Festival Boats – Continued from previous page
Pleiades (Sloop) Unknown
Her designer, date of construction & place of origin are unknown. In 1979, Kay Robinson purchased Pleiades when she was just a hull – no decking, deck framing or cabin. Her spars were included, as well as a rotten suit of sails. Between 1979 & 1987, Kay & her husband, Peter, along with an extensive cadre of local talent, completely rebuilt Pleiades. In 1997 & 2007, she needed extensive haulouts. Even during the haulouts she has always been a joy to the Robinsons. Port Townsend, Wash.
Prophet 1947
An International One Design (IOD) sloop designed & built in Norway by Bjarne Aas. In 1936, 25 IOD yachts were delivered from Norway & commenced racing on Long Island Sound. Since that time, other fleets have formed in Norway, United Kingdom, Bermuda, Canada & the U.S. Eastsound, Wash.
Rowan 2006
Based on Iain Oughtred’s J-II/Arctic Tern & Ness Yawl designs, she’s set up to be optimized for single-handed, multi-day, motor-free cruising here in the Salish Sea. Rowan is my absolute favorite boat out of the 52 (and counting…) boats I’ve built. The thwarts & side benches are a pomelle figure Honduras mahogany I’d been hoarding for years, looking for just the right project. Anacortes, Wash.
Sande 1933
For Sale
PT Eleven 2011
The PT Eleven is a highly developed 11’ nesting dinghy ideal for cruising boats. She rows very well, has a sailing option & can be assembled in 15 seconds, either in the water or out. Sold as a kit by Port Townsend Watercraft. Port Townsend, Wash.
PT Skiff 2009
Fuel-efficient motor skiff designed for the Professional Boatbuilder & Wooden Boats Magazines’ Design Challenge. Presented as the first prototype for a new kit boat business, Port Townsend Watercraft, owned by Russel & Ashlyn Brown. Port Townsend, Wash.
Risa 1968
In the late 1950s, a Tacoma lumber company with a lot of excess plywood staged a design contest for a racer/ cruiser sailboat that amateurs could build in their backyards. Ben Seaborn won with his design for the very fast yet easily-built Thunderbird. The Wooden Boat Foundation uses Risa & her sister ships for adult sailing classes. Port Townsend, Wash.
Before boat trailers, you’d go to a resort & rent a boat to fish. Sande is typical of those rentals. Probably built by a commercial fisherman home for the winter, her hull relies on salt-water soaking to minimize leaks. I found her on a trailer I was buying in 1992. I replaced her broken ribs & have been bringing her to the Festival ever since. Poulsbo, Wash.
Saravan 1938
Built as a tug for logging industry in Canada. Shortly after launch, she was commandeered by the Navy & used to open & close submarine nets in Esquimalt Harbor. Following WWII, she continued her life as a logging tug. In 1989, she was about to be burned as scrap when the Ladysmith Maritime Society took her on as a restoration project. After 2 years, she was re-launched as the flagship of LMS’s heritage fleet. A great example of the region’s maritime history. Ladysmith, B.C.
Sawaya 1989
For Sale
Puffin 1986
This Ian Oughtred Acorn was the first boat to be started in the new NW Maritime Center shop. The design has been modified to become a lifeboat as well as a highly efficient rowboat with airtight seat compartments both accessible through deck plates. The compartment under the center thwart is also airtight & filled with rigid polystyrene. Additionally, there is a false sole with sealed air chambers between the hull & sole, as well as a vinyl rub guard over the entire keel & stem. She’s a delight to row & trims easily in all rowing combinations. For further information, her owner/ builder is aboard Bon Accord during the Festival. Snohomish, Wash.
Radiant Star 1956
She’s a 75’ North Sea Trawler built by J&G Forbes of Scotland. Powered by a Gardner 230hp diesel. She sailed to the West Coast by way of Cape Horn. Yacht conversion by For Sale Lovrics of Anacortes in 1999. Massive wood construction with aluminum wheelhouse, refastened below the waterline in 2005. Radiant Star was awarded Best of Show at Trawlerfest 2007 in Poulsbo. Anacortes, Wash.
Red Schooner 1981
Red Schooner was built by Devlin Boat, using their signature stitch & glue plywood method. In 1985, owner Paul Devlin added a pilothouse (drawn by Sam Devlin) in preparation for a trip to Alaska. I found her on Craigslist & restored her exterior over last summer & the interior over the winter & spring of this year. She was born as Red Schooner; her name has never changed. Olympia, Wash.
