Shavings Volume 17 Number 3 (July 1995) by The Center for Wooden Boats

Shavings July 1995

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In The M a i l

Guide for Shop Volunteers

Bob Perkins

Dick Wagner

Lake Union Safari

The Center for Wooden Boats 1010 Valley Street Seattle, WA 98109 (206) 382-2628 President:

Carter Kerr

Director:

Dick Wagner

Boatwright:

Bob Perkins

Livery Manager:

Horace Ingram

Sailing Coordinator:

Vern Velez

Office Manager:

Roger Coulter

Volunteer Coordinator:

Jane Warner

Michael Houtz Board of Trustees

How C W B Came To Be

Molly Cadranell

Celeste Archambault,Will Blethen,Caren Crandell,Chuck Edwards,Steve Excell,Lin F o l s o m , B i l l Keasler, Carter Kerr, Blake Lewis,Scott Rohrer,Ron Snyder,Bob Tapp, Bill Van Vlack.

Lazy Jack

Changing Places

Chas. Dowd

One Step at a Time

Colleen Wagner

Results of Member Survey

Dick Wagner

A Paddling Time..

Shavings This special 19th Annual Wooden Boat Festival issue of Shavings was published by Richard Hazelton, production by Karen Higginson, ad sales by Marilyn Hazelton, with special thanks to 48째 North Sailing Magazine. Reproduction of materials contained herein without permission of The Center for Wooden Boats is expressly prohibited. The Center for Wooden Boats is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Printed in Canada

Leslie Oldham

Calendar of Upcoming Events CWB Third Friday Speaker Series Each month C W B finds a speaker of wit and experience to talk about his or her special knowledge. It is also an opportunity for C W B members to meet one another and the staff. Refreshments served.

August 18,1995 (Friday) Betty Pearce, World Voyager

8:00 p.m. CWB Boathouse

At the age of 56, Betty Pearce retired from the workaday world to begin a singlehanding offshore odyssey that continued for the next 14 years. Sailing a 30-foot fiberglass sloop, her passages covered more than 50,000 miles all over the world. In July, 1993, she was marooned on a tiny coral atoll in the Indian Ocean when her little ship was destroyed in a storm while she was ashore seeking medical aid. Now Betty, who has her Master's license, is back in the U . S . living aboard her new boat, the Morgan 32 Kokopeli, in Lake Union, working as a yacht broker at Seacraft Yacht Sales and sharing the tales of her incredible voyage.

September 29 - October 1 (Friday - Sunday) WOOD (Wooden Open One Design) REGATTA This is a regional event in the W O O D regatta series begun by WoodenBoat Magazine in 1992. The W O O D Regatta utilizes an equitable means of handicapping the total spectrum of classic wooden racing classes. The event will be run according to US Sailing-regulations, including entry fee differentials (a Twelve Meter pays more than an El Toro dinghy). There will be awards by classes as well as an overall trophy, sponsored by WoodenBoat and Interlux. A wine and cheese reception and registration will he held Friday night at C W B . On Saturday there will be morning registration, a skippers' meeting and afternoon races. On Sunday there will be more races, followed by a dinner and announcement of the race results. A continental breakfast will be served both Saturday and Sunday. Contact C W B for further information: (206) 382-2628.

October 11,1995 (Wednesday) THAD KOZA TALL SHIPS PRESENTATION $15 Fundraising Dinner 6:30pm - 9:30pm C W B Boathouse A native Rhode Islander, Thad has photographed the "Tall Ships" for over two decades. Educated in the mid-west with degrees from the University of Michigan and Northwestern University, his articles and essays have been published in Cruising World, SEA HISTORY, and Classic Boat magazines.

Major events he has covered have included Operation Sail 1976, '86, and-'92 in New York, Sail Amsterdam 1985 and'90, Sail Hamburg 1989,Eurosaill993,Sail Boston 1992 and 1984, L' Armada de la Liberty, Rouen '94, and the Cutty Sark Tall Ships races of 1987, '89, '91, '93, and '94. In addition, he has sailed on the Pogoria, Zawisza, Alexandria, Bill of Rights, Concordia and Mir, to name a few. His photographic credits include the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Op Sail '92, Eurosair'93, Sail Toronto 1994 and Windjammer. He now lives on Narragansett Bay with an office in Newport, R.I., and his favorite subject is his 10-year-old son, Alexandre.

Marine Skills Workshops All year 'round (Classes Every Day in the Summer!) LEARN TO "SAIL NOW!" Fee: $125 per person (includes a one-year CWB membership) 11 and/or 1:30 Saturday and/or Sunday Students will learn to sail classic boats in one session of classroom work and four (or more) sessions of hands-on instruction in our small boats, no more than three students per instructor. Students will graduate when able to sail a variety of keel, centerboard, sloop and catboats by instinct. Y o u may begin any Saturday, space permitting. Please call.ahead for reservations. For the student who is only free on weekdays, or prefers to have one-on-one instruction, we continue to offer individual lessons ($20) on weekdays. Call for an appointment. S U M M E R I N T H E C I T Y (three four-day classes)

9 a.m. - 4 p.m. C W B Boathouse

Fee: $100

This summer the Center for Wooden Boats will offer sailing instruction for middleschool aged kids in a week-long course that will also include rowing, paddling and marline spike seamanship skills. The week long sessions will be offered July 24-28, August 7-11, and August 21 -25 from 9 am to 4 pm at a cost of $ 100 per student (scholarships available). Upon successful completion of the program, students will be qualified to rent boats from the C W B fleet. Kids who volunteer at the Center can earn free boat time. What a great way to spend the summer! The youth summer sailing program will be headed up by long time C W B sailing instructor Dave Soracco. He and a crew of very experienced instructors will share their knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for sailing and seamanship. We know from working

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with at-risk kids that learning to sail is more than just learning a new sport. Self esteem, team skills and patience figure in as well. It is a great opportunity to spend a summer on the docks and in the boats; it will be a summer they'll never forget. To register, call C W B : (206) 382-2628. Frequent Weekends ADVANCED SAILING SEMINARS Fee: Variable Our Advanced Sailing Seminars are scheduled on frequent weekends all summer long. The weekend seminars are overnight, and include navigation and cruising techniques. These classes are open to all graduates of Sail N O W ! and sailors with basic skills. Contact the Center for Wooden Boats to sign up for the next available seminar. The Center for Wooden Boats is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

July 15,1995 (Saturday) INTRODUCTION TO METALLURGY 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. CWB Boathouse Fee: $25/$30 Instructor: Prof. Paul Ford ; Kinds and properties of alloys. Heat treatment for ferrous and non-ferrous metals. This workshop provides information helpful for. anyone doing forging or casting. It is especially valuable for students interested in the Casting Workshop which follows on July 22 & 23.

daily, June through Labor Day (no boat rentals after 6 p.m.). The rest of the year, hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Monday (no boat rentals after 5 p.m.). There is no admission charge (donations cheerfully and gratefully accepted!). Members of The Center for Wooden Boats enjoy a variety of privileges, including a 25% discount on livery rates, a 10% discount on all gift shop and discounts of 5% to 20% on workshops

July 16-24 (Sunday - Monday) LAPSTRAKE WORKSHOP 8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. CWB Boatshop Fee: $550/$600 Instructor: Eric Hvalsoe Eric Hvalsoe, a homegrown boatbuilder from Seattle, has proven he can stand up to the best of the Downeast Builders. Eric will lead seven students through the mysteries of lapstrake construction. The boat will be a classic design, perhaps a Whitehall, perhaps a Rangely, maybe a classic yacht tender. We will leave this choice up to Eric and the first students who sign up.

and seminars. They also receive our newsletters, Shavings and Sawdust, with advance notice of our Marine Skills Workshops and Events. Annual membership rates are $25 for individuals, $40 for families and $10 for seniors or students. Livery rates are $8 to $12 an hour for rowing and paddling craft and $10 to $15 an hour for sailboats. (Or become a C W B volunteer and earn an hour of free boat use for every three hours of volunteer work; opportunities for volunteer work abound and all sorts of

July 22 & 23 (Saturday & Sunday) SAND CASTING AND FOUNDRY TECHNIQUES 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. CWB Boathouse and Northwest Seaport Instructor: Prof. Paul Ford Fee: $40/$50 Basic foundry know-how will be covered in the first session. Students will cast simple forms. The second session will involve more complex casting. Students will also learn how to build a cheap, but effective foundry. Limited to 12 students. September 23-October 1,1995 (Saturday - Sunday) ERIC DOW'S CARVEL BOATBUILDING WORKSHOP 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CWB Boatshop Fee: $550/$600 Instructor: Eric Dow The instructor is a Brooklin, Maine boat builder with extensive experience in building traditional wooden boats and teaching others how to do so. The class will build a carvel planked dinghy of classic design, incorporating all the challenges of traditional boat building but on a manageable scale. The completed boat will be launched on Sunday afternoon, October 1. Basic woodworking skills required (See May 11,1995); class limited . to seven students.

skills , talents and time are needed). Before using our sailboats, a checkout must be arranged with one of our staff; the checkout takes about 15 minutes and costs $5. They can be arranged by appointment weekdays or anytime after noon on weekends.

