BURLINGTON NORTHERN GRANT SPURS MARITIME PARK T h e reasons I like Don N o r t h are his sense of humor, wide red suspenders, and cheerful " r o l l up the sleeves and get to w o r k " manner. Besides all that, he gave us $150,000 on January 22nd. T h e check was from B u r l i n g t o n Northern Foundation. Don is the foundation's president. He conceived this grant as a means to help the ongoing programs of the Center for Wooden Boats and Northwest Seaport, and as a challenge to the city to get started on the South Lake U n i o n park. T h e money has been equally divided between the Center for Wooden Boats and Northwest Seaport for our mutually compatible programs to preserve the Pacific Northwest's l i v i n g maritime heritage. Responding to B u r l i n g t o n Northern's challenge, the city is a partner in the grant. T h e y agreed w i t h the Foundation to support the efforts of C W B and N W S P by adding public access improvements to the park area w h i c h includes the Center for Wooden Boats and Northwest Seaport's 1897 schooner Wawona. T h e C i t y of Seattle has agreed to do $500,000 of cleaning and planting work in 1988. Possibly the best part of the deal is that the city agrees that C W B stays in the future park, and N W S P can proceed w i t h the restoration of the Wawona where she now is moored — adjoining our Boat Shop. T h e Seaport has
just received their b u i l d i n g permit for the carpenters' shop and lumber shed for the restoration project, as w e l l as a pledge from Associated General Contractors to build the structures. W i t h our share of the grant, and other donations received and pledged, C W B can begin construction of our E d u c a t i o n Center as soon as our building permit is in hand.
More than just money T h e dust w i l l be flying at South Lake U n i o n this year because of D o n N o r t h ' s creative manner of grant-giving. Foundations traditionally give money for programs as sharply defined as a spy plane photo. In this case, Don brought together two non-profit organizations without a secure site, and an undefined park plan, and put them a l l in focus. He combined the private donation of B u r l i n g t o n Northern Foundation and the public commitment of the city. In the w o r l d of charitable contributions, this is a semi-cosmic event. Another key player in putting this plan together was Don H a r r i s , Development Director of Seattle's Department of Parks and Recreation. He q u i c k l y and adroitly arranged the c i t y ' s role in the B u r l i n g t o n Northern challenge. A city is supposed to make decisions w i t h care, w h i c h is usually a synonym for eternity. Don H a r r i s set new standards in the concept of city-time. T h e check presentation was made on
the deck of the schooner Wawona, w i t h speeches by K a y B u l l i t t , president of N W S P , and D a n Hinckley, president of C W B . Don H a r r i s gave a few words about the city's prospective contribution. As Don N o r t h was about to t u r n over the check, he looked thoughtful and murmured about another possible condition to the grant — something about the name of the schooner. I'll vote for c a l l i n g it Bur-
lington Northern on one bow, and Don North on the other.
— D i c k Wagner
REDESIGNED SHAVINGS T h i s issue launches a "new look" for our favorite newsletter. Designed to remind us of wooden boating's long heritage of craftsmanship and quality, the column rules, the contrast between body type and headline type, and the new flag evoke memories of newspapers of the '30s and '40s. T h e size of the text has been increased by a c r u c i a l point to help those of us whose eyes are not as good as they once were. T h e new type is C e n t u r y O l d Style, a classic face that's regaining popularity as the idealism of the '60s, the confusion of the 7 0 s , and the greed and g l i t z of the '80s turn toward what most typographers hope w i l l be the realism of the '90s. It's a solid, almost frumpy type that scores high in both grace and readability. T h e headline type is Helvetica Bold Condensed, w h i c h has also been around for a long time. " S H A V I N G S " is set in a face w i t h the romantic name I T C M o d e r n . T h e new design is the work of S H A V I N G S editor Chas. D o w d .
GRAYS HARBOR BUILDS TWO TALL SHIPS FOR STATE'S CENTENNIAL In 1792, C a p t a i n Robert G r a y was sailing off Destruction Island in two ships,
the Lady Washington and the Columbia
Rediviva, when he encountered C a p t a i n George Vancouver. Vancouver was hunting unsuccessfully for a large river he'd heard was thereabouts. Captain G r a y said he'd seen nothing of it, and Vancouver turned north, eventually to explore the entrance to Puget Sound and circumnavigate his eponymous island. Captain G r a y wasn't there as an explorer. He had been sent there by a company of Boston merchants who wanted to swap trade goods for sea otter pelts on the West Coast and sandalwood in H a w a i i , trade fur and wood to C h i n a for tea, and bring the tea back to Boston. T h a t didn't deter him from discovering G r a y s Harbor a few days later, s a i l i n g 25 miles up the C o l u m b i a R i v e r a few days after that, and c l a i m i n g the whole drainage for the United States. He also became the first U . S . captain to circumnavigate the world. G r a y ' s discovery was a factor that supported U . S . claims d u r i n g the dispute w i t h England over our northern border. E v e r y year on A p r i l 26, "Undiscovery D a y , " local history buffs repair to a tavern on the Washington beach, call a pub in Vancouver's home t o w n in England, and taunt whoever answers w i t h the one time Capt. George dropped the ball. To d r a w attention to the fact that Captain G r a y ' s discovery was what made what eventually became Washington part of what eventually became the U n i t e d States, G r a y s Harbor has begun an ambitious plan to build a historic seaport. A West Coast M y s t i c , the Seaport w i l l in-
clude a "first-class maritime museum w i t h classroom space and a library to support an active maritime education . . . a motel and convention c e n t e r . . . and a seaport village featuring shops and other attractions related to the Harbor's timber, shipbuilding, fishing, and other maritime industries." Most exciting, the Seaport w i l l have a w o r k i n g shipyard, all the associated shops, and full-size sailing replicas of G r a y ' s two ships. Organizers hope to have everything in place by the Centennial, only a year away. T h e Seaport is still in its early stages, but at the confluence of the Chehalis and W i s h k a h Rivers at the original location of the S.E. Slade lumber
mill and later the G r a y s Harbor Shipb u i l d i n g Company, the Lady Washington is already t a k i n g shape.
