You're gonna need a bigger boat.....Below is a pic of me that I photoshopped onto a close-up photo of my miniature Orca model I made back in 2013. I wish the real Orca had been as decked out as this when I got to stand on her transom back in '87!
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Thanks Plasticfan this post of yours describing being in the cabin etc literally gave me goosebumps. Brilliant pictures and story and I'm so glad you shared on here.
To be honest, I only became a member of this site today to leave you a comment. I'm a HUGE Jaws fan and was browsing the internet yesterday evening regarding the Orca to see if I can still snap up a piece of her as I do see people selling pieces from time to time and I stumbled across this site with your story and photos. Awesome. I remember in 94 my parents took us from England to Universal and I saw the boat then but never got on board - you were lucky! The model you made is superb too - great job. Anyways thanks again for these pics. Made my weekend
Thanks again for sharing this. Wow that is a good picture! I am still hunting my Orca 2 piece and have managed to find someone in the US who wants to sell their Martha's Vineyard Limited Edition so fingers crossed it all goes through. The book is great isn't it but I've always wanted the hard copy version. There is also this one here but I am really note sure about the authenticity.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/332609863010?_trksid=p2471758.m4704
Thanks for coming back to me, much appreciated
Glad you enjoy them. here's a couple new ones...
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God it's hard every time I see photos of her so low in the water like that.... She looks completely flooded in the lower cabin and this must have been taken just after her keel broke as you can see the bow planks starting to crack and splay out...Here's a nice high res shot I took from the side of the Orca in Hollywood on the day I boarded her... I'll see what I have with the Orca 2.... Thanks for your kind words.
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What’s interesting about the shots of the Orca on the backlot are all the missing fixtures and fittings. Somebody, somewhere has the table from the cabin, the winch from the mast, the wheels and dials from her helm, the portholes from her lower cabin etc. I’m sure one day, some of these things will come to light.Here's a nice high res shot I took from the side of the Orca in Hollywood on the day I boarded her... I'll see what I have with the Orca 2.... Thanks for your kind words.
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What’s interesting about the shots of the Orca on the backlot are all the missing fixtures and fittings. Somebody, somewhere has the table from the cabin, the winch from the mast, the wheels and dials from her helm, the portholes from her lower cabin etc. I’m sure one day, some of these things will come to light.
Yep. The new owners of the Orca even sailed it off the west coast. Pretty cool story to tell people after the fact. I think if I had been offered a crazy amount I would’ve still kept it haha. Yep it would’ve made sense to use the fibreglass hull although it would’ve meant hauling something built on the east coast all the way to the west coast. When you look at how much Lynn Murphy bought the remnants on the effects barge, the shark barges and the Orca II for, you quickly see how little Universal valued those items.The boat was sold off to a local buyer right after filming wrapped. Then a year later when the movie had become a huge hit, the studio bought it back again (with a heavy price markup!) for the backlot tour. But the private owner had already de-ORCA'd it for his own use by then. So the studio hastily re-dressed it for the backlot display and it never regained most of the movie details.
That poor boat was doomed once they put it into the backlot lake for display. You can't do that with old wooden-hulled boats and just leave them for years at a time. They studio really should have built a fake mockup of it for the backlot, especially considering the higher price that the private owner charged them to sell it back.
They could have retrieved the fiberglass Orca#2 shell and dressed it out for the backlot display. That would have been smarter and probably cheaper. Fiberglass doesn't rot or rust.