Folly Beach's Two Famous Boats--One Barely Retained, One Barely Remains

2008

The boundless Folly Beach landscape is a stunningly beautiful tangled blue web of saltwater creeks, rivers, and estuary marshes. It is this dazzling network of rising and ebbing saltwater that decidedly makes it a water sportsman’s wonderland of swimming, boating, fishing, surfing, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, and the home of two famous boats, one with a Hurricane Hugo connection.

I came across one of Folly's notable maritime landmarks for the first time while paddleboarding Folly Creek in 2015. Coastal Expedition's had a small office located in a wooden planked building next to Crosby Fish and Shrimp at that time.

I boarded my rented long board, shoved off into the warm waters of Folly Creek, and paddled towards Bowen's Island Restaurant. Not long into the paddle, the object of my interest came into view with its stern sticking out of the water along the edge of the marsh grass. It had been there since its abandonment. I took my first pictures of the solitary wreck.

2015

2019

I have revisited the sunken boat off and on since that first encounter. It has changed over the years. Aside from the Skull-and-Crossbones being placed on it, the creek's salty water and weathering elements since have ravaged the wooden denizen of the deep. My last visit was in November, 2022.

If you are interested in seeing this famous sunken Folly boat for the first time, I would suggest you do it sooner than later, because the maritime clock is ticking down to once upon a time there was a sunken boat on Folly Creek.

2022

Location of sunken boat on Folly Creek.

In the decades after Hurricane Hugo swept the other famous Folly Boat to its resting place next to Folly Road in 1989, it became a sounding board for community residents, who painted and repainted it with political slogans, declarations of love, and other messages. In 1996, two killer whales were painted on one of its sides. It was irresistible to passersby, who would stop to have their pictures taken next to it. Perhaps, you were one of them.

Then, in September 2017, Tropical Storm Irma came into town and along with a high tide swept the boat up from its iconic roadside location and crashed it into a private dock on Sol Legare Road where it remained with an uncertain future, even after over two thousand dollars of donations was raised to save it. At one point during the next two years, the over 20 ton behemoth was precariously considered for the scrap pile. However, a James Island bar owner came to the rescue.

In December of 2019, Crews with Limehouse and Sons used a crane and a flatbed truck to move the boat from its marshy resting place to The Barrel on Folly Road. Even though it is on private property, it is both visible and accessible from Folly Road. Looking at Google maps, it shows the bar is pinned as permanently closed, but the painted boat still remains at that location.

The Folly Boat by itself is just an aging, metal hull, but when painted, it was both inspirational and controversial through the years. It produced some beautiful art works and sometimes emitted words like a drunken sailor. Town officials often debated whether it was a landmark or an eyesore, but it was the everyday person that settled the matter in favor of a local icon. Recently, it may have lost its luster among newcomers who couldn't possibly fathom its allure, but long time residents of the Lowcountry remember it like they do Hugo. Hey, it even had a Facebook fan page where you can see pictures posted by painters and lovers of the Hugo boat, though the last one posted was in 2021.

You, the reader, may have pictures of these two famous boats of your own or even a story recounting your own encounter with them while traveling Folly Road to Folly Beach or paddling Folly Creek. Go ahead and share them if you so desire.