Experience builds the state flagship Stepping into the big metal shed that used to be a hake processing plant on the river bank behind a shopping mall is taking a step back in time. There are power tools and the smell of chemical adhesives and preservatives. There's a concrete floor. But the form of the ship r i s i n g from the floor like the upside down skeleton of a whale is straight out of the history books. T h e timbers are massive, the shape incredibly full. T h e stem and beakhead swoop up more than 20 feet, and 72 feet away the stern cabin rises even higher. There were seven frames in place, eight inches square at the sheerline and sided a full 12 where they bolted to the huge floors. It's sobering to realize that this is the smaller of the two ships, a 170-ton brig. T h e Lady and her sister were designed by Ray Wallace, a noted marine historian
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and architect. He has produced page after page of detailed and beautifully executed drawings. S u p e r v i s i n g the construction is Richard M i l e s , who removed himself as a candidate for head of preservation at San Francisco's National M a r i t i m e M u seum to work as Lead S h i p w r i g h t . M i l e s is no stranger to big boats or historical replicas. As Director of Historic Watercraft for the N a u t i c a l Heritage Society at Dana Point, he supervised quality control on the Californian, a replica of the famous revenue cutter, Joe Lane. "It was my job to fight w i t h the builder, Melbourne S m i t h , " M i l e s explained. " H e travels around w i t h this crew of shipwrights he's found in Belize. T h e y ' r e great carpenters and shipbuilders, but fit and finish are definitely commercial grade. Melbourne used to say over and over that this was a commercial ship, not some yacht. I felt that it was a heritage vessel and that yacht-grade construction was the best way to ensure that it would last. F o r a couple of months, I got off the Californian and worked alongside building the ship's boats. Melbourne and I weren't c o m m u n i c a t i n g real well right then, neither one of us speaking to the other." W h e n the L a d y is launched, she w i l l supplant the 120-ton, two-masted California state tall ship as the largest replica on the West Coast. M i l e s also supervised the conversion of Argus from a Baltic trader to a sail training sip based at Newport Beach, California. "We had to sail her through a narrow strait in the Jones A c t , " laughed M i l e s . " T h e act prohibits foreign-built ships from c a r r y i n g passengers between U . S . ports unless repair and restoration costs exceed five times the purchase price. T h e Coast G u a r d watched every step to make sure that the rebuilding was extensive enough. We replaced every other frame so she could hold her shape. T h e n we replaced the rest. We replaced the stem, too," he confided in a voice usually asso-
"There's an incredible sense of concentration on a ship . ciated w i t h heart surgery. D u r i n g the conversion of a motor vessel to the brig Pilgrim for the Orange C o u n t y M a r i n e Institute, M i l e s met Steve Johnson who is w o r k i n g w i t h h i m as Lead Rigger on the Lady. Like Miles, Johnson has a lot of big boat experience. L i v i n g in Denmark, he kept busy rigging the many large traders, schoolships, and really big sailcraft s t i l l used throughout the Baltic. H i s galeass-rigged trader is currently in the Copenhagen M u s e u m . If you've been to Disneyland recently, you've seen some of his work. He re-rigged the bark in Adventureland. "It had been maintained by stagehands. T h e y didn't know what most of the lines were for, so when they replaced them d u r i n g routine maintenance they sorta put them back where they looked good. It was real interesting." Johnson put a mouse, a special ropework swelling, on one of the stays. It's probably the first mouse " r a i s e d " on the West Coast in 40 years, he thinks. " N a t u r a l l y , I raised it for Uncle W a l t , " he grins. T h e two of them make a good team. "I don't do knots," said M i l e s in a recent interview and Johnson added, "I don't do ships." Johnson w i l l have plenty of knots to do. T h e Lady w i l l have two masts each w i t h a course, topsail, and a topgallant sail. T h e main w i l l also have a spanker and a staysail, the fore w i l l carry a fore topmast staysail and a jib, and the bowsprit w i l l have a spritsail.
