ETSU’s fabled Buc Ship is gaining a spiritual successor in the form of The Jerry Robertson, otherwise known as the Buc Ship II.
The original Buc Ship was constructed out of a golf cart and the body of a fiberglass racing boat that transported up to six cheerleaders and students.
Built by a team of ETSU alumni, the Buc Ship ferried students for sport and spirit events from 1984 to the mid 1990s, but it disappeared and has since never been located. The ghost ship is rumored to be somewhere on campus, though community efforts to unearth the piece of ETSU history have been unsuccessful.
To replace the Buc Ship, however, Unicoi County High School teacher and ETSU alum Mark Fleenor has taken to building The Jerry Robertson, or Buc Ship II.
Fleenor has maintained a close relationship with ETSU sports and academics with at least 14 close family members who are also alumni of the institution.
The ship was granted her moniker in tribute to recently retired ETSU athletic trainer Jerry Robertson. The new ship will utilize the lightweight aluminum body of a boat donated by Charles Dyer, a fellow ETSU alum and Vietnam War navy veteran. The planned limit is 12 occupants, which is double the capacity of the original ship.
A mixture of UCHS staff, volunteers and students have set to work on the craft as they prepare to have her rolling by the start of spring sports.
Several facets of the UCHS Career Technical Education program are involved, with the departments of Collision Repair and Welding set to fasten the hull to a donated van chassis. Other students will be involved as the project progresses, such as marketing and computer application students. Students involved with the project are expected to gain valuable experience, and plans to submit the ship into regional and national competitions are in the works as well.
The project is a personal endeavor by Fleenor himself, though his effort has been met with financial, material and construction support from UCHS, the community and local institutions. Many monetary donations came in from the 80s Old School Tailgating Crew, a dedicated ETSU tailgating group that wants to see the return of the Buc Ship to its native waters of Pirate Creek.
In addition to financial help, the Buc Ship II is being outfitted with an authentic brass yacht bell and wooden steering wheel donated by Friendship Marina. Fleenor expects more decor to be donated as the project nears completion.
The original plan for the vessel was to place the body of the ship onto the chassis of a truck donated by Grindstaff Ford, but Fleenor quickly discovered that a stronger platform would be needed. A donor was sourced for a more powerful Chevy 3500 van, and the plans were updated to strip the vehicle down to the floor. The walls and roof will be removed by UCHS staff and students, and then the welding class will fasten the aluminum body to the steel frame.
Once attached, Fleenor and students intend to wire and decorate the ship with traditional sailing placements such as a mast, sail, crow’s nest and poop deck. There are no plans to maintain the street legality of the Buc Ship II, and Fleenor is still seeking a dual axle trailer to transport the 24-foot long vessel between its home ports of Erwin and Johnson City.
In addition to UCHS and ETSU sports events, Fleenor intends to use the Buc Ship II for educational purposes. The ship will serve as a rolling classroom for students interested in sea exploration, history and engineering throughout the region. Rental donations are planned to offset the cost of maintenance and transportation, and Fleenor said the cost for a visit will be determined through conversation with school administrators.
“It’s meant to bring pride, not only to our flagship university in our region, but to bring pride to the urban community for what this vocational school and these teachers are able to accomplish with our students down here,” said Fleenor. “That’s what I want to give credit to, without these builders and teachers this is not happening at the moment.”
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