Chad Reynolds sits cross-legged atop the 10-ton Folly Boat, a beloved, storied vessel that has seen its share of rough seas. The sun is setting — he’ll light the mini Christmas tree soon. Every few minutes a driver gleefully lays on his horn, Reynolds waves. “I knew people loved this boat, I just didn’t realize how much.”
After two years in limbo, the Folly Boat is now located at 1859 Folly Road on the edge of Reynolds’ hybrid bar/dog park The Barrel. It took several months of meetings and planning and logistics, and while Reynolds is technically the boat’s owner, he’d prefer to think of himself as a watchman — a hands-off guardian angel. Well, mostly hands-off.
“It’s not my boat … but if there is anything I deem even remotely controversial I’ll come roll right over it — I live a mile and a half away.” He’s set up a security camera pointed directly at the boat; “as long as I have a cell signal, I can check on it anywhere in the world.”
It was 28 years ago when the steel-hulled boat first washed ashore during Hurricane Hugo. Residents immediately took to the abandoned ship, using the hull as a canvas for sweet messages, notes of encouragement, exciting announcements. Local real estate broker Eric Draper made a Facebook page documenting the boat’s messages; sister act Gracie & Lacey even wrote an ode to Folly Boat (yes, there’s a music video).
But two years ago, hurricane season came around as it always does, this time with a focused fury. Hurricane Irma pulled the boat out into the creek parallel to Sol Legare Road, shoving her firmly against resident Chris John’s dock. There it sat, heavy in the mud, until Reynolds stepped up.
Back in September, Reynolds saw a ABC News 4 story with John explaining he was ready to get the boat off his dock — once gone, with nowhere to go, it would be relocated to the junkyard. Reynolds got to thinking — he had room for it on his property. The boat couldn’t go back to its old spot just a bit up the road due to OCRM and DOT regulations, but The Barrel was pretty darn close.
With the help of Draper and other brokers, plus Limehouse & Sons, who generously donated time, effort, and a 140,000 pound crane, Reynolds and crew got to work Thurs. Dec. 12 getting the boat from John’s dock to The Barrel. “I have a construction background and an engineering degree — I know this stuff,” says Reynolds. “I said ‘I can help, what do you need me to do?'”
Reynolds pulled on his mud boots, trekked through the marsh, and crawled under the 20,000-pound metal ship, rolling logs just so. Once the crane (and a 40-foot trailer hauling counter weights) were in position, the Folly Boat took flight, leaving its purgatorial spot forever. When the boat was in place and ready to be lowered to the ground at 1859 Folly, dodging power lines was the easy part. Dodging people? Not so much. “The boat sat for about two hours, we were trying to keep it a secret but people kept stopping.”
The boat has made national news, featured in publications like USA Today, the Weather Channel, and US News and World Report.
It’s only been a few days, but Reynolds says he’s already had one woman come to the boat and cry — she wrote a special message on it years ago. Others have come and tried to peel away the many layers of paint, seeking even a shadow of a memory. A guy was planning to paint an engagement announcement on Sunday, but who knows how long that will last. “I care about it, I live out here, I used to pass it daily, and it’s on my property yes but it’s y’all’s boat,” urges Reynolds. “Do what you want — keep it classy, don’t be a jerk.”
Another honk and three more sharp beeps; a woman pulls up alongside the boat, grabbing the perfect photo as the sun sets. Reynolds scoots just out of the shot, “We will have a whole new generation of people learning about this boat.”
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