Heavy construction, good wood T h e Lady Washington is being built, M i l e s says, "for the ages." T h e big timbers, sized to the typical dimensions of the 1700s, w i l l result in a much more durable craft than the original. Ships of the late 1700s were overbuilt so that they would s t i l l be seaworthy when half eaten up by rot. Even so, most had a life of 14 years or less. By contrast, every stick of the Lady is being drenched in preservative. Red lead, white lead, and other highly toxic compounds fill every joint and coat every faying surface. " T h e E P A and the State Department of Labor and Industries are watching us like h a w k s , " M i l e s laughs. " T h e entire ship is being built of the second-best wood," he confides, beginning a favorite Seaport joke. "If you're building a deck, the best wood is teak. Second best is fir. If you're m a k i n g spars, the best wood is spruce. Second best is fir. If you want a keel, the best is oak. Second best is fir. W h e n you're planking, pine or cedar are best. Second best is fir. There's not another boatbuilding wood that's so well suited for e v e r y t h i n g . " For the Lady, M i l e s is laminating up the massive floors from quarter-inch fir. H a n g i n g and lodging knees w i l l also be laminated. However, when they begin work on the Columbia, M i l e s is hoping to use compass timber. T h e affection for natural crooks is more than traditional. G l u ing up a floor is a painstaking, day-long task for the s h i p w r i g h t s . T h e shipwrights calculate that the floors are as costly as both frames that bolt to them.
"I hear that up in the clearcuts, the cedars were cut d o w n about chest high, but the stumps were left in the g r o u n d , " reports M i l e s . "Saplings grew out of the side of them and turned 90 degrees to grow upright. T h e y sound like ideal crooks for the knees at least." Construction details w i l l contribute to both safety and longevity. In a departure from traditional practice, stainless steel bolts from the 12-inch deep ballast keel w i l l go through the 12-inch fir keel, t h r o u g h every other floor, a n d bolt through the 12-inch thick fir keelson. G a l vanized drifts w i t h clench rings w i l l go from keelson to keel through the floors that aren't bolted. In place of wooden trunnels, galvanized cut nails w i l l fasten the two-inch thick planking (three inches at the wale). T h e r e w i l l be three watertight bulkheads. An engineroom w i t h diesel capable of m o v i n g the Lady along at eight knots w i l l be hidden under the officer's wardroom even though all offshore c r u i s i n g w i l l be under sail. There w i l l be a state-of-the-art S a t N a v system, though all offshore navigation w i l l be by sextant and stars. Rigging w i l l be a special ultraviolet-resistant polypropylene threaded w i t h stainless steel wire. T h e sails are being cut from D u r a d o n , a synthetic w i t h the look of canvas but without its tendency to mildew. One of the other shipwrights has developed a modern substitute for the flattened nailheads traditional loftsmen used to pick up their shapes. Battens are tacked to the loft and used to guide a router that cuts the patterns for the huge pairs of frames from sheets of plastic laminate.
Tradition where it counts the most M i l e s is totally candid about these departures from tradition. "It's impossible to build a 100% perfect replica and still stay inside the Coast G u a r d requirements. T h i s is going to be a sail t r a i n i n g ship, sailing under license." He says that the departures from tradition won't be visible to passengers and won't detract from the vessel's value as a school for sailors. Accommodations for cadets and charters w i l l be Spartan, w i t h no pressure water systems or b u n k s , t a k i n g them back to the 18th century in a hurry. Both rigger and shipwright agree that the important part of sail training is the intense m i c r o c o s m a ship creates. "There's an incredible sense of concentration on a s h i p , " explains M i l e s , his eyes gleaming from behind his glasses as he traces a deck plan in the air w i t h a finger. " E v e r y traditional trade was aboard a sailing ship, all in the compass of 90 feet. More than that, everything you do has a visible effect on the voyage, whether you're standing a watch at the wheel, cooking the food, splicing a line or taking (continued on next page)
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TALL SHIPS
GOOD TIME JERRY
(continued from page 3)
the noon sight. Everybody makes a difference." " A n d when things come up and everybody must bear a hand, you have to do things right. You can't elect to slip by w i t h a D and you can't make it up next semester," Johnson added. T h o u g h they are taking advantage of technology, they're doing it by fits and starts. T h o u g h the patterns are being taken off the lofting floor w i t h sheets of F o r m i c a . M i l e s put the lines d o w n based on a beautiful half-model he made that hangs in the mobile home that is the present Seaport office. Johnson and M i l e s have rigged up a gasoline powered s a w m i l l to rough out the large spars and timbers. However, when the huge timber that makes the inside face of the stem was bolted in place, M i l e s clambered up on a scaffold and worked it to shape w i t h an adze. He learned to use one when he was sixteen, hanging around with old shipbuilders and questioning them for hours. He used the adze to finish out the mammoth one-piece keel timber and to carve many of the graceful shapes in the framing of the after cabin and transom. T h o u g h Johnson counts on being able to rough out most of the spars on the saw, he's still going to craft several fully by hand and eye w i t h a drawknife. " Y o u don't learn these s k i l l s for all time," he says, pulling on his moustache, " y o u have to keep p r a c t i s i n g . " T h e building process has another traditional aspect: the gang is building everything. T h e y forged their o w n hardware for the 14-foot tall rudder. M i l e s is planning to fabricate the anchors on site, too. Sometimes, the