Claire and Marty spend an afternoon with Bud Bender

On November 9, 2002 Marty and Claire spent the afternoon with Bud Bender in Westminster, MD at Bud's home. Bud doesn't have e-mail, but will return all calls to him. Bud's number is: 410-857-5832, or drop him a line at 303 Coldstream Close, Westminster, Md. 21157

Never meeting or seeing Bud before, I was not sure what to expect. Marty had spoken with him on the phone a few times and he indicated it sounded as if he had all of his faculties about him.  Bud did remind Marty a few times that he was 85 years old.

We arrived and Bud happily greeted us at the door, he welcomed us into his home. There was the aroma of something baking and Bud apologized that he had to tend to his baking while we spoke, he says he really enjoys baking these days as he visits the local senior day center daily and brings freshly baked desserts. I thought, hmmm, smells good, I hope he shares!

Not wasting any time, I quickly asked him how many Jersey Speed Skiffs he had built over the years. He responded quite proudly, "over 300 and people have come as far as Miami, the Bahamas, Chicago, and California to purchase my boats."

It took me a moment to realize that Bud will probably be around for quite some time and I wouldn't mind visiting him again, so lets start from the beginning.

I was curious how Bud got hooked on Jersey Speed Skiffs, so I asked the question. He laughed and explained, "One Easter Sunday many years ago Bill Darby gave me a ride. Our wives were standing on the dock in their finest Easter clothes and we took off in the boat. Boy did he scare the living hell out of me! As we approached the docks after the ride, Bill sped in and turned right at the dock spraying water all over the place and soaking both of the women! Man - was I hooked! I figured if something scared me I had to find out more about it." That was the beginning. Bud went on to explain, "Sometime in the mid     "60"s a couple of fellows, Bob Perri, Chris Zeigler, and George Hiro, took a mold off the "Jo-Carol-Too""and made their own boats. Later I purchased one of the boats for $200 from George Hiro and as I was loading it up the other guys were still arguing amongst themselves and saying they didn't want me to have it." From this hull, Bud produced his own mold, which is where the majority of his boats came from, primarily building for racers. He quickly developed a deep obsession with Jersey Speed Skiffs.

Bud is very proud of the fact that he never stuck a mold. He carefully explained the process of waxing and polishing, waxing and polishing, letting the boat sit, buffing, waxing and polishing. He would frequently have the kids in the neighborhood help with this process. He went on to say, "Wolcott was a very good man, he and Zbranak stuck molds too while building boats." Over the years, Bud did it all, building hulls and engines, and it wasn't until he started making Garveys when he made the decks. For the JSS" Otto Becker designed and built the wooden plug for the deck mold.

Some time in the "90"s he had a man named Foxy from Manahawkin build his third generation boat. According to specs, Jersey Speed Skiffs are 40" wide on the bottom, but this boat was widened to 42" in the rear. The theory wider is better. This boat would fly faster down the straightaway, but turning was difficult - only a few people have been able to master this generation of boat. Of this third mold, only 12 boats were made. Foxy took the plug, glassed it, painted it black, and raced it in the E.C.B.R.C. of N.J. as JS-4 Black Magic. Micky Stavola was the first out of this new mold since he paid to have it made.

I asked if he ever raced, and he indicated that he did for a few years, but he had a very short career, he saw a couple of fatalities and decided he would rather build them then race them.

Did he ever experience a wing out? Nope, but he did throw his wife out a couple of times.

What was the first boat you built? The Lead Sled JS-24 (pictured at the left).

How long would it take to build a boat? The fastest I ever built a boat was in 2 weeks - under pressure to get it out on the racecourse. Usually, it would take 3 weeks to a month to complete one.

Is Bud a shortened version of anything or is it a nickname? Believe it or not, my name is Carol George Bender. Funnier than that, my wife's name is Theodore and we call her Teddy. We'll be celebrating our 60^th anniversary later this month.

When was the last time you were in a skiff? It’s been too long. Actually I had a wish for my 80^th birthday to ride in skiff again, now I'm 85 and don't think it will. I invited him to come to St. Michaels in June of 2003 for the ACBS boat show and I would make sure he got a ride in my boat, which is a Bender. He smiled and said great but, I drive!

Do you currently have a skiff? Yes I do! Wait here, he came back with this. He said the slime green color is his trademark. (pictured at the right).

Do you have any moments that you are particularly proud of? Yes, the only World Championship held in Red Bank, NJ - Stavola won on one of my boats.

Can I come back and talk to you again? Absolutely, but leave him (Marty) home (wink).