HAVØRN MARINE SURVEY & SHIPWRIGHT SCHOOL Presents

Two Marine Survey Seminars T H E A R T OF M A R I N E S U R V E Y I will be held July 24 - 28. The comprehensive seminar will focus primarily on wooden boats, but fiberglass w i l l be included. The course will consist of 3 days of classroom

This I all

study and 2 days of field work. It is designed for people with all levels of experience and will include the following subjects:

THE SALISH PEOPLE AND THEIR SKILLS A cruise aboard "Zodiac" Leaves CWB 9:00 a.m. Fee: $325/$375 Instructors: Steve & Dorothy Philipp Two special treats in one. Live and travel aboard the 127' schooner Zodiac for three days and three nights while studying the history, culture and crafts of the Salish people under the tutelage of Steve and Dorothy Philipp, who have lived among the Salish for more than 60 years. No one can convey the rich lore of Salish work, play and ingenuity better than Steve and Dorothy. Y o u ' l l learn native skills such as making nettle fishing lines and tule mats, cruise and anchor at places of historic and cultural interest, including a special visit to the Suquamish museum, and perhaps even be treated to Steve's mandolin mastery. A l l meals and workshop materials are included. Departing from and returning to C W B : Limited to 20 students. N O T E : Fees indicate member/non-member costs. A $100 non-refundable deposit is required with registration for all boat building workshops, with the balance payable one week prior to the workshop. Pre — payment in full will insure your place in all other workshops. Classes with fewer than four students will be canceled or postponed.

• • • • • •

•

Wood technology and the weathering process in a marine environment Elements of shipwrighting and construction Metals, corrosion and electrolysis Vessel equipment and systems Fiberglass construction and detail Touring Port Townsend Boat Haven, Wawona and small craft at the C W B , wooden and fiberglass boats of all types and construction, "hands on" hammer testing and probing, discussion of "on-the-spot" findings Theories and practices of a marine surveyor, dealing with clients and brokers, etc, the actual on-board survey and the writing of the survey/report

Instructor: Lee H. Ehrheart, Marine Surveyor and Master Shipwright T H E A R T OF M A R I N E S U R V E Y II will be held Huly 31 - August 4 The seminar will be a comprehensive study of the Code of Federal Regulations, pertaining to marine survey activity; U . S . C . G , regulations; "Standards & Recommended Practices for Small Craft," published by the

COURSES WE USUALLY OFFER DURING THE YEAR Basic Woodworking, Block Plane Making, Carvel Plank Boat Building, Canvas Canoe Repair and Restoration, Celestial Navigation, Converting a Traditional Skiff to Sail Half Model, Building, Lapstrake Boat Building, Lofting, Metallurgy, Bronze Casting, Model Ship Making, Oar Making, Rigging, Sailing & Advanced Sailing, Sail Making & Repair, Strip Plank Kayak Building, The Salish People And Their Skills: A cruise aboard Zodiac, Wooden Boat Restoration, Wood Carving.

American Boat & Yacht Council; publications by the National Fire and Protection Association and other relevant standards. Instructors: Lee H. Ehrheart and Dick McGrew, retired U . S . C . G . Seminars to be held at: T H E C E N T E R F O R W O O D E N B O A T S , Lake Union, Seattle. Pre — registration required. For more information please contact:

Havørn Marine Services 3530 Interlake Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98103 • (206) 789-7043

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When the Center's good and faithful friends can't make it down to the south end of Lake Union, many of them take the time to call or write or, as Steve Hyman did, to hop on the information superhighway to get to CWB. (Steve is chief rigger at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park.)

Dear Dick, I grew up in Finland where my father owned two boatyards he never operated himself, but leased them. One, the Silver Sound Yard, was located about a quarter-mile from our home and I took top honors on being their biggest nuisance. As the owner's son, they didn't chase me away and I was there most days after school and summertime when not away.

Date: Sun, 30 Apr 1995 20:49:02 - 0700(PDT) From: "Steven A Hyman" <shyman@crl.com> Then the lessor put me to work as To: Dick Wagner <cwboats @ eskimo,com> an unpaid carpenter's helper and for a Subject Renewal letter Dick: I love the addition of email. You have a great address too.

Mail

That renewal letter I received today was great, in fact it was so good, so inspiring (so tranquil) a reminder of why I support C W B , that I am increasing my contribution this year to the Benefactor level ($150). It should get in tomorrow's snail mail. Anyway, I trust that you will put my hard earned dollars to good use as you have always done. I ' l l close now. I'm off to San Diego on the early morning flight to survey Star of India (flagship of the. San Diego Maritime Museum fleet). They hope to sail her again this August. Warm Regards, Steve Hyman Nils Lucander of Tacoma chose a more conventional form of communication (the typewriter and his unique "Imagination, Invention, Innovation, Implementation" letterhead) to share another one of his endlessly fascinating vignettes of marine lore. Nils is a naval architect and iconoclast on theories of yacht design based on swimming fish.

small boy that was an honor. I learned a lot and at age 10 I "designed" (?) and then built a three-meter (10-foot) pramlike sailing dinghy with leeboards (I didn't know what a centerboard was until later). Mother provided a sail from an old bedsheet. The yard built six-meter racing sloops and some motorboats, carvel planked. The spiling was so exact the seams could hardly be seen after sanding and varnishing of topsides. Planking was old, well-seasoned Honduras mahogany. When I got to North America, I ran into the word "caulking" and had, at first, no idea what it was. Later I found out that most yacht builders - at least in Northern Europe - never caulked yachts, just fitted planking very carefully. I also found out that it was common on work and fish boats, not permitted on yachts. When it comes to lapstrake construction, of course, they are done much the same way here and there. In Scandinavia, fastenings were copper rivets. My family owned several boats of both types, carvel and lapstrake. The best to you, Nils

THANKS There are so many individuals and businesses that put their time, talents and facilities to work for C W B that it is hard to single out any one of them, but there are a couple who currently are right at the top of our good guys list. The Center's Columbia River One Design sloop is floating at our docks again, thanks to assistance from Phil Riise, owner of Seaview East Boatyard in Ballard, who donated the haulout, lay-up, tools, materials and time toward repair of the Mistee. He also helped coordinate a major donation from Ron Kruger of Kruger and Sons Propellers in Magnolia and also gave a bit of personal attention and advice to the project. C W B ' s youth programs coordinator Daniel Bohn, who spearheaded the rebuilding project, also got a lot of help from Ballard Machine (formerly W i l son Machine) which did extensive mill work on the new rudder stock and welded the stock and rudder. Broomfields Welding of Ballard donated sheet stock for the rudder and Tacoma Screw Products of Ballard pitched in a rudder pin. It goes without saying that we grateful to all the C W B volunteers who provided the bulk of the labor, did all of the woodworking and cleaned up. Gold stars to all of you!

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Guide For Center For Wooden Boats Volunteers by

Bob Perkins

[Ed. Note: Visitors to The Center for Wooden Boats see a lot of people bustling around, working on boats or in the livery, giving sailing instruction, running the reception desk, cleaning upa volunteer you'll be. Please don't hesithe grounds or doing a host of other tate to ask if there's something you want chores. It is likely that all of those people to learn to do. We can either hook you up are volunteers. with someone who knows how to do it Volunteers are the heart and soul ofor we can call you when that thing is CWB. They keep things operating and happening. If you want to learn to spile they are the guides and demonstratorsa plank, for instance (and who who introduce visitors to what this liv- wouldn't?), we can let you know when ing museum is all about. we'll be doing that for real, or if you just To be a volunteer, one has only to bewant the basic idea catch someone who here. The staff will give you the big knows how when they're taking a break. picture and then you can fill your plate Desire to demonstrate knowledge is a from the buffet of our many programs common vice around here! with whatever you like. All volunteers Finding jobs to do: Bob is here Mon¬ do so because their heart tells them to. day through Friday between 8:30 a.m. Because volunteers are so essential, and 4:30 p.m. If you're looking for CWB provides planned and spontane- something to do in the shop, see him. On ous thank-you parties, as well as allow- weekends, there will be a ' T o Do" list ing an hour's free use of the livery boatsposted by the tool closet. If you're new for every three hours of volunteer work.to the shop, ask before you do some project. That boat you just sunk might have been scheduled for sinking next Bob's General Philosophy: To quote Douglas Adams, "It can week. surely be no accident that no language Occasionally, there will be schedon Earth has yet produced the phrase uled classes in the shop. When they 'As lovely as an airport.'" Boats, on the happen, our use of the shop will be other hand, are incredibly lovely things. limited and there may be less to do. If What we do is connect people with you want to check before coming down, boats, in that order. The boats (as great feel free to call. as they are) serve the people (who are And speaking of jobs, be aware that greater). My goals are to help people lots of stuff happens at C W B , not just have a great time while they work on our boat repair. Be sensitive to preventing boats, to help people learn what they other people from doing their work. want to learn and to help them feel good Hanging out at the reception desk is a about the work that they do. So, let me good way to get in the way, for instance. know how I can help you do that, feel Using tools: Rule #1: DON'T use free to try new things and don't be afraid anything you're not familiar and comto make a mistake. Also, remember that fortable with! Approach any tool with a not everyone appreciates unsolicited healthy respect for what it might do to advice as much as you do, i.e. everyone you. If you want to learn how to use any has the same right to make mistakes. On tool, hand or power, ask one of the the other hand, we are a museum and know-it-alls who lurk around here. part of our mission is to demonstrate the You'll get all the advice you could ever "right" way to do things so please try to hope for! be gracious if someone suggests another Rule # 2: You must, simply MUST way. put tools back after you use them! If Learning new skills: The more stuff you're not sure where it goes, at least put you know how to do, the more valuable it back where you found it. Also, be