shipwrights work in tricorn hats and square-toed boots. Where does somebody find experienced crew and officers for a ship like this, a square-rigger? M i l e s and Johnson say that there are a lot of boat gypsies out there. T h e y ' r e planning a " M a r i t i m e Trades Q u a r t e r l y " to connect people w i t h s k i l l s and ships needing crews. A project like the Lady acts like a lodestone, attracting resources from unexpected quarters. A mate from the Kaiulani showed up w i t h a list of qualified deep water square-rigger sailors, none much younger than 70, but a l l positively awash w i t h valuable insights. Not everybody needs to have cut their teeth on a marlinspike to sail on the Lady. There w i l l be cadets learning skills that will qualify them as regular crew. One of Johnson's European associates created a w i n d s h i p crew from young people t o u r i n g the c o n t i n e n t for considerably less than $5 a day. " H e offered a day's food and lodging on the ship for four hours of work. T h e n he'd ask the ones w i t h a certain gleam in their eye to stay on. He said he got some of his best people that w a y . "
Three cheers for civic vision T h a t the project has got off to such a successful start is a tribute to the tenacity and imagination of both the Seaport organizers and the city fathers of Aberdeen. T h e latter, worried by persistent unemployment and business closures, adopted a report from the T a l l Ships Restoration Society of G r a y s Harbor that championed increased tourism as a w a y to diversify economy and restore civic pride. T h e Society members were "tired of seeing the young people in the town looking forward to the day they graduate from high school so that they can leave G r a y s Harbor," said Fred T h u r m a n , former c h a i r m a n of the society. T h e y felt the Seaport project was "the first chance that they've had to do something positive for G r a y s Harbor." A general obligation bond issue went on the county ballot. It passed comfortably in Aberdeen and Ho¬ quiam, but the eastern part of the county voted it d o w n . Undeterred, the city fathers sold off some city timber and combined the proceeds w i t h private contributions and went to the state government for matching funds. Projections say that they w i l l need $2 m i l l i o n to complete the entire Seaport, but there's enough available already to finish the Lady. Both M i l e s and Johnson are enthusiastic about the prospects for m a k i n g the Pacific Northwest a destination for maritime enthusiasts. T h e T a l l Ships proposal estimated that it would take two ships for the " c r i t i c a l m a s s " that would d r a w visitors to the Seaport. " C o m b i n e that w i t h Northwest Seaport and the Center for Wooden Boats, plus Port T o w n s e n d , and people w i l l be coming here to tour wooden boat country just like they go to C a l i f o r n i a to tour the wine country," M i l e s said. "Once we get the shipyard w o r k i n g , other West Coast tall ships w i l l call for haulouts and repair. There's no end to i t . " — Story and photos by C h a s . Dowd
180 YEARS AFLOAT On M a r c h 26 & 27, two vessels celebrating their 90th year w i l l be open for inspection at South Lake U n i o n . T h e 1897 76' D a n i s h ketch Sylvia w i l l be moored at C W B . T h e 1897 165' schooner Wawona is moored next door. In fact, Wawona is open every weekend. Sylvia w i l l come down from her home port in La Conner. She was fishing under sail alone for her first 31 years. She sails now as a charter vessel — the oldest on the West Coast. Come see two examples of 19th century commercial s a i l i n g vessels. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
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Jerry B r o w n , the chipper skipper of the tug Challenger, reminds us that he is saving room in his bunk and breakfast vessel, moored next to C W B , for our Wooden Boat Festival visitors and exhibitors. T h e festival w i l l be July 2, 3, and 4 this year. C a l l Jerry at (206) 340-1201 for reservations or more information.
WE GET SUCH NICE VISITORS M r . H i s a s h i N a g a h i r o is a cargo manager for Japan A i r l i n e s in Tokyo. A valued and productive employee, he was one of a group awarded vacation tours of the United States by the airline. He wrote us before he left home, to arrange a visit to the Center for Wooden Boats. Nagahiro read about us in the Japanese yachting magazine Kazi (wind). He had built two small wooden sailboats and hoped C W B could provide information and inspiration for his next project. His tour group was flying from N e w York to San Francisco for a gala last weekend, but Nagahiro came to the Center, a r r i v i n g the m o r n i n g of the Lawley tender launching. He spent the day t a l k i n g to the workshop students and instructor, s h a r i n g champagne, t r y i n g out our boats, and collecting a pocketful of boatbuilding paraphernalia new to .him, i n c l u d i n g copper rivets, roves, clench nails, and bronze square-drive screws. After sailing the Herreshoff 12-1/2 expertly back to the moorage, he said "I believe your President Kennedy sailed one like t h i s . " (Yes, it was a W i a n n o Jr.) H o w many A m e r i c a n s could identify K e n nedy's favorite sailboat, I wonder? On parting we exchanged a bottle of sake for a C W B T-shirt, w i t h promises we would send h i m the L a w l e y drawings and he would send us a piece of Japanese cedar. T w o and a half weeks later, we got a plump package and a letter. Nagahiro had mailed us excellent photos of the launching, w i t h enough copies for the entire class. M u c h of his letter was like many we get. He wanted the address of the rivet and rove factory. He wrote that he hoped to build a lapstrake rivet-and-rove wooden boat. But before he wrote a n y t h i n g , he wrote us his thanks: " O l d wooden boats fascinated me in your museum, and also s a i l i n g on L a k e U n i o n was the beautiful remember of my life..." M r . Nagahiro impressed us w i t h his vast storehouse of information, his quiet quest for more, and his gentle, gracious courtesy.
