Bus Stop Classic: GMC TDH-4523 “New Look” Transit Sailboat Bus – Ready For the Flood

Since Mr. Bus Stop Classics Jim Brophy is sharing with us a wonderful car show, I’m going to step in and share this remarkable creation that has taken residence in my neighborhood, just a few blocks away. Aren’t I lucky?

If you’re on the ball, you will remember that I showed you this bus once before, in April 2017. At that time, it was a bit further away, not nearly as completed, and I assumed I’d never see it again.

It’s currently ensconced in the driveway of this house, but a month or two back, I caught tied up to the dock, ready for a sail. And the captain was out, so he could explain it to me and let me look around inside. Extra lucky me!

Yes, that’s a genuine sailboat up there, but it’s been stretched in the middle. And now it’s sporting a woodgrain finish on its fiberglass sides. The best of both worlds; all wood boats should be like that.

The section between and just before and behind these two vertical uprights is the stretch; it’s pretty obvious with a closer look. The “water” at the bow is part of the recent additions.

You might be wondering about this grab bar and the diamond plate steel section with its hinge. This bus is has been turned into a food cart, although it’s not currently in operation. Maybe at summer time festivals, or? I’m guessing this window flips open.

Let’s step in and poke around a bit. This looks familiar, given the seat time I had behind the very same kind of bus during my brief career as an Iowa City Bus driver in 1976-1976. The steering wheel is either not original, or a later design. This was a Lane Transit District (Eugene), so it’s a hometown bus, still.

Here’s the view back from the front.

Moving back, a closer look at the galley.

More detail.

Nice woodwork on the ladder to the upper deck.

The main cabin upstairs.

And the open part of the sailboat. A solar panel on wheels. A nice place to ride on a sunny day, at lower speeds.

Time to exit.

Time to bid the sailbus adieu. But it’s nice to know I can come back and look at it anytime I feel the need. Everyone should have a “fishbowl” bus in their neighborhood, especially one ready to go sailing for the fish.

 

My more detailed CC on the GMC New Look buses is here