SeaCraft brother passes away.

[77SceptreOB]

Phil Wilson (72) of Columbia, SC passed away last weekend. He was a CSC member under the names "76Savage" and "SC302FB". Phil was an avid SeaCaft enthusiast and a great guy! He was a very friendly and gracious man, always with a big smile and a booming voice. Phil served honorably in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. One of the first things he did upon returning from Vietnam was to buy a new SeaCraft! It was a 1974 20' Sceptre with twin Johnson 65's. He named the boat "Endurance". His preference at the time was to buy a 23' Sceptre, but it was not in his price range. But he always vowed to buy a 23'. After settling back in the States Phil earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Univ. of South Carolina. He worked in the Elec/Mech industry eventually starting his own business in 1985. Phil's background, wit, smile and hard work resulted in a very successful business in SC. Fulfilling the earlier promise he made to himself, in 2006 he bought a 1978 23' Sceptre that he named "Endured" and did a total rehab that resulted in a beautiful boat. A year later, he discovered a great deal on another 23' Sceptre. Since it was his 2nd Sceptre he named it "Deuce" and decided to convert it to a Savage. As with "Endured", Phil spared no expense and Deuce turned out awesome as well.

I met Phil in 2009 when I brought our 1977 23' SeaCraft Sceptre up from Clearwater, Florida to South Carolina for a major overhaul. Phil loved SeaCraft boat projects and jumped in to help me. He had a huge garage with tons of left over parts from his two recent restorations. He kept asking me if I wanted this or that or how about these? I ended up using quite a few of his older parts (some were new) in my restoration. I always asked him "how much do you want for this?" But he would never accept a dime, simply saying "Just take me out for a boat ride when you get it all together"

We have lost a great man. A true SeaCraft man. Rest in peace my friend.