Cruiser's Log I
KAYAK ON THE RUN: BEACH CAMPING IN DALMATIA "Perfect comfort must not be expected by folks who go a-pleasuring. " - H. W. Tilman W h y were we crouched behind the rock w a l l , peering s u r r e p t i t i o u s l y at the fishing boat dropping its grapnel? W h y were our folding kayak and tent hidden out of sight among the cypress? Why? Well, because we were kayak c r u i s i n g and camping on the D a l m a t i a n coast of Y u g o s l a v i a , a beautiful archipelago of islands in the A d r i a t i c Sea and a place incredibly unsuited for kayak touring. I could have argued that coming here with the kayak had been a mistake that anyone could have made, but as I looked over at Joan, n u r s i n g a throbbing hand injured last night while landing on this jagged limestone shore, I decided to hold my peace. One glance at a chart of the D a l m a t i a n coast, however, would capture the imagination of anyone who loves e x p l o r i n g islands and g u n k h o l i n g . Uncountable islands, inlets and channels: a veritable paradise for paddlers! Captain's N a u t i c a l supplied us the charts we needed, but there was a distinct lack of any information as to what it might be like to beach cruise there. T h e general tourist guides were predictably effusive in their g l o w i n g descriptions of the area, and the A d r i a t i c Coast Pilot had much to say about harbor entrances, but it didn't seem as if anyone had ever kayaked in those islands. We tried not to let that bother us too m u c h , and put on
brave explorer faces while we happily studied our charts and practiced pronouncing all the odd names like K r k , Ist and Ugljan.
Ominous beginnings T h e first indication that things might not be as we had imagined came as we dragged our duffels d o w n the gangplank of the steamer Slavija upon our a r r i v a l in D a l m a t i a . We had been overwhelmed, time and again, by the friendliness and hospitality of the Greeks we had met of late while paddling among the islands of the Aegean. But the Yugoslavs seemed strangely indifferent in comparison. We spent several days in the old seaport town of Rab, enjoying the red-tiled Venetian roofs and the distinctive campaniles, but found it difficult to get to know the locals. T h a t seemed to be partially explained later when we learned that much of the help in the island shops and restaurants is drafted from the interior of the country. Y o u n g Y u g o s l a v s a p p a r e n t l y are recruited to work in the seaside resorts as part of their national service obligations. It also became clear that nearly all of the shops were state owned, and that the employees often had little motivation to increase the business through an excess of service. We became increasingly baffled by the indifference of the locals as we paddled from island to island d u r i n g the following weeks. It was one thing to be able to dismiss the stony silence of the vacationing Serbians at the Silba dock as we smiled to
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them while dragging our boat up on the beach. But it was too eerie to ignore the lack of curiosity in the crowd of children on the end of the nearby quay as we paddled by and waved a greeting. T h e y just stared at us w i t h blank expressions. But our second d i s t u r b i n g discovery about the D a l m a t i a n coast had nothing to do w i t h B a l k a n xenophobia or socialist economics: it was purely geological. We found precious few beaches or campsites! We could paddle a l l day a l o n g the weathered limestone shoreline and not find a single decent campsite. After a long search, we might have to settle for a lousy site on jagged rock among the scrub oak. Something to do w i t h erosion, I suppose, or the Bora w i n d s and lack of large rivers or tides, perhaps. N o w , if we had been able to talk to someone w h o had done some paddling in the area, they might have pointed out where the good campsites were located. But it turns out that there just isn't any beach camping done. W i t h a s m a l l sailboat that one could sleep aboard, you'd be fine: you could drop anchor in any number of beautiful coves, in w a r m clear water that wouldn't desert you in the middle of the night and leave you aground like the fickle water back home. But the few square feet of flat ground we needed for our tent remained elusive. We learned to deal w i t h this problem of terrain by searching out the flat terraced ground in old olive groves and abandoned settlements. One night we took shelter from the fierce Bora w i n d s in a five hundred year old Venetian castle. After a frightening and exhausting paddle, we were delighted to pitch our tent in an overgrown patio on the second story. Those ruins represented the only flat ground we had encountered all day. However, it was the night we were camped on the comfortable terrace of an old olive orchard that we discovered the most compelling prob(continued on next page>