hence, our memberships and support, hence, how many bronze fastenings we can afford to buy. Recording your hours: Please be aware that many of the volunteers bring sure to log your hours in the volunteer their own tools. Be sure to ask first! notebook near the reception desk. It Edge tools work much better when helps us demonstrate that people are, in they're very sharp—they're actually less fact, volunteering and it helps you keep dangerous that way, too. If you don't track of how many hours of boat time we know how to sharpen chisels, planes, etc. owe you. ask someone to show you how. Acquiring materials: We try to keep Cleaning up: NO ONE likes to clean on hand whatever materials a job reup. So, clean up your own mess! If quires. Since we have a small budget, you're not willing to clean up, don't however, we have to keep a fairly tight work here. Stay on top of your mess and control on who gets what and when. A clean as you go along, if possible—it request sheet for shop supplies is hung keeps the work area safe for others. A by the tool closet door. Feel free to use good rule is to stop working about 15 it. If you need something quickly, ask minutes before you have to leave so Bob or if he's not around check with one you'll have time to clean up. If everyone of the other staff.. We have discount cleans up their own stuff, plus one thing accounts at several stores and ID cards somebody else forgot to clean up, we'll that will allow you to get our discount. never have a problem. Be thoughtful about your spending, The biggest problems seem to be though, and please check carefully first putting stuff away and cleaning paint to make sure we don't have what you brushes. Cleaning a brush is the final act need. If you want to buy something for of a successful paint job. Without it, you the shop out of your own pocket, great. fail the test. Again, if you're not willing If you want to get reimbursed please to clean the brush, don't start painting. check with someone on staff before you We try to be good neighbors of the buy it. Don't expect to get reimbursed lake. Be very wary of getting stuff in the for something if you didn't check first! water. Not only is it good environmental To get a reimbursement, you need to fill behavior, we can be fined if we're found out a form that's available in the office. We must keep track of where the money allowing our mess to get in the water. Dealing with visitors: We are a goes. Homeless folks: From time to time museum, which means we encourage, nay, strongly desire, to wit, cannot sur- homeless people hang out at our pavilvive without visitors. Be pleasant! Be ion or on the lawn. While we definitely outgoing! Do your best to answer ques- don't encourage this, we try to be tolertions, be ready to describe what you're ant. However, if you notice someone doing, make sure your hair is neatly engaging in annoying or threatening combed. The shop is one of the most behavior (including panhandling) please high-profile things that happens at CWB. tell a staff person immediately. The poYou just might be the thing that is most lice are very willing to deal with it and memorable to one of our guests—for we cannot allow visitors to be discourgood or i l l . Be careful to invite folks in. aged from coming. This is important because as friendships Enough guidelines! Just remember develop here we sometimes give the to have fun, work safely and be friendly. appearance of being a club—one of the We simply can't survive without dedimore common complaints we hear. Its cated volunteers. Thanks so much for unintentional, of course, but a bad im- wanting to be a part of what goes on at pression can really hurt our business, the Center Wooden Boats!

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Americans of Puget Sound, First Nation people of British Columbia and the Hawaiian community of Puget Sound. A tentative budget was begun. Cultural advisors of Hawaii, Pacific Islands and Indigenous Nations were identified, as well as the committees on fund-raising and promotion, ceremony and protocol, education, entertainment, museums, concessions and security. In early January, I, being the museum guy, sent out a memo to regional historic museums about the Hokule'a event. By mid-January, the Steering Committee had renamed itself "Wayfinders of the Pacific". The ceremonial part became a larger dimension for the Hawaiians and Native Americans. These ceremonies have existed from time immemorial. Native people, preparing for the arrival of the Hawaiian vessels, were now learning them for the first time. Thinking was in terms of a time when all people were indigenous people. This was not studying traditional culture. It was living traditional culture. In late February, the news arrived that Hawai'iloa, a double hull traditional voyaging canoe built in 1985, would also tour the West Coast - heading north, but arriving in Seattle a week after Hokule'a. Wayfinders was puzzling out how to sustain the energy for two welcoming ceremonies, hosting and interpreting these historic working replicas to the public for two weeks. Then word came the two canoes would arrive and leave together and the clouds of panic drifted away and the grinding routine of the planning process continued.

It began with a phone call from Honolulu in the summer of '94. "This is Ev Fox of the Hawaii Maritime Center. We're planning to have Hokule'a tour the West Coast next summer. Can you give us a moorage when we're in Seattle?" There was no hesitation in saying "Oh sure!". I know about Hokule'a. Who involved with maritime history wouldn't? A vessel wrapped in 10,000 years of myths chants and rituals, it will always be remembered as the first performance-accurate replica of the Polynesian voyaging canoes. Since 1975, Hokule'a has been rediscovering the old means of navigation without charts or compass and the old Polynesian navigation routes. Its profile with two crab claw sails has become an icon of Polynesian navigation.

What should I do about this visit? How should we greet the vessel? How should we interpret it to the community? Are there any Hawaiians around? Do they know or care about Hokule'al Will public dignitaries come to see the vessel? W i l l anyone come? Did I say "Oh sure!" once too often? In early November, help came riding in on a Toyota from Tacoma. Pila Laronal called me and said he heard a rumor about Hokule'a coming to C W B . Pila is a Hawaiian, broadcasting Hawaiian culture and affairs on "Island Radio" K B R O and K K M O - A M in Tacoma, and also edits "Hale Pai", a bi-monthly Pacific Island newspaper distributed on the West Coast. Pila showed up with his sidekick, Ray Jackson, and we began a very polite, cautious dance. It was obvious from

the first moment of our encounter that Pila and Ray placed Hokule'a on a higher plateau than motherhood. One of my nagging questions was answered: there are Hawaiians here and their hearts were filled with gladness about Hokule'a. I let them lead the dance because these two guys had a serious case of unrequited cultural love. A l l I had was a waterfront site in culturally neutral territory. Pila and Ray came back the next time with an organizational chart and the meeting after that (in late November) determined the pattern of the planning. Pila was the chairman, a memorandum of understanding between the Seattle Hokule'a Steering Committee and the Hawaii Maritime Center was signed. Contacts were made with Native

Fast forward past the countless meetings, memos, fund-raising, promotion, ceremonial practice sessions to the glorious welcoming dinner at Daybreak Star, the cultural hub of the United Indians of A l l Tribes. A smorgasbord of the Steering Committee, Northwest Tribes, Northwest Hawaiians. Crew of the vessels and a smattering of political and heritage dignitaries attended. It was a spiritual saturation event. A l l the gritty, grimy stuff that is the bedrock of any big event was done. Whatever would happen the next day at the arrival ceremony at Golden Gardens Park was in the hands of the gods. Now we were enjoying ourselves. Congratulatory speeches flowed like Niagara Falls. If Nobel Prizes and Medals of Honor were available, the whole lot would have been sold out in minutes. The morning of the Arrival began overcast and cold. At 9:45 a.m., the clouds parted and the Hokule'a and Hawai'iloa were seen sailing in from the west, accompanied by a flotilla of Native American canoes. By 10 a.m., as scheduled, the Hawaiian vessels had moored off the beach at Golden Gardens. Nine thousand people, the majority of them Native Americans and Hawaiians, had gathered on shore. Possibly the biggest gathering of each ever in. the Northwest. The canoes announced their arrival by blowing of the Pu (shell). In response, close to a thousand more were

Shavings July 1995

blown on shore. The First Nations in canoes announced themselves first and they were called in by their people. Then the Hawaiians were called in and brought to shore in the First Nations' canoes. The chants, songs, dances and giftgiving began and continued until dusk. This was a ceremonial occasion to be savored for as long as there is time. Two rich maritime cultures met on a Pacific Northwest beach. It could have been a thousand years ago. Those who participated, who witnessed it were enveloped in an historic drama that was precious and unique. There will be many other arrivals for Hokule'a and Hawai'iloa before the summer's end. Each will be special. But none will be like this one.

Dick Wagner is The Center for Wooden Boat's Founding Director, He believes in preserving the heritage by preserving the skills. He plans to stow away on a Polynesian voyaging canoe and see how they find their way across the vast lonely Pacific.