Ripple 1993
Ripple is a 25’9’ gaff-rigged tops’l cutter crafted by NWSWBB in 1993. Designed by William Atkin in 1949, her lines reflect his allegiance to the aesthetics of proportion rather than volume of cabin space. She is planked with red cedar on bent oak frames with a fir backbone. Bronze stanchions winches & deck hardware are products of the Port Townsend Foundry. The keel-stepped mast & spars are solid fir & her blocks are handcrafted. Her sails are by Port Townsend Sails. Ripple’s auxiliary diesel is a 9hp 1-cyl. Yanmar diesel with port-side offset shaft. Seattle, Wash.
Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
Sawaya was hull #3 of the Pelican class started in the late 1980s in San Francisco Bay. The father/son team of Jim & Ed Barlow designed this 18-foot sailboat based on the popular 12-foot San Francisco Pelican, with the blessings of the original Pelicaneer Captain Short. Portland, Ore.
Scout 2009
She’s a raised deck outboard cruiser with cruising accommodations for 2, powered by a 4-cycle 90hp outboard. She was built at Sam Devlin’s shop in Olympia. Lakebay, Wash.
Sea Cloud 1937
Built in 1937 by Merton Christiansen, who used fir on oak. She was rigged to a cutter design. In the last 5 years, David White has overhauled the hull & installed new planks fasteners & stem. Soon she should be in shape to head for the South Pacific. Sea Cloud has changed hands only 3 times in her 66 years, with her two previous owners keeping her for decades & only parting with her when their age & health forced them to pass her care on to another. Port Townsend, Wash.
Sea Dream 1968
A boat to explore these NW waters. Her traditional lines & romance of a time gone by hooked us. Her restoration began in Port Townsend continued on Bainbridge Island &, after 4 years out of the water, was re-launched in Port Orchard. We have taken great pleasure in customizing her, without compromising her classic charm & traditional values. Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Seven Bells 1929
Seven Bells has an overall length of 43’ & 11 1/2 beam & weighs 20,000 lbs. Her hull is sawn white oak frames with Port Orford cedar carvel planks. She has bronze fastenings, a teak deck & brightwork, a plumb bow & a flat transom. In 1988, the two original gas engines were replaced with Chrysler-Nissan diesels. Between 1998 and 2000, Seven Bells underwent a complete restoration. Seattle, Wash.
Shamrock 1965
Built in Annapolis, M.d., she’s Trumpy No. 427. Constructed of doubleplanked mahogany over a frame of white oak, her trim is teak. She underwent major restoration beginning in 2002. Purchased in 2004 by Sharon & John Lynch, she was renamed Shamrock & now resides in Port Ludlow. She transited the Panama Canal during the 1980s. She now cruises Puget Sound, San Juan Islands & Canada. Port Ludlow, Wash.
Sharon L. 1933
Storm Petrel 2009
Sharon L. is a local catboat that has been in the Pacific NW for 79 years. Her hull of yellow cedar on white oak frames is original. Unusual for catboats of her era Sharon L. has an 8’ bowsprit & a larger jib to help balance her large gaff-rigged mainsail. She’s the poster boat for this 36th Festival! Port Townsend, Wash.
Storm Petrel was built by Devlin Designing Boat Builders in 2009 & closely follows the Beal’s Island type of Lobster Boats. She is built with the stitch-and-glue boatbuilding method & has a strong & light hull. Her power is twin 110hp diesel engines & has great maneuverability with the engine arrangement. We tried to follow the type very closely with only small changes for use in NW waters, i.e. the closed pilothouse. She has a small Sardine woodstove for comfort on cool evenings & is the perfect NW cruiser. Tacoma, Wash.
Silva Bans 1985
Ocean-tested design providing a dry & comfortable ride even in less than ideal conditions. A decked version is also available for the more experienced adventurer. Renton, Wash.
Strip Planked Canoe 2003
A fine example of a traditional cedar strip planked canoe, she is built of Western red cedar & trimmed with mahogany, Alaskan yellow cedar & lacewood. She has seen continuous service since construction. Corbett, Ore.
Skillful 1955
She is a rad little tugboat, maneuverable & powerful. Stationed at the Center for Wooden Boats, she proves very useful, but also serves as a great swim toy in the summer months. Seattle, Wash.
Summer Star 1970
She was built to take the committee that accompanied the Victoria-Maui Race. She made the trip to Hawaii once. Victoria, B.C.
Solitude III 2012
John C. Harris-designed PocketShip, built from plans by Jon Lee. This stitch&-glue boat “is a small cruising sailboat of refined model meant to sail well on all points provide dry camping accommodations for 2 adults & tow behind a 4-cyl. car.” Construction started in fall 2010. As of May 2012, she was still under construction. Everett, Wash.
Sonja Ann 1966
She’s an all-original Express cruiser; only 15 were made & she’s the only 1 still afloat. She was re powered with an Isuzu diesel in early 1990s. Friday Harbor, Wash.