KAYAK (continued from page 5) lem w i t h beach camping in Yugoslavia: it's illegal. Well sure, we knew you weren't supposed to. We assumed, however, that nobody really cared what we did out in these mostly deserted islands. But the representatives of the local M i l i t i a who tracked us d o w n in their speedboat and gave us the official greeting "Passports!" were quite upset that we did not have our Internal Control Cards for each night that we had spent in the country. We played innocent and regressed into languagebarrier difficulties, professing ignorance of Serbo-Croatian, w h i c h was easy as we barely knew a word of it, G e r m a n , w h i c h we did know a bit of, and eventually English, w h i c h was a difficult act to pull off. We considered pretending to speak only Greek, but our passports belied us. T h e y gave up on us at last, leaving us w i t h stern w a r n i n g s to report the following day to the T o u r i s t Bureau on O t o k I l o v i k . We were to camp only in official tourist campgrounds from now on. T h i s place Ilovik was not on our way at a l l , and those tourist campgrounds are only located on the larger islands. So here we are, cowering behind a rock w a l l and wondering if we should wait u n t i l the fishing boat leaves before we break camp, or just bluff our way through it again. We end up deciding that we've had enough of this paddling on the r u n . T h e kayak is soon loaded up and we head directly for the next island w i t h steamer service to Rijeka. As if to leave us w i t h no hard feelings, the last day was glorious. Deep blue skies and a manageable Bora w i n d drove us w i t h our little sail at a t h r i l l i n g five knots across the last big channel and into the port of Zadar. We s t i l l hold many fond memories of the D a l m a t i a n coast. T h e water was a paradise for s w i m m i n g , even if it was too w a r m to cool the beer. We did find some memorable campsites, and if the local inhabitants were a bit sour on tourists and indifferent towards kayakers, we heartily enjoyed all the delightful Germans we met. A l l of them, it seemed, had owned Kleppers at one time or another and were w i l d l y enthusiastic about our trip. We drank m u c h weisebiere and listened to many wondrous things about paddling down the Danube River. But we found that we wanted to be in D a l m a t i a as m u c h for the area's culture as for its paddlings, and that the local people's inaccessibility put too m u c h of a damper on our enjoyment of the coast. So we folded up our kayak and went north of the A l p s , into one of the worst summers that northern Europe has seen in years. A n d as we paddled down the Danube in cold d r i v i n g r a i n , it was difficult to remember w h y we had ever left the w a r m A d r i a t i c and the beautiful D a l m a t i a n coast. — story and photos by W i l l M i l l e r and Joan Jaffee-Miller
CWB'S FIRST SCHOLARSHIP SENDS HORACE TO S.C.C. It's not as venerable as Harvard or Yale, but just as prestigious in its field — Seattle's C o m m u n i t y College Boatbuilding School, established on Lake U n i o n in 1937. at the old Schertzer Boat Yard at the foot of Stone Way. T h e school is now located on First H i l l , i n the former Samuel Gompers Trade School. Famous graduates include B i l l Garden, Dave LeClercq, E a r l Wakefield, and B i l l M o d r e l l . T h i s w i n t e r , C W B ' s fleet captain, Horace Ingram, began to walk in their sawdust footprints. A n y who have visited here and used our exhibit fleet have had the chance to know Horace's gracious manner and gently offered boat handling know-how. H a v i n g mastered the rigging and hand l i n g of all our vessels, there was simply nowhere else for Horace to go but boatbuilding school. Horace is setting a precedent for us — he is our first C W B scholarship recipient. We plan the scholarship as an annual contribution to Puget Sound's heritage of quality boatbuilding. It seems fitting that this m u s e u m of wooden boat history and center of time-tested boatshop s k i l l s preservation should play a role in c o n t i n u i n g the legacy of B l a n c h a r d . Prothero. Bryant and Schertzer. We would be pleased if friends of C W B , Horace, or Seattle's boatbuilding school contribute to the scholarship fund. Send your donations to the Center for Wooden Boats, or contact us for more information at 382-2628.
Aqua. He has graciously consented to show us some of his slides from this adventure, and to tell us some stories about his trip. T h i s w i l l happen on M a y 7th at the Nordic Heritage M u s e u m in B a l l a r d . Because this idea was conceived in the middle of a dark Northwest winter, we thought it would be good fun to combine images of sunny Italy w i t h some good Italian food and wine, and to throw in some live music as well, and call it "A Night in Italy." T h i s is your chance to bask in beautiful images of Italy (and Italian boats. I'll wager), experience a fisherman's pasta dinner, and give the Center a financial boost. T h e cost is $20 per person, a small price to pay to be transported to Italy for an evening, and to see what M a r t y has captured there. Space is limited, so please call us soon to reserve your table. Volunteers to help create this scene would be very m u c h appreciated. Let us know if you would like to help. — Faye K e n d a l l
CALENDAR OF EVENTS School Time T h e enclosed workshop schedule is a revision of the last one mailed. T h e dates of Basic M a r i n e Navigation have been changed, M a r t y Loken on marine photography has been added, as well as an evening lofting workshop, E r i c Hvalsoe instructing. If you have a special interest in Northwest Indian culture, please consider joining Steve and Dorothy P h i l i p p aboard the schooner Crusader. It's not likely you w i l l find a better way to learn how Puget Sound's first residents lived. Don't pass up this opportunity to take the course you a l w a y s wanted.