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O K , I've been a Center for Wooden Boats member for a year and w i l l admit under oath - right hand on Bible and left hand raised - that I simply drive to the Center, say hello to Vern and Mike, sail for a couple of hours, get back in my car and drive home. A n d I'm poorer for it. But recently I've been going on 45-minute safaris around the lake and I'm beginning to appreciate exotic Lake Union and its friendly, colorful natives. For example, I recently explored Lake Union from the landward side and was able to visit three fun museums - all of

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by Michael Houtz them located within a stone's throw of the Center for Wooden Boats. The first is, of course, the threemasted sailing schooner, Wawona. Even I have known about her ever since I came to Seattle seven years ago. I mean, how could anyone drive I-5 and yet miss Wawona? But I haven't walked her deck in six years. So I grabbed a handout from near the gangplank and took an unguided walking tour of her, practicing my yodel in her cavernous hold.

But, since I hadn't visited Wawona in so many years, I didn't know about Northwest Seaport's display of six dories (located next to Wawona). The dory is a thoroughly American boat. Its ancestors fished off Newfoundland in the 16th century - more than 100 years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. This display is for the thinking sailor. The dory was designed in an era of muscle power to be a nimble, easilyrowed boat. I got down on my hands and

knees in the gravel, trying to spot what made the dory design such an oceangoing thoroughbred. Sadly, they just looked like boats to me. Nor did I know about a red and black half-scale model of the typical rigging of a 1760 British sloop. It stands next to the dories and it looks like a cross between playground equipment and a movie set. I clambered aboard the model and stood under the rigging, then looked straight up so I saw only the rigging pressed against the clouds - no telephone or buildings to sully the view -

Shavings July 1995

and for a moment I heard the faint echoing ring of clashing cutlasses. I'm not going to wait six years to visit Wawona again. My second museum "find" also convinced me that I need to visit an eye doctor. I'm embarrassed to admit that I had never before noticed the 125' threedeck, 99-ton, red, white, black and green steamer Virginia V(that's Virginia 5 to those who missed Latin class). She's the sole survivor of Puget Sound's Mosquito Fleet. Built in 1922, she carried passengers between Seattle and Tacoma between the two World Wars - when the fare was 35 cents. _ Her hull is huge, rising two stories straight up out of the water, and gives her a plastic-boat-in-a-bathtub look. But her pedigree is pure workhorse. Upon boarding, the first thing I spotted was her brass and steel steam engine. It towers up through two decks; perched atop it is a flared brass eagle, a nice touch of turn-of-the-century elegance and a reminder that the engine was under construction when Queen Victoria ruled Britannia. While I stood admiring Virginia V's engine. I heard the unmistakable sounds of ratchet wrench sockets being methodically tossed into a toolbox. The clinks and clanks came from the bilge, behind a .silver firebox as big as an automobile. The unseen ratchet-tosser shouted a friendly hello and stepped into view, a bearded bear in scrubbed gray overalls. He introduced himself as Jerry Ross and invited me down into the engine room for a tour. "Watch the low ceiling," he said a moment too late. Jerry's huge oil-coated hands glistened as he pointed out various parts of the huge well-lubed engine. He helps maintain (as an unpaid volunteer) the spaghetti snarl of pipes, pumps and heat exchangers that connect firebox, steam engine and rudder. Later, as we flipped through snapshots of his vacation (a visit to a steampowered Liberty ship moored in San Francisco), he told me he was working toward his certificate as Virginia V's chief engineer. "Most of the guys who know this powerplant are 80 years old," he said. Here was a guy who clearly loved steam. He probably has a sauna in his home. Afterwards, I walked up a broad ladder to the horseshoe-shaped wheelhouse. It has a charming Victorian interior, all wood panels and gleaming brass talker tubes. A rope connected the chesthigh wooden wheel to the rudder, 70 feet aft - no newfangled hydraulics here. But Virginia V still works for a living so, poking out among the soft colors and brass and wood, there gleamed a brushed aluminum radar console and a brace of radios, all looking as up-to-date as the space shuttle. To visit Virginia V, just follow the shoreline east from C W B , around past Benjamin's restaurant and past the tiny park (home to a wooden jungle gym controlled by a thuggish gang of honking geese).

My final stop was at the Puget Sound Maritime Museum, a cozy storefront located among the restaurants and retail shops at Chandler's Cove, just steps ashore from the Virginia V. The museum is stuffed with nautical flotsam and jetsam from Puget Sound's seagoing heritage. Glass display cases contain precisely-detailed models of clippers and steamers, including the first steamship on the West Coast, the Stiver, built in 1831 when Andrew Jackson was president. The Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, which operates the museum, also owns the famed Williamson Marine Photography Collection of more than 50,000 beautifully preserved black-and-white negatives and

prints. Examples of the best of the collection cover the museum's walls, highquality pictures of ships, docks and people of the Northwest, long-dead people in ill-fitting clothes who set out upon the sea. An old brass foghorn leaned against a corner. I blew on it and considered myself lucky that a bull moose didn't come galloping through the door. I quickly put it down and moved on. Sitting on the floor against a counter was an authentic sea chest with ornate rope handles; a few feet away was an old candle-lit brass binnacle on a wooden stanchion. And across the way was an ornately chased silver ewer, a memento from the early days of Black Ball ferry

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system. Hard-to-find books about Northwest ships, children's science kits and more modern-day items such as commemorative coffee mugs rounded out the museum display. We're all busy nowadays, but time spent to visit - or re-visit Wawona, Virginia V and the Puget Sound Maritime Museum will be time well spent. They all are within two minutes of The Center for Wooden Boats, will provide hours of pleasure and serve as a great warm-up for your own explorations of Lake Union. Michael Houtz is a CWB member, a graduate of our Sail NOW! course and someone who likes to write about good things happening in his community.

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Shavings July 1995

How The Center For Wooden Boats Came To Be It was back in 1957 that a friend, bowing to architect Dick Wagner's intense desire to work with wooden boats, presented him with a dilapidated wooden kayak. While browsing through the boat building section of the Seattle Public Library for instructions on recanvasing the kayak, Wagner noticed that all of the books dated back to the 1890's. This convinced him that wooden boat building was a fast-fading art and that there was little information published about the techniques of the trade. And thus, working on and collecting small wooden boats became a passion for Dick and his wife, Colleen. The Wagners established their traditional boat rental business in 1968 at their houseboat located on the west side of Lake Union. Their home was built in 1909 and originally was used as a summer home at Leschi Park. Their houseboat, Seattle's oldest floating residence, was moved to Lake Union in 1940. Their operation became a gathering place for people with a keen interest in history, boats and woodworking. Since their kitchen door faced the fleet, many visitors learned the location of the coffeepot and the cookie jar. And as the kitchen crowd grew, so did the fleet — and the time needed to take care of customers and repairs. The Wagners couldn't turn away visitors who came to talk, so they decided to channel them into evening meetings to share information. They asked about 20 of the most outspoken to the first meeting, held on the third Friday of February, 1976. More than 40 showed up. The spirit of the meeting was high, espe-

by Molly Cadranell tially when the group was told of the long-nurtured fantasy of a small craft museum where people could actually operate the boats and use the tools. The group pitched in to turn fantasy into fact, making the third Friday of every month their meeting day for discussions, guest speakers and socializing. Since there was no model to follow, Dick and Colleen followed their own path. They felt the purpose of their collection was education and the most effective means of education would be direct experience. So the direction the museum took was a hands-on approach where the exhibits were put in the water and the public encouraged to use them. In the spring of 1977, John Gardner, curator of small craft at the Mystic Seaport Museum and a noted authority on traditional boats came to the Northwest to speak at a conference at Evergreen College. The enthusiastic group from Lake Union shanghaied this heritage boat fancier and they invited him to speak to the group at the next Third Friday series meeting. It ended up being a pep talk about putting ideas into action and, as a result, the group decided to jump in and plan a public event. And thus, the first Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival was born. As part of the natal process, the museum got a name—The Center for Wooden Boats — and a real

(including trees, with an emphasis on those that are traditionally used for boats). The Boatshop is a working exhibit-here the public can observe, learn, help build and maintain the Center's fleet. The shop is housed in a replica of set of by-laws, a board of directors, a turn-of-the-century floating boat and executive committee — everything livery originally located at the north end except a site. of the lake. Floating docks provide moorBy late 1978, there were many pro- age for the livery of more than 100 small grams running simultaneously: speak- sailing and rowing craft, most of which ers, regattas, traditional boatshop semi- can be rented by the hour. The Boatnars, the Wooden Boat Festival, news- house is another floating structure, proletters, boat restoration, book publish- viding the lecture room, administrative ing, archives and more. Wagner remem-_ office, archives/library and gift shop. bers those hectic days well. "We were A l l of this is home for a wide specsticking to our original vision as a spe- trum of activities, all centered around cial haven for traditional boats to be the Center's eclectic collection, which used, as a shop to teach boatbuilding includes traditional craft and some surskills." With a vision statement in hand, prises such as the Center's own yard tug, four different sites—all public property Cap'n. Pete. On any given day, more — around Lake Union were examined that half of the Center's 165-boat fleet. as possible homes for the future Center will be floating at the docks between the for Wooden Boats. Boatshop and the Boathouse. The spot chosen was on Waterway The visitors on the dock may be a #4 at the south end of the lake. In 1980, group of schoolchildren here to learn armed with endorsements from com- history, science, math, vocabulary, teammunity organizations, adjoining prop- work and leadership the old-fashioned erty owners, city officials and individu- way, the seafaring way. als, as well as 2,000 petition signatures, Travelers from across the country and with final drawings in hand, The and around the world - arrive with wellCenter for Wooden Boats applied for worn press clippings from boating magathe building permit, only to be stymied zines and the general press, eager to ply by the bureaucratic process. their skills on a classic 1939 Herreshoff Thirty-six months later, ground sloop or row a 21' gig. People are enwas broken and building began for the couraged to learn while doing, to play with an exhibit - or even build one. Center that exists today. The upland portion is a public park Individual and group sailing instruction and sports a traditionally designed Gate- is offered, as are workshops and semiway Pavilion, allowing the public to nars ranging from boat building to metal enjoy the park and surrounding plantings casting, from knot tying to sail making.

