WEST COAST BOATBUILDERS PT. 1 — w
TANIYA ROBERTS
hen we think of the golden age of West Coast boatbuilding, we can't help but fantasize about the Summer of Love. Just over 50 years ago, Southern California was deep in a colorful cultural renaissance that would give us lasting icons in music, style and yes, sailing. Vats of resin were mixed, stirred and poured to mass-produce cheap and — as it turned out — nearly indestructible boats. It wasn't just the Cals, Catalinas and Columbias, either. It was an entire economy: boatyards and chandleries, harbors and marinas. A lifestyle was created. And there was a thriving middle class with the money not just to go sailing, but to become sailors. The West Coast is no longer the plastic boat manufacturing capital of the world. According to a study by the Bonnier Marine Group — which publishes Cruising World and Sailing World — domestic sailboat production has been on a steady downward trend, falling by nearly 30% over the last two years. At the height of production in the 1970s, the United States produced over 100,000 boats a year. In 2017, that number was just over 3,500. Don't worry, though. This isn't a 'Back in My Day' story. Today, boatbuilders in California, Oregon and Washington have gone from mass production to more customized and niche-driven manufacturing. Sailing is as innovative as it's ever been, and modern West Coast boats run the gamut from speedy pocket cruisers to high-performance luxury multihulls. We thought we'd take a look at the state of affairs of the West Coast boatbuilding scene. This series is not, by any means, a comprehensive guide — boatbuilding has actually gone retro, and wooden boats are kind of in vogue (in this very issue's Yard Work, we talk to a young couple build-
ing a wooden ketch from scratch). The scene that's taken the place of the bell-bottomed, Summer of Love, plastic-classic, halcyon days of past has brought West Coast boatbuilding into the future.
The Pacific Northwest Located in Portland, Oregon, Schooner Creek Boat Works was founded in 1977 by Steve Rander, and has a well-deserved reputation as a respected boatbuilding company. They started with small skiffs and daysailers — most notably the stillbeautiful-to-this-day 18-ft Eel yawl. By 2009, they'd built and launched a variety of legendary yachts, including the Tom Wylie-designed OceanPlanet for the Vendée Globe, as well as Rander's own Rage, a 70-ft rocket of a boat that sails more like a Laser. Schooner Creek has a workforce somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 people, and should be considered a custom builder — as should nearly all current West Coast manufacturers. Still, the yard often produces more than one boat of the same model. To be sure, there is simply no modern-day West Coast builder that resembles the mass production of the 1970s. Steve and Nancy Rander sold Schooner Creek to Kevin Flanigan in 2015, but new boat construction hasn't slowed, and may be busier than ever. About 10 years ago, Schooner Creek launched Ali'i Nui, a 65-ft catamaran designed and built for Maui Divers in Hawaii. Touring the facility today reveals two 65-ft Morrelli and Melvin catamarans in production, one for O'Neill Yacht Charters of Santa Cruz, and another for Teralani Sail'Emerson', an ocean rowboat built at Schooner Creek, takes its maiden voyage ing Adventures before Jacob Adoram makes his record-setting attempt. out of Maui. Schooner Creek is also building a second 65-ft M&M cat for Teralani, with an expected launch date of 2019. And that's not the end of the catamaran builds on their schedule. A fourth M&M 65 cat — being made for Adventure Cat
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Sailing Charters of San Francisco — has been ordered, with production beginning in 2019. Schooner Creek is currently backlogged on new builds until 2020. While probably not consciously deciding to become a catamaran specialist, Schooner Creek has done just that. This should be considered a trend and not a specific specialization (the trend also happens to be that most of the cats they build end up in Hawaii.) Schooner Creek also recently finished Emerson, a 28-ft Pacific Ocean rowboat designed by naval architect Eric Sponberg. Emerson was built for Jacob Adoram, who intends to complete the first solo, nonstop, unsupported ocean row from Neah Bay, Washington, to Cairns, Australia. (Jim Antrim, a Bay Area builder, is also designing an ocean rowboat.) Meanwhile, 200 miles or so to the north in Anacortes, Washington, venerable Pacific Northwest boatbuilder Jim Betts isn't slowing down either. Betts Boats (officially James Betts Enterprises) has been crafting a variety of designs together since