Events March 18 CWB Monthly Meeting 8 p.m., C W B Boatshop Paul Ford w i l l give a slide talk on his exploration of Lake P o w e l l by houseboat and kayak — boating among the mountains.
GONDOLAS IN BALLARD Seems like every time I see one of M a r t y Loken's photographs, my first reaction is mild disbelief. Surely the world is not this beautiful, the water so clear, the light so pure. But it must be, for here is the evidence captured by M a r t y time after time. You've probably seen his work in
WoodenBoat, Nautical Quarterly, or his
" C l a s s i c B o a t s " calendar. T h i s summer M a r t y spent six weeks in Italy on assignment for a yachting periodical called
April 15 C W B Monthly Meeting 8 p.m., C W B Boatshop Richard M i l e s , lead shipwright, and Steve Johnson, lead rigger, w i l l give a slide talk on building the Lady Washington in Aberdeen (see story this issue). R i c h a r d and Steve w i l l also talk about other interesting historic vessel projects on w h i c h they have worked.
April 16 and April 17 Used Marine Gear Sale 10 1 .m.-4 p.m., C W B and Northwest Seaport Sites C W B and Northwest Seaport are doing
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house cleaning, and we w i l l have a sale of a l l sorts o f p a r a p h e r n a l i a , i n c l u d i n g boats, tools, and engines. Donations of your personal stash of boat or boatbuilding stuff to add to the sale would be greatly appreciated. Contributions can be made to either C W B or N W S P . We both need the money. A n y parties interested in renting space to sell their maritime treasures contact Colleen Wagner at 447-9800.
April 17 C W B Spring Regatta 10 a.m.-6 p.m., C W B Site S p r i n g officially begins here. If you don't have a boat to bring, build one or borrow one of ours. T h i s is the time to share boats, information, lies, and food. T h e regatta involves r o w i n g and sailing races for fast and half-fast boats. O u r regattas have gained a reputation for gourmet d i n i n g . L u n c h is potluck (at 2 p.m.), w i t h competition for pasta salad entries. T h e best salad maker gets C W B ' s c r o w n and scepter — a chef's hat and wooden spoon.
April 23 Kid's Day 12 noon-3 p.m., C W B Site T h i s is a city-wide celebration for kids. C W B ' s participation is a toy boatbuilding workshop. K i d s w i l l be supplied with tools, wood, and a workbench to build boats of their design, under C W B superv i s i o n . It's a kid's dream and fun for grownups to w a t c h . We also provide free rowing for kids w i t h adults. Energetic volunteers are needed for this one. Please call Faye if you can help.
April 29 through May 2 The Salish People and Their Skills Seminar/ Cruise Aboard the Schooner Crusader Please see enclosed information flyer. For more information, contact C W B , 3822628.
April 30 and May 1 Pedal Power Potlatch 10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day, C W B Site T h e third annual gathering of the Northwest H u m a n Powered Vehicle Association ( M a r i n e Division). A n opportunity to view these ingenious watercraft, talk to their creators, and even try them out.
May 7 C W B Fundraising Event — "A Night In Italy" 7 p.m., Nordic Heritage Museum Seafood pasta dinner w i t h wine and dessert, Italian music, and M a r t y Loken, renowned marine photographer, as guest speaker w i l l comprise this special evening. M a r t y w i l l show slides of Italian traditional wooden boats taken d u r i n g his recent six-week assignment in Italy (see story in this issue). T i c k e t s : $20 per person. Seating is limited. Contact C W B for reservations, 382-2628.
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING CWB NEEDS: • The Dory Book by John Gardner. (If the treasured copy we used to have in our library is returned, no questions w i l l be asked.) • Good Boats by Roger Taylor, and all of the offspring of this book. • Slide viewer • Binoculars • W o o d for toy boatbuilding workshops — soft wood for hulls, and odd off-cuts of any kind of wood for deck houses, stacks, keels, etc.
R A R E FIND 35' 1952 A d m i r a l ' s barge. A u t h e n t i c a l l y restored to original N a v y specifications by master craftsman. 85hp engine, 10 knot c r u i s i n g speed. Recently surveyed and hauled out — excellent condition throughout. $13,050 obo. 285-1620 for information and details.
W A N T E D TO C H A R T E R OR BUY, a Poulsbo boat for a summer cruise between Port H a r d y and Prince Rupert, by experienced sailor who's been there before. M u s t be reliable. Bruce Richardson, 823-5829. I'M LOOKING FOR WORK on your boat, or around your house. My rates are reasonable and I have a list of references available. My name is Rob Denner and I can be contacted at 244-4625 after 7 p.m.