Shavings July 1995

Summer visitors can take free boat rides on weekends while those who come on a wintry afternoon may want to curl up with a book in the library. The Third Friday series continues to flourish, though the topics range further afield these days. Wooden boats are made with skilled hands, with great care and knowledge, and each one has the soul of the builder â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and the builder before him. Every little piece has to be thought out and it is the mind, heart and soul of thousands of years of boatbuilders that creates a finished product. Among the spirited watercraft at the Center for Wooden Boats (some of which can be rented and others of which are too delicate or under repair to allow rental usage) are a Danish Faroe Island boat, a turn-of-the-century Alaska Sailing Gillnetter, a 1913 Monterey Clipper, a 1906 steam launch, Native American dugout canoes and a Bangladesh rice boat. The majority of the Center's current 165-boat fleet are small sailing and rowing boats. Canoes, kayaks and small powerboats round out the fleet. What first draws most people to the Center is the availability of these boats for rent. Tugging at their lines, the Center's fleet is a microcosm of American small craft design: three Beetle Cats, a 30'

Blanchard Senior Knockabout, a Herreshoff sloop, a Bristol Bay pram, a Chesapeake Bay Sharpie and an 18' Concordia sloop moor along the docks around the boathouse, while a 30' Yankee One Design sloop, Whitebear skiffs, a Swampscot Dory and a 35' New Haven Sharpie jut their bows to the inviting waters of Lake Union. A l l this is made possible by an army of dedicated volunteers, who are always restoring one boat or another, giving visitors a look at the traditional methods and skills necessary to float a piece of the past. Come on down and enjoy all this! The Center for Wooden Boats is located at the south end of Seattle's Lake Union (lOlO Valley St.). The hours arenoon to 6p.m. daily except Tuesday. There'sno admission charge. Boat rental rates range from $8 to $ 12 an hour for rowboats and $10 to $15 an hour for sailboats. Members of the Center for Wooden Boats get a 25% discount.

Molly Cadranell is an experienced racing sailor, an active volunteer at The Center for Wooden Boats and Seattle Yacht Club and a former partner in a public relations firm. She is involved with issues of land use, water quality and boatyard and marina management.

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"Livery" Many ask why we use the word "livery" to identify our boat rental operation. We chose this word because we want people to associate the use of our historically significant boats with an historic environment. According to Webster, "livery" is a Middle English word, taken from the French "livree" (to deliver) from the Latin "liberae" (to free). It first became associated with servants' uniforms and then with places charging for horses or offering vehicles or boats for rent As far as the preceding goes, the etymology of livery is correct. But not complete. We have found earlier sources of livery. Daniel Webster was a fine fellow and did his very best to provide all that is known about the English language, but C W B ' s ever-alert network of researchers on the history of small craft have come across what is likely to be the first use of the term "livery" in reference to boats. It is in Aramaic (an archaic form of Hebrew), scratched into a piece of Lebanon cedar and miraculously preserved in a reed bog on the banks of the Red Sea for more than 5,000 years. The translation is: "My people have arrived at the shores of this great sea, anxiously looking forward, to returning to our beloved homeland after a long exile. There is a place that rents boats here, but it is Tuesday and it is closed. The owner, Ray, couldn't help us because he was shorthanded but offered to let us use the boats free any other time because he supports our cause. Having no other choice, we resorted to using higher spiritual powers to allow us to cross this sea. But we will always remember the kind efforts here - and long live Ray."

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Shavings July 1995

Changing Places Awakening to the possibilities of very small, small craft For nearly two decades, I was one of the guys on the dock. There's a guy on the dock in all weathers, at all hours. In the grey Seattle drizzle, the guy on the dock stands unmoving, watching gillnetters, purse seiners, pleasure cruisers, tugboats, freighters, or sailboats, all with the same consuming intensity. In the summer, the guy on the dock trades his peacoat and watch cap for a swordfishing hat with a long peak and continues his careful scrutiny of every boat in view. Female sail trimmers or supercargo become flattered, flustered, or irritated under his unremitting gaze, depending on their temperaments, but they don't realize he doesn't even see them. He's looking at the boat. The guy on the dock doesn't own a boat. He discovered boats reading John Masefield or Robert Louis Stevenson or C.S. Forester. Or his parents knew someone who lived on a lake and had a runabout. He might have been inoculated with boats in the Sea Scouts. Every guy on the dock is an amalgam of contradictory elements, both Platonist and romantic. Each harbors the vision of a perfect boat, built up from years of silent watching. They do not sin against the 10th Commandment because they covet nothing short of their ideal. They are like the aging bachelors whose one true love has never come for them.

by Chas.Dowd They are all Dante, pledged forever to their vision of Beatrice. They deal with their boatlessness in many different ways. Some study maritime history, collecting nautical charts and old logbooks to create their own voyages of discovery. Others build model boats, from the simple to the elaborate. I shared a dockhead with one of these who told me that he let his infant son's hair grow so long that people started asking what his daughter's name was. Then, without warning his wife, he took the tot to a barber who with four determined passes of the clippers turned Little Lord Fauntleroy into a Marine recruit. The modelmaker saved every lock, using it over the years as stays and halyards of tiny schooners and square riggers. A few crew on racing sailboats. Every yacht club has several members with families whose passion for sailing does not match theirs or who have a racing machine too big for family to crew. Waterborne, some of them become Bully Forbes, alienating their wives and progeny. One of them was famous for tearing out all the bunks, the galley stove, and even the head during racing season. Another very different skipper

lived aboard an ancient, mouldering schooner. He was a general object of envy because all he needed to do to go racing was disconnect the shore power and clear his bicycle off the foredeck. He was a solitary man, wifeless, and girlfriendless because his boat took so much maintenance that he perpetually sailed on the edge of bankruptcy, living from one weekend to the next on leftovers from the lunches and dinners his racing crew brought aboard on Saturdays. Captain Ayers, the owner of a large slow ketch, raced as a cover for his true passion, sail collecting. Often he'd get so far behind that even with his boat's impressive handicap, he'd abandon racing in mid-course and sail off at random. Aiming Phoenix toward the longest possible expanse of seaway, he'd harry his crew into the forepeak to break out random bags of sails accumulated through years of trading, auctions, and no little borrowing, and urge them to get the largest possible number of them flyingCarrying garlands of blocks, the crew scrambled up and down the rigging under his direction, festooning masts and stays with fantastic complexities of halyards and sheets. Then they

would sprawl in the cockpit, drinking the Captain's two-water grog, and try. assign something like the terminology of Nelson's navy to the various components of the crazy-quilt rig. "Make down the flying topmast drabbler halyard, lads, and see if you can't give the triatic stuns'l a bit more air." Though it was possible to learn things about sail trim under Captain Ayers that weren't written in books, all these expedients failed to solve my problem of being the guy on the dock. Then one day I stumbled on a small establishment called The Old Boathouse, tucked in behind some houseboats under the Aurora Bridge. Here were boats like I'd never seen before, little gaff-headed catboats shaped like watermelon seeds. A beautiful halfdecked sloop boat, greyhound-lean and graceful, with red sails and a varnished coaming. Two Scandinavian-looking centerboarders, bluff-bowed lapstrake craft with their stays fastened by hanks of marline rove through holes in their sheerstrakes. Every one of them looked saltier than Lot's wife. It was the light bulb coming on over Wiley Coyote's ' head rather than the effulgence that waylaid Paul on the road to Damascus, but a levin-flash of brilliance rocked my mind as I suddenly realized that boats didn't have to be big to embody every

