The Folly II is an all teak express motor yacht redolent of another age, yet complete with all the comfort and luxury one would expect today. Featuring a length of 64 feet, beam of 15 feet and draft of four feet, she was built by the Stephens Brothers shipyard of Stockton, California in the early 1930s for Robert Toohey of San Francisco. A contemporary issue of Pacific Motor Boat described her thusly, "The combination of trim clean lines, harmonious proportions and luxurious polished teak finish gives this craft a distinctive beauty that arrest the attention of all who behold it." The same words could be said today.
The boat was launched in winter 1931, the depth of the Great Depression. Even in those tough times, there were people who could afford a boat like the Folly, “The last word in luxury,” as Motor Boating magazine called it. The boat has berths for eight people, including two crew members, usually a captain and cook. The owner’s stateroom looks like it belongs on a small cruise ship; the galley is up to date in the latest 1930s style. There is even a bathtub. One owner called the boat “a masterpiece of yesterday.”
The boat was launched in the last years of Prohibition and one of the first owners supposedly used the Folly to smuggle illegal liquor along the Central California coast. A luxury yacht was the perfect disguise for a rumrunner, and the boat was fast enough to dodge government agents.
Later owners included Kenneth Bechtel, the construction tycoon, Beryl H. Buck, the millionaire philanthropist, and Clessie Cummins, who developed the Cummins diesel engine. The boat was berthed at various times in San Francisco, San Diego and Monterey.
It was a familiar sight on Monterey Bay, berthed near Cannery Row for over 30 years. Sam and Patricia Garrett owned it and often anchored the big white yacht off Pebble Beach.
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Past craftsmanship combined with elegance and grace never go out of style.
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