T I M E TO START BUILDING THAT KAYAK! Skimalong should be just right if you have comfortable flatwater cruising and camping in m i n d . Great fun — great exercise — no E s k i m o rolls. It's wider than some and more stable. You can sit 5" above the bottom — bend your knees — sit crosslegged. Comfort! Carefully designed to s k i m along w i t h a very m i n i m u m of effort. Remarkably seaworthy and dry if you do get caught in the whitecaps. Skimalong is a 45 lb, 15'5" single place kayak designed for strip-building at home — red cedar strips w i t h F / G inside and out. Set of plans $40.00 — includes full sized form layouts and b u i l d i n g notes. See it, try it! C a l l Paul Ford, (206) 542-8348.
F U L L SERVICE MARINE MAINTENANCE H u l l scrubbing, propeller changing, zinc installations, bottom painting, complete boat cleaning and w a x i n g , houseboat flotation, underwater dock inspection and securing, milfoil control, beach grooming, lost items recovery, boat salvage, boat watching. S T E R L I N G M A R I N E S E R V I C E S , 6015 Greenwood Ave. N . , Seattle, WA 98103, (206) 547-4403.
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Boater's Bookshelf: READ HIS BOOK, TAKE HIS WORKSHOP... F o u r years ago back in M a i n e , I missed meeting Jerry Stelmok by five minutes. I arrived at his home too late. I did get to peek in the old red schoolhouse just up the road where he has built wood/canvas canoes on old E . M . W h i t e forms since 1975, but this past s u m m e r I was determined to catch up w i t h h i m . My family and I had already visited birchbark canoe builder T o m M a c K e n z i e in M a d i s o n , W i s c o n s i n ; K e n and Susan S o l w a y i n A l g o n q u i n P a r k , Ontario, who build wood/canvas canoes on the old Chestnut forms; and were on our w a y for a second visit w i t h H e n r i Vaillancourt, subject of John McPhee's book The Survival of the Bark Canoe. C a l l i n g Jerry's home in central M a i n e , I learned he was teaching a workshop in B a t h on the southern coast. We got to the M a r i n e M u s e u m there around noon and found a wood/ canvas canoe-to-be on the form. Jerry showed up, sandwich in hand, to eat l u n c h on the steps outside. We talked. He showed us around the big shop, site of a former s h i p - b u i l d i n g enterprise. We climbed into a high, dark attic to examine an old, unusual birchbark canoe made over a form. N o r m a l l y they were and are made right side up on the ground inside stakes. I asked Jerry about doing a workshop in Seattle in 1988. He is not often seen outside the borders of the state of
M a i n e , but this time he agreed excitedly. My o w n interest in wood/canvas canoes began in M a r c h 1980 when I bought a beat-up 18' Old T o w n Guide for $50 from a man in Port Angeles. I'd only heard they could be repaired. T h e people at O l d T o w n , M a i n e were encouraging, shipped parts promptly, and a year and a half later I had put it back together. I o w n several canoes now, but the wood/canvas ones are something special. T h e y ' v e been made for about 100 years and are the living representation of the materials of the woods. T h e y are close to the original Native A m e r i c a n craft in design and construction and this connection w i t h the past provides a deeper canoeing experience than canoes made of the post-World War II materials of a l u m i n u m , fiberglass, Royalex and plastic. Others have recognized the aesthetic values of wood and canvas and have begun actively b u i l d i n g and repairing these beautiful craft around N o r t h A m e r i c a . T h i s revival of interest is exemplified by the formation in 1979 of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association. T h i s group of traditionalists holds an annual assembly and publishes a quarterly newsletter. Interest in wood/canvas canoes was further supported by the publishing of Jerry Stelmok's first book, Building the Maine Guide Canoe, in 1980, a compre-
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hensive handbook for building and repairing. E n t h u s i a s t s today around the United States and Canada are regularly repairing and using canoes that were originally constructed as far back as the beginning of the century. Jerry's latest book, just published is
The Wood & Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to Its History, Construction, Restora-
tion and Maintenance. Jointly written w i t h his former canoe-building partner, R o l l i n T h u r l o w , it is a large paperback, profusely illustrated w i t h photos and drawings, old and new, and includes excellent chapters on " B i r c h b a r k O r i g i n s , " history, and "Shapes and L i n e s . " T h i s summer, July 11-23, Jerry w i l l teach a wood/canvas canoe building workshop at the Center for Wooden Boats (see enclosed workshop schedule). T h e class w i l l construct a wooden form w h i c h w i l l remain at the Center, and two canoes. T h e l a u n c h i n g party w i l l be Sunday morning, J u l y 24th. Stelmok's visit to the Northwest this summer should help pull together N o r t h west traditionalists, teach some of us the old s k i l l s and techniques, and stimulate local interest in the late 20th century revival of this traditional A m e r i c a n canoe w h i c h people recognize as one of the most pleasing boat forms ever built. — John S. Rundberg