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Page 13

nautical principle. As I stood there immobile, the great truth manifest in those elegant craft showed me that shippiness is wholly independent of size. And intriguing as all these boats were, they were as dross compared to the rowboats. Up to then, my acquaintance with rowboats had been with awkward, cranky little dinghies, useful only for travel between shore and mother ship, carrying pizza and beer. But here, mirrored in the calm waters of the 80- by 100-foot pool, were boats designed for moving under oars. Moreover, they were the Ur-botten, even more basic than the nearby sailboats. They were essence of boat, with all unnecessary trappings stripped away. To an eye honed by many years of standing on docks, they seemed the most perfect watercraft ever made, with the breathtaking beauty of complete simplicity. Their wineglass transoms, their straight stems, and the graceful sweeps of their planking said they would slip through the water with barely a ripple. A l l they lacked was an Alice-In-Wonderland tag that said "Row Me." They were Whitebear Skiffs said a taciturn man in boat shoes and a sunbleached sweatshirt and yes, they were for rent. I rented them for five years. Captain Ayres faded away as I accumu- can find one that fits your needs like a lated several Whitebear Skiff loads of glove, and though it won't be cheap, it books on small boats. The taciturn man, will be affordable. becoming less taciturn as he realized The final choice was a Piscataqua that I loved these miniature yachts as River Wherry. Freya Boats of Anacortes much as he did, introduced me to Rangely stretched the original lines from 16 to boats, Davis boats, Whitehalls, peapods, just under 18 feet long, giving it a narAdirondack guide boats, ducking skiffs, rower entry, a finer run, and a small skeg and innumerable dories as I searched for so she tracks like she's on rails. They my perfect boat. Not a Whitebear Skiff, built her of spruce over oak so she's far I had decided, but something a little less lighter than if she were made of the delicate, a bit higher sided, possibly traditional pine. The rowlocks were with a more pronounced sheer to handle positioned for our most efficient stroke; the chop of the open Sound. That's the the seats placed so that Deborah's 110 beauty of a really small, small craft; you pounds and my 170 set her down on her

lines in perfect balance. She has satisfied every boating need for 17 summers. We've discovered deserted beaches, rowed up one of the last four untouched rivers in the lower 48, and spent many hours as the only boat on the water, but I'll always remember the day we first launched The Lady Deb at Shilshole Marina. On that sunny summer day, she was still all bright oil finish, the color of old honey. We slipped her off the trailer and Deborah hiked down toward the gas dock with our camera to get our first pictures as I rowed past. As I was getting ready,a man walked slowly down

to the end of the float. He was wearing a swordfishing hat with a long peak. I waved cordially to him before settling the oars in the rowlocks, but when I looked up, I realized he was paying no attention to me. He was staring with fixed intensity at the boat. He was the guy on the dock. And I was the guy in the boat. Chas. Dowd sets the standard of writing that the Center for Wooden Boats hopes to obtain: grace, eloquence, flawless grammar and at least one word per piece that you have to look up.

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Shavings July 1995

One Step At A Time Seattle needs a maritime heritage museum! Without it, much of this region's important maritime heritage may be forever lost. We must preserve the past for the enrichment of future generations. We need a museum with a fresh new approach to exhibits and education, a museum where everyone can get involved and will want to return again and again. In a city as maritime-oriented as Seattle and in a state that developed and grew because of its maritime heritage, it is difficult to believe that a major maritime heritage museum hasn't happened before now. PSMHS (based for many years at the Museum of History and Industry) recognizes the need to act now. Every day this heritage is slipping away. A museum is desperately needed to save what remains before it also goes to other museums, antique stores, collectors or the garbage bin. We need to honor those persons still with us, do oral histories and continue to collect information from them.

by Colleen Wagner

mercial operation. Education will have a major focus in the museum, especially for families and children. There will be school and be a place of historic adventure, explo- nationally-known maritime journal,"Sea group tours and classes in maritime skills ration and education. A place to get Chest" (which is included with PSMHS and crafts, such as making rope or rope involved in the past. A place to hear the membership or may be purchased indi- mats, ditty bags, sail making with a sail old steam whistle and ring a traditional vidually). This will be continued as a palm, wood carving for ships' name ship's bell, to help run a steam engine part of the museum. boards or perhaps cook up a salted cod and learn how it works, to build model The museum will reflect how the fish (Puget Sound boasted a fleet of boats, turn a capstan as part of a crew, to maritime world â&#x20AC;&#x201D; transportation, rec- codfishing schooners) or chew some help raise sail, turn a ship's wheel, climb reation, shipping and thousands of jobs hardtack, which was the staple food for a ladder to the crow's nest or even learn on ships and ashore - touched so many sailors on a long voyages. There will be to sing a sea chanty. There is so much people living here. Our early legislators opportunity for teachers to check out knowledge to pass on: ship's time, navi- were paddled to Olympia in native ca- treasured Sea Chests for their classes, gation, knots, signal flags, compasses, noes or caught a ride on the first Puget with maritime artifacts, videos, slides, telegraphs, how boats were designed, Sound steamer, Beaver, which burned books and lesson plans. built and launched and their work or 40 cords of wood a day to keep her Lectures will be another great reclaim to fame. paddle wheels turning. There were no source of the museum. There are many The museum will feature a large roads; the waterways were the high- members of PSMHS with firsthand model display (including models being ways. maritime experience who happily pass built). Classes will be held there for What an important history to save on this knowledge to others, people such children and others. There also will be a as we look back to 1851 when the 24 as Captain Raynaud (nearly 100 years large resource library - which is now men., women and children arrived in a old), who went to sea at 13 on squarebeing assembled by a dedicated staff of little 73' schooner, Exact, on a cold rigged sailing vessels. And there is Capvolunteers. At present, the library col- rainy morning in November. They tain Ed Shields, whose father started the lection contains more than 70,000 pho- founded a town which they later called Pacific Coast Codfishing Co. Ed grew It is a huge responsibility to accept tographs and photographic negatives, Seattle. Amazingly it was only one up learning the trade and became capthe task of starting a new museum but 4,000 books, boat plans, charts, maps, month after arrival that they signed a tain of the C. A. Thayer, sailing to the PSMHS can do it, taking one step at a countless maritime operating documents contract to supply the Brig, Leonesa, Bering Sea to fish for cod from dories time! We hope that others will help with (ships' logs, menus, postcards, crew lists, (whose officers just happened to see the with hand lines, cleaning and salting the challenge and help us record our etc.). The library will help you find that settlers working on their cabins) with a them down for the return voyage. great maritime past, which is and was so photo of the ship your grandfather sailed cargo of Douglas Fir pilings. They were Another is Steve Philipp who lives vital and important to all of us. It is the on or the steamer they might have taken paid $1,000 in hard cash; the Leonesa's on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Steve to the Alaska Gold Rush in 1897. captain sold the pilings for $6,800 later foundation of all that we have now. as a shipwright helped build many of the The Puget Sound Maritime Museum Another staff of dedicated volun- in San Francisco. A l l were happy with ships in Puget Sound. Now in retirement will be more than simply exhibits. It will teers publishes four issues a year of a the arrangement and continued this com- he uses his excellent skills to build

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models of all the various types of cedar canoes that were used by Native Americans from time immemorial. Steve would give lectures and present exhibits at the future museum. And then there is naval architect P h i l Spaulding, who has designed many ships but is particularly known for this states' ferry designs. An early design of the ferry Coho which is still in use proved so successful that many copies were made. Even now in retirement, Phil has been called upon to design the present-day superferry to be built by Todd Shipyard. Phil Spaulding, like so many others, is still around to tell tales of how it was. PSMHS has the fundraising ability to make the museum a reality. With one step at a time it will become a reality! In the near future, the Naval Reserve Base at south Lake Union will move to another location and the building will be turned over to the city. Public support is needed to the building may become the Puget Sound Maritime M u seum, along with The Center for Wooden Boats and Northwest Seaport, already on site. If you want to know more about PSMHS or the museum, how to get involved or how to help make the museum happen or how to join the membership, please call (206) 624-3028 or visit our museum exhibit at Chandler's Cove (west side) on south Lake Union,

open daily 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sundays noon to 5 p.m. We hope to see you at the future Puget Sound Maritime Museum!

Colleen Wagner is the co-founder was administrative manager of The of The Center for Wooden Boats and Museum of Sea & Ships and education actively involved with planning the Puget and public activities manager of NorthSound Maritime Museum. She formerly west Seaport.

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Shavings J u l y 1995

Center for Wooden Boats 1995 Survey Results How Are We Doing? 1. Poor

1. C o u r t e o u s Staff

103

2. Quality of Sailing C l a s s e s

3. Quality of Skills C l a s s e s

4. Quality of V o l u n t e e r C o o r d i n a t i o n

6. M i x of Boat T y p e s in Fleet

7. M a i n t e n a n c e of the Fleet

107

108

Quality of Boat Fleet

8 . J u l y 4 t h W o o d e n Boat Festival 9. Shavings Newsletter 1 0 . Care of C W B Buildings & Grounds 1 1 . Boat Rental Program

0 0 0 3

1. N o t

Excellent

How should the Center grow & change 2

1. S t a y w i t h Small boats Only

5. Very 96

2 . A d d more small p o w e r boats

3 . A d d M o r e Large Sail

4 . A d d M o r e Large P o w e r

156

5 . A d d M o r e Skill C l a s s e s

6. A d d More Youth Programs

7. More Community Service

8. Develop Satelite C a m p u s on C a m a n o Is.

Important

62 13

The Voice of the People We recently surveyed our membership on how they felt

How Are We Doing?

about our service and our mission. As of the end of May,

Staff 15% had responded. The survey was in the form of multiple Need better people/operations management (1); The staff is great (7); Director choice and essay answers. Not everyone responded to all theis best/indispensable (4); there is staff/ volunteer friction (1). questions and 72% added at least one line of written comment ("You're a fantastic addition to this community. " Sailing Classes Need more consistency (8); Increase "Don't change too much too fast; you seem to be on a roll price (1); Need more women instructors (2); Need advanced/racing instruction now."). One returned the form with response only to the item (10); Need more weekday sailing inon care of buildings and grounds. The sole "comment" was structors (1). an $8,000 check to set up a building maintenance

Skills Classes Reduce cost (1); Need more classes (3); Need better scheduling (1); Exchange The results of the multiple choice items are shown in the work for tuition (2); Like class reunion accompanying charts. The following summarizes the writtenpotlucks (1); Boatbuilding workshop during Christmas vacation (1); Comcomments (the number of times the same comment was posite construction workshop (1) Handson powerboating (3); Seamanship/boatreceived is in parenthesis): ing safety (2); Boat maintenance (1); endowment. Now that's a response!

