it boils down to is this,------If Mercury Mecknicks had taken over the paintshop, and the middle floor was a woodwork shop, the top floor a showroom,----- then where was the paintwork done---------????? The Molinari boats were given a quite respectable paint and varnish job and i don't ever remember them leaving and coming back painted, so it had to be done 'in house'.
    Finally you only remember how to get to Torrigia 'cos i told you it existed and then you got onto Google Earth to check the way IF i was right. Have a nice day William.

  15. #570
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    We were boating people, this was flower power time, knicker chucking time, bra's were burned to cook the burghers, boys found girls, y'know--the himing and hering. That was before the himing and himing came about and why do i get that feeling i just opened a huge barrel of worms-------shutup Wilson.!!!!!!!
    Well since you did open that can of worms....don't be bashful. Those stories are probably more interesting than the floor lay out of a boat shop 38 years a go

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