Sophia Isle 1997
For Sale
She’s a Francis Herreshoff 1929 Walrus motorsailer, included in Sensible Cruising Designs. Built in Nova Scotia by Covey Island Boat Works in strip plank spruce & West System epoxy from a modified design (wheel house & interior layout). She’s powered by twin 85hp Perkins 4-236 diesels. Victoria, B.C.
Sparky 1961
She’s a Sparkman & Stephens yawl built of double-planked mahogany over Yacal. She’s been in the Mollner family since 2005, when she was purchased in a fairly dilapidated condition. Each year, improvements have been made in addition to the regular maintenance. We’re enjoying seeing her condition continue to improve & the complements & interest she brings from fellow boaters. Deer Harbor, Wash.
Swallow 2005
Tahuna 1936
For Sale
Spike Africa 1977
Spirit of Aloha 1960
She’s a 26’ open cockpit Chris Craft run-about. Honolulu, Hawaii She’s a Matthews 40 Sedan Classic Motor Yacht. If she were being presented like a collector car, she’d be considered a Resto-Mod. She has been modified & upgraded tastefully to a level one would expect of a modern yacht & fully restored by Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op. She’s made recent trips to Princess Louisa Inlet & other Gulf Island destinations. Seattle, Wash.
Steveston Lifeboat 1944
Built as a launch, according to a Washington state shipyard, she once served as Admiral Nimitz’s personal barge. She is currently volunteered to the nonprofit Canadian Lifeboat Institution for search & rescue on the Fraser River, B.C. In her off-duty time, she is the research vessel for my work as a marine artist. Delta, B.C.
Suva 1925
Designed for Frank Pratt of Pratt & Whitney Engines, she’s built almost entirely of old growth teak, including the hull, planking, framing backbone & cabin. She’s spent her entire life in Puget Sound. Originally rigged as a gaff schooner, she now uses a staysail schooner rig. The 68’ yacht was completely refitted at the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op. Port Townsend, Wash. Designed & built by Tim Smythe & Chip Cherry at Cherry Boatworks in Gig Harbor starting in 2001, she was launched in May 2005. She was designed to be trailerable. Her hull is strip planked & interior features 6 different types of wood, some locally harvested & milled. Olympia, Wash.
She’s the last coasting schooner, with a proud history of carrying America’s goods across the world’s oceans. At 80’ & with a long working life as a freighter, she’s kin to the iconic freighting schooners of 200 years ago. Her decades of work took her along America’s West Coast & many times across the Pacific. Builder & original owner Bob Sloan was a leading figure in the Pacific working boat industry. Friday Harbor, Wash.
St Brendan 1947
Sunbow 2002
Designed by John Marples, she was built by Dick White in the Mojave Desert over a period of 10 years. Constant Camber is a method of laying up cold molded panels on one mold of consistent camber, which allows all the strips to be the same spile. The panels are then butt-spliced together, forming a sturdy monoque structure. She was built in 3 pieces, trucked to Oxnard, Calif., & launched in 2002. Seattle, Wash.
She’s a Halliday-designed cutter built by Taylor & Sons of Vancouver, B.C. Hull is carvel planked yellow cedar over oak, while the cabin structure is a composite of canvas sheathed fir & bright mahogany with laminated bent oak beams. Tahuna was purchased by Christine Burnell & Ken Uphoff in 2001 as her first American owners. They lived aboard her with their son Ari for the first year of ownership. She has been on the British Columbia Vintage Vessel Registry & story is that the Queen once had 1/65th ownership of her. Many thanks to Brion Toss & crew for re-rigging her & to local shipwrights for rebuilding/ repairing Tahuna over the years. John Williams assisted in her repowering 2 years ago with a Phazer diesel. Many thanks to John Shortess friend & finish carpenter, for tireless hours of work! Nordland, Wash.
Tarfon 1958
She’s a Yankee One Design, a class designed in 1938 for racing in Massachusetts’ notoriously windy Buzzards Bay. A committee including L.F. Herreshoff sent out a call for designs, but the marine architects didn’t find one that was satisfactory so they designed their own. Tarton is hull #40 of 42 Yankees built. She was built at Stone Shipyard in San Francisco & raced there extensively before coming to the NW. Owners Todd & Kathleen Knoblock have undertaken an ongoing major restoration & race her in Port Townsend Bay. Port Townsend, Wash.
Irie (Thistle #1040) 1957
The Thistle one-design class is one of the most active racing classes in the US. Wooden boats are still competitive & are often restored to top racing form. Thistle #1040 spent the last 25 years upside down in a barn, waiting to be restored & sailed again. At the age of 55, she’s once again rigged with all the go-fast racing gear & is able to compete with the fastest Thistles made today. Portland, Ore.
– Continued on Page 38 2012 Wooden Boat Festival • 37