Publish how-to manuals (1); Evening/ half-day Saturday workshops (9); More Charlie Mastro classes (2); Small diesel repair (1); Survival skills (1); Elder hostel boatbuilding workshop (1). Volunteer Coordination Need more visitor guides (2); More friendly volunteers (7); Better coordination (4); Volunteers need more coffee (1); Home jobs for volunteers (2); A l l Board members should work on site (1); Want to volunteer now (5); Will volunteer when retire (3). Mix of boat types Want more diversity (1); want more small powerboats (2); more diverse sailboats (7); include wooden multihulls (1) ; Want policy on acquisitions (1). Quality of fleet Maintenance of fleet Take better care (10); Boats looking better (1); Get more boat covers (3); Sailing instructors should work in maintenance (1). Boat Festival Love festival (1); Reinvent festival (1); P.A. system too loud (1); Pre-mail auction catalog (2). Shavings List Puget Sound activities (1); Love Shavings (3); Need more technical info (2) ; Stick to publishing schedule (2). Buildings & Grounds Need better care (8); Get rid of geese (1); Get rid of dogs (1); Use Boatshop for private projects (1); Increase Boathouse rental (1); Need better signage (1); S hore paths should be brick (1); Love the l i brary (2); Need visitors' moorage (1); Get rid of unsafe/ugly docks (1). Boat Rental Love the livery (6); Get corporate boat sponsors (3); Want more sailboats (7); Want large/overnight vessels (8); Keep affordable (1); Members should be able to reserve (1); Extended hours in summer (3); Allow use in heavy winds (1); Allow off-site off-site multi-day use (1); Unclear livery policies/rules (2). Other Doing fine, keep up the good work (56); Enjoy monthly speakers (3); Should interact with rowing, racing & kayaking organizations (1); Need more communication with membership (1); CWB is too elite (1); Members should elect Board (1); Members should have more input to Board (1); Should partner with Wooden Boat Foundation (Port Townsend) (1); Need Boat Builders Directory (1); Sponsor world tours (1); Great place for Troop 144, B.S.A. (1); Acknowledge gifts promptly (1); No activities for AIDS afflicted (1); Need more professional displays (3); Need more, lectures, publications, portable exhibits (1); Need more promotion (5); Focus on rest of Puget Sound (1).

Shavings July 1995

The annual Ed Clark Memorial Classic Sailboat Race w i l l be held July 2 as a part of the activities during the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival. The race is part of the Wooden Yacht Racing Association's.1995 season. The race is expected to draw nearly 20 wooden sailboats of varying vintages and sail plans. It is open to all wooden sailboats; although advance registration is encouraged. Registration will remain open until the skippers meeting which begins at 1200 hours in the C W B Boathouse. The race starts at 1600 hours on Lake Union. The race is named in honor of the late Ed Clark, first president of W Y R A and an instructor in C W B ' s Sail N O W ! program. The perpetual race trophy is a half model of a Star, Ed's favorite sailboat. For race information, contact C W B : (206) 382-2628.

How Should the Center Grow and Change? Fleet expansion/change Develop satellite campus/programs Continue focus on small sailboats (1); at Cama Beach Focus on sail, small and large (2); Focus Should expand with other maritime herion small boats/skills (16); Focus on small tage organizations at south Lake Union row, sail, power (3); O n l y low speed (5); Don't get overextended (14); Expower (3); No fossil fuel power (11); pand to Lake Washington (2); Expand Steam OK (2); More power, large sail to Puget Sound (Shilshole Bay) (1); where appropriate to programs (11); Link with Seattle Commons (2); Pro Keep growing with same mission (14); Cama Beach (11). Keep large boats if endowed (2); No large boats (2); No more large sail than Other present (1). 'Should survey community (2); Survey was great (1); Survey was strange (1); More "woodworking/maritime skills Survey should have been edited (3); classes/expand youth programs, in- Glad C W B has national reputation (1); crease community service activities Should expand publication (1); Expand Get more kids in boats (7); Focus on library (1); Should publish Northwest kids/outreach (14); Outreach to 10-12- boat plans (1); Should publish product year-old girls (1); Sailing and wood- catalog (1); Should have "garage" working skills before community out- sales (1). reach (2); Pro school partnerships (1); More hands-on programs (1).

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Shavings July 1995

A Paddling Tale As I happily paddled in circles one early morning in May, I realized how lucky I was: Happy to be alive and paddling a beautiful wood and canvas Maine Guide canoe with a paddle I'd carved myself. The lake was quiet, the water was glassy, my only companions were the barn swallows swooping by skimming the water for bugs and fingerling salmon surfacing for the same purpose. It was perfect. But as my circles continued to form, so did my frustration. I tried every way I could imagine to get the canoe to go in a straight line. I changed positions in the canoe, moving aft and forward, not sure which was aft and which was forward. It didn't seem to matter; the harder I tried to go straight, the prettier the circle. When the wind began to come up my problems were compounded and I headed in a roundabout way back to the Center for Wooden Boats. I have a month and a half to figure out how to get this canoe to go in a straight line. Early on the morning of July 5, I will "put in" with 12 other people at Fort Benton, Montana, for a 12-day trip along the upper Missouri River. We will be traveling along the historic route of Lewis and Clark and along the way, will have their journals available from the Bureau of Land Management. From what I've heard the country along the upper Missouri remains much as it was in 1805 when Lewis and Clark began their travels up the river.

by Leslie Oldham canoes, including wood and canvas canoes, Chestnuts and even an Henri Valliancourt birchbark canoe. John also has about 50 paddles of every wood and design. An elementary school librarian by vocation and a voyager by avocation, he is the perfect guide for this trip. Upon the completion of his first trip down the Missouri in 1989, John and a newfound friend from the river vowed to repeat the voyage every three years. My first introduction to John Rundberg was in April, 1993, when Jerry Stelmok came from Maine to teach the fine craft of building wood and canvas canoes at C W B . Whenever Jerry hits town, his students from previous classes, John among them, descend on the Center to help with various aspects of the class, lend canvas stretchers, admire the new canoe and generally hang around with the guru.

That same month, CWB hosted a three day conference on programs for at-risk youth (The Center's own program using sailing and boatbuilding skills is considered a model). At the conclusion of the conference John Rundberg spoke to the group about his canoe travels. He brought his birchbark canoe, paddles and loaded pack baskets to set the scene. He showed slides of several canoe trips and read to us from a The leader of this group of adven- variety of literature. We all were mesturers is John Rundberg. John is a canoe merized. It was a magical presentation and paddle expert. He owns ten or twelve and I was ready to sign up then. So was

everyone else at the Center that night and John humored us all. And then this April, when Jerry Stelmok returned to CWB and I was once again enamored with these wood and canvas canoes, regular as clockwork, up turned John Rundberg. As he was describing the upcoming Missouri trip to Jerry, I piped up, "If I had a canoe, I'd go." John informed me that I didn't need a canoe to go along (remember John has ten or twelve canoes) and that I was welcome to join the group. Wow! Twelve days on the Missouri! I couldn't imagine a more wonderful two weeks. Of course I said yes. And with that everything was set in motion.

ant it was to see this lovely shape emerge from a heavy, rough board, how silky the wood became with each stroke and how well it fit my hand. But then reality set in. Jerry Stelmok returned to Maine, John and Darlene Rundberg went back to work and the canoe fanatics went back to their routines. I have spent only two nights in a row in a tent in my life, my knee hurts a lot of the time, I can't imagine what food to cook after 10 days on the river, I don't do well in the sun and the heat and I can only paddle in circles. But therein lies the challenge. I'm checking out gear, air mattresses in particular, I've got my Bullfrog sunscreen and a great hemp hat, I'm going to fix Jambalaya for my dinner and my paddling is improving.

John Rundberg has been a wealth of information. I've got plenty of reading Jerry and John encouraged me to to do including David Lavender's Way carve a paddle for the trip. John's wife, to the Western Sea about Lewis and Darlene, Milt Footer, a student from the Clark's explorations, a paddling video canoe building class the week before, by Bill Mason has been a big help and a and I all carved paddles. We worked copy of a Thomas Hart Benton's paintaway in the shop alongside the canoe ing of the Missouri is posted on my restoration class. Thanks to Jerry's pa- fridge. John's letters have provided the tience and expert guidance we produced group with information about maps, three pretty good paddles. What an ex- pamphlets and books to help us prepare. perience to start with a board of cherry The group will include a retired engiseven inches wide and what they call six neer from the Livermore Labs, a novelquarters thick and take it down to a ist and seller of fine used books, a Sedelicate beaver tail paddle. The wood attle dentist, an elementary school sciwas so heavy I couldn't imagine ending ence teacher, a wine sales rep, a forest up with a paddle light enough for me to ranger, a Microsoft manager, a profesuse. Carving the paddle, principally us- sional nature photographer, two elemening a spokeshave, was a very Zen thing. tary school teachers, one middle school It's difficult to describe how pleasing, student, five dogs and me! and relaxing the process was, how pleasI'll keep you posted.

Shavings July 1995

Page 19

Description of Events Rope Work C W B member and friend Steve Osborn w i l l be showing his marlinespike handy work. Aleut Ikak Kayak Demonstration Corey Freedman will have four kayaks and demonstrations. Navigation Rulers Ken Hicks will demonstrate and sell navigation rulers. 19th Annual Live Auction We've limited seating for this one so buy tickets first, then read the following! This year the Auction will be one of Seattle's best. With last year's big auction success, we've moved indoors and dropped the dinner in favor of plenty of hors d'oerves and some serious bidding. The auction items this year are bigger and better - we are aiming to raise $30,000. Come and join in the bidding frenzy and help with C W B ' s biggest fund raiser of the year. Maritime Books American Booksellers will have three tables full of maritime books to increase your library. Caulking with Lee Ehrheart Master Shipwright Lee Ehrheart will show you how to do it right, including hands on instruction. 1 p.m. Daily Caulking for Rids Master Shipwright Lee Ehrheart enlists the aid of young "apprentices" to show that caulking can be done by anyone. 1 p.m. Monday

Cedar Culture The Maritime skills of Puget Sound Native Americans. Steve and Dorothy Philipp describe how the native peoples of the region utilized their natural resources. Ongoing exhibit of canoe models, tools, artifacts, - even a model longhouse. Special presentation at 12:30 p.m. Daily. Charts, Books, Magazines and Boatbuilding Tools with David Kingston. Clancy Racing World Championship Clancy racing! The Clancy is a new 10' training dinghy designed by C W B ' s Rich Kolin. Bob Pickett, who has built several, will be on hand to answer questions. If you would like to race, check in at Flounder Bay Lumber. Ed Clark Classic Yacht Race The Northwest's finest classic wooden boat race here on Lake Union for everyone to see. This is an official Wooden Yacht Racing Association Event. Begins at 4:00 p.m. Sunday. Folk Music A lively offering of songs and merriment for land and sea, featuring a host of talents How to Buy a Wooden Boat A panel discussion with an expert marine surveyor, a banker, and an insurance agent. Learn what to look for, how to finance, and what to do about insurance. 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Armory

Name Board Lettering Art Knowles will demonstrate and teach traditional name board lettering. People's Choice Award Visitors are encouraged to find their favorite sail, power and Quick and Daring boats and submit their votes for the People's choice award. Pick up your ballot at the C W B store on the west side of the Armory Building. Quick and Daring Boat Building Contest Two person teams race to see who can build a fast, seaworthy boat in the shortest amount of time. Then they race them on (and sometimes under) the water. Building begins at high noon Saturday and, Sunday in the West Tent. Racing begins Monday at 3:30 p.m. RED WHITE & BLUE Silent Auctions Three separate silent auctions, one each day. High bidders will take their booty home with them. Each auction will have a variety of items big and small. The Silent Auction is a wonderful opportunity to show your support for the Center for Wooden boats. Every dollar of your purchase helps pay for our outreach programs. "Ships of Puget Sound" Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society w i l l show some of their 70,000 historic photographs, artifacts, and records. There will be kids activities, models, and model making demonstrations.

Toy Boat Building Come build a toy boat! We supply the wood, glue, nails, tools, masts, sails, and everything you need. This is one of the favorite events of the Festival so don't miss out. Water Taxis Take a ride in a 28' Monterey Clipper, a Poulsbo boat, a variety of traditional wooden row boats, and a plethora of sail boats. Board at C W B or the North Pier of the Naval Reserve Center. 165' 1897 Schooner Wawona Welcome aboard the last Lumber Schooner in the Pacific Northwest. Whale Craft Folding Kayaks Unique folding kayaks taken from a design several decades old. Daniel Niblock will take down and assemble the kayaks twice a day. Win a Boat Stop by the C W B store on the west side of the Armory and enter the drawing to win a lovely classic wooden boat. Wooden Boats The whole reason for the Festival! Expect to see over 100 wooden boats of all sizes in addition to our own fleet of nearly 100 small wooden boats. B i g ships will be in port as well including the Wawona. See back page for daily schedule of events.

SATURDAY, July 1

10 A . M . to 6 P.M.

A L L DAY Toy Boat Building - West Side of Armory Folk Music - Pavilion and West Tent Framing and Sewing skin on Aleut Baidarka Kayak. Demonstrations at the Sail Loft, Rigging Shop, Forge,Foundry Shops. Wawona Courtyard Wawona restoration tours Food Booths - Entrance to Naval Reserve Base "Ships of Puget Sound" a photo and artifact exhibit - Armory Fancy & Practical knotwork - C W B Boatshop Lettering for Boat Names - Armory Water Taxi Tours - C W B Boathouse and North Quay Ballots for People's Choice Awards - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Boat Drawing Entries - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Rich Kolin - Halfmodel Building - C W B Boatshop Seattle Public Library, Boat Files - Armory R E D Silent Auction (noon - 4:00) - Armory NOON 12:30 1:00 1:30 2:00 3:00 4:00 6:00

Quick and Daring Boat building - West Tent Steve Philipp - Maritime Skills of Puget Sound Native Americans - Armory Lee Ehrheart - Caulking demonstration - West Side of Armory Rich Kolin - Half model demonstration, C W B Boatshop Leif Karlson - Viking Navigation - West Tent Bob Pickett - The Future of Wooden Boatbuilding - West Tent Lee Ehrheart - Restoration of The Hudson River Sloop "Clearwater" - Armory Festival Closes for evening

S U N D A Y , July 1

1 0 A.M. to 6 A.M.

A L L DAY Toy Boat Building - West Side of Armory Kid's Activities - Face Painting, Fish Printing, Puppet Shows, and more. C W B Pavilion Folk Music - Pavilion and West Tent Framing and Sewing skin on Aleut Baidarka Kayak. Demonstrations at the Sail loft, Rigging Shop, Forge, Foundry Shops. Wawona Courtyard Wawona restoration tours Fancy and Practical Knotwork - C W B Boatshop Food Booths - Entrance to Naval Reserve Base Lettering for boat names - Armory "Ships of Puget Sound" a photo and artifact exhibit - Armory Water Taxi Tours - C W B Boathouse and North Quay Ballots for People's Choice Awards - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Boat Drawing Entries - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Rich Kolin - Halfmodel Demonstration - C W B Boatshop Seattle Public Library, Boat Files - Armory W H I T E Silent Auction (noon - 4:00) - Armory NOON 12:30 1:00 1:30 2:00 2:00 3:00 3:00 4:00 6:00 6:15

Quick and Daring Boat building - West Tent Steve Philipp - Maritime Skills of Puget Sound Native Americans - Armory Lee Ehrheart - Caulking for kids - West Side of Armory Rich Kolin - Half model demonstration, C W B Boatshop Festival Brass Ensemble - West Tent AS#1 Clancy Challenge race - North Quay Traditional Skin Boatbuilding - Armory Lifesling Demonstration - West side of Armory Ed Clark Classic Yacht Race - North Quay Festival Closes for Evening Live Auction in Armory - hors d'oerves, Limited seating

MONDAY, July 3

10 A . M . to 6 P.M.

ALL DAY Toy Boat Building - West Side of Armory Kid's Activities - Face Painting, Fish Printing, Puppet Shows, and more. C W B Pavilion Folk Music - Pavilion and West Tent (noon to 6:00) Framing and Sewing skin on Aleut Baidarka Kayak. Demonstrations at the Sail Loft, Rigging Shop, Forge, Foundry Shops. Wawona Courtyard Wawona restoration tours Fancy and Practical Knotwork - C W B Boatshop Food Booths - Entrance to Naval Reserve Base Lettering for boat names - Armory "Ships of Puget Sound" a photo and artifact exhibit - Armory Water Taxi Tours - C W B Boathouse and North Quay Ballots for People's Choice Awards - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Boat Drawing Entries - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Rich Kolin - Halfmodel building - C W B Boatshop B L U E Silent Auction (noon - 4:00) - Armory 8:00 12:30 1:00 1:30 1:30 2:30 3:30 5:30 6:00 6:00

Breakfast!!! Fruit Rolls, Eggs, Meat, Coffee - all for $5 - West Tent Steve Philipp - Maritime Skills of Puget Sound Native Americans - Armory Lee Ehrheart - Caulking demonstration - West Quay Rich Kolin half model demonstration - C W B Boatshop Keith Marks - Tools for the Backyard Builder - West Tent "How to Buy a Wooden Boat" - Panel Discussion - West Tent Quick and Daring Boatbuilding Lake Union Challenge Cup Race - North Quay Award Presentation - West tent. Boat raffle Drawing - West tent. Festival Closes - See you next year. See page 19 for a detailed description of events.

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