SHAVINGS
Newsletter of The Center for Wooden Boats - Vol. 5, No. 5 - Sept.-October 1983 - $0.25 Owner's Notebook: THE HAMPTON ONE-DESIGN By Ray Fair We hadn't planned on buying a wooden boat. It just happened, like catching the flu from a stranger. But we did want a boat, so we were intrigued when we saw the newspaper ad: "19-foot classic wooden sloop, needs work, cheap." 1 said I liked the "cheap" part, but I was to eat those words later. When we saw the boat it was a wreck, Even in the drizzle and halflight of dusk it was clearly neglected. But, oh, those lines! I had not been involved in a major wooden boat restoration project and hadn't sailed since my teens, but on the way home that evening I casually said to my wife, Paula, "1 don't know . . , It's a big job, but won't it look G R E A T when it's done?" I took the ensuing silence as total agreement and we returned the following day to look again. It was an even bigger mess in the harsh light of day, but two things were for sure: Paula did agree,and we were hooked. We took the boat home and began work on May 18, 1980...the day Mount St. Helens went off. Ominous beginning, but by then we were already too deep in our own dust to notice. Our goal was to make the Fourth of July C W B Wooden Boat Show. Together we put over 700
hours into the boat in the next seven weeks, and were prevented from taking part in the show only by a broken mast step on Lake Union, 300 yards north of the Wooden Boat Show. ("Uh, Ray, what was that crack, and why are the stays loose . .. and why is the mast tilted like that?" "Don't worry, Honey. It's nothing. But, say, why don't you and the kids try on those new life vests... just for fun?") After a quick lesson in reefing, it was back to the garage for Sparky, our Hampton O n e Design. O u r hull, N o . 416, was build about 1946, probably on the East Coast. It has cedar planks on oak frames with mahogany trim. The deck is pine and was originally canvassed, though we prefer it stained and varnished. The original cotton sails are still in good shape, but we had a new dacron set made by Marv Abrams of Northwyn Sails - another old Hampton O n e sailor and builder. With 150 square feet of sail, she's faster to windward than another similar boat, the Lightning, but class rules do not allow a spinnaker so she's not as competitive on a run. Running backstays make for an interesting time when maneuvering for
a racing start or when single-handing, but her heavy steel centerboard and hard-chine design do make her stable. The first Hampton O n e was designed and built in 1935 by Vincent Serio, Sr. at the request of the Hampton Yacht C l u b Racing Association, Hampton, Virginia. The 18-foot class (Sparky's previous owner never measured her and assumed she was 19 feet) is still one of the largest one-designs on the Chesapeake Bay and more than 680 hulls have been registered. Hull N o . 1 was fully restored by the Mariners Museum in Newport News, Virginia, in 1980 and is presently on display there. We've met a few old Hampton owners in the Northwest and all have displayed a soft spot for the boat. John Wade, a fine sailor from Poulsbo, traveled hours each way just to have a chance to sail Sparky briefly and share his knowledge with us. 1 picked up pointers of trim and handling in minutes that would otherwise have taken years. A n d Marv Abrams proved a wealth of knowledge. He tried to get the class started here in the 40's and was responsible for several hulls being built in Seattle. Somehow the organization (and perhaps roominess) of the more popular Lightning prevailed and Hampton One's began to disappear from Puget Sound. Just as unfortunate, Marv lost full plans and a fine scale model in a loft lire several years ago. We've even run into friends of Vincent Serio, Jr. who have tried to help us get additional information, but we're still looking for a set of plans. (Perhaps some readers of S H A V I N G S have clues?) Since she's been in the water — and since we replaced the mast step — Sparky's been good, quick fun. We usually place well in the C W B races and still feel that our "photo finish" against Ric Flynn's Blanchard at the 1982 Spring Regatta was the highlight of our competitive efforts. Perhaps we can start a match-race series against Dave C o x and his Geary 18. (What, Dave, you mean it's not in the water yet?) •
THE SIKA CONTEST — BIG HIT AT THE BOAT SHOW The Judging There were 13 entries submitted for the Quick & Daring Boatbuilding Contest, which turned out to be a highlight of our annual Seattle Wooden Boat Show. Three entries were from California, with one from British Columbia and the rest from Washington. Nine were mono-hulls. The others were one- and two-pontoon proas and two catamarans. There were several hull types - dory, scow, pram and john boat. Three entries were round bottom shapes. The rigs were bipod and tripod masts, rotating masts, square sails, spinnaker, Spritsails (loose footed and boomed), double leg of mutton and full-battened lug. The judging was an intense evening session involving Tim Nolan, N . A . , Paul Schweiss, boatbuilder, and Dick Wagner, C W B director. B o b Hale, a Sika sales representative, was arbitrator. A l l designs showed imagination in at least one aspect of hull, sail or rig. T w o long, skinny hulls were considered. These were unstable forms but could potentially have been flashes if they didn't swamp. We chose the candidate we thought most likely to float upright. Several hulls were wide and stable. We chose those with the longest waterline length, adequate weight capacity and overall speed-on-water potential. The judges felt all six finalists had a chance to win the contest. There was much talent in evidence among all entries. It's too bad we couldn't have set them all loose with the collective kit of materials - to work together on a single boat. Who knows, they might have knocked together a 100-foot schooner in an afternoon! — Dick Wagner
Robert Fisher (with puff of pipe smoke) and Tim Morganroth proudly display their just-completed Flexible Flyer. The sleek trimaran looked like a deadly competitor, but sailing-rig problems led to a poor showing in the Challenge Cup race. (Photo by Bob Hale)
The Building Process It's hard to envision boatbuilding as a spectator sport, but as the start of the Sika Challenge C u p approached there was real pregame tension in the air. The Flexible Flyers paced back and forth, revving their circular saw like nervous G r a n d Prix racers. The S i k a Slipper Squad fiddled with tape measures. Crowds of wildly partisan onlookers shouted encouragement. Bob Hale, local Sikaman, gave the command "Gentlemen, start your caulking guns" and they were off, It was immediately obvious that the entrants were taking things seriously. All three teams had sheafs of drawings and construction schedules. The Plywood Pirates announced that they were working on their fifth Quick and Daring boat, having built four prototypes to refine their assembly techniques. Big pieces of wood got smaller and smaller. The Sika Slipper people started cutting long slits in their two largest pieces of plywood. Bending the pieces into a lengthwise cylinder, they started nailing the fringed ends to a stempiece, overlapping them to produce the taper needed on the hood ends of planking. Gradually the two pieces - now joined in the middle - started looking like an Adirondack guideboat . . . sorta. At the other end of the field, the construction looked like a traditional sailing canoe . , . sorta. T h e Flexible Flyer looked like a
proa . . . sorta. The weather looked like rain . . . exactly. Then the Sikaflex began to fly. It's innocuous-looking stuff, white and creamy and very, very sticky. If you'd like to see what it looks like, hunt up one of the builders. There's probably some still stuck to them. The canoe and the proa used S i k a in the usual waygap-filling adhesive and sealant. The Slipper Squad, like General Electric, had another idea. Over the armature formed by plywood and nails, they began to use the goo as a sculptural medium, trowelling it on. As more and more went on, Bob and N o r m Grondyk, the other Sika rep, started looking as pale as their product. They were sure they had enough when they started, but when the tenth tube of stickum was being spread on with a lavish hand they started talking about which Seattle marine suppliers might be open on Sunday. Rain caused some problems. As soon as the hulls were sealed
FINAL STANDINGS Quick & Daring Boatbuilding Contest — Seattle Wooden Boat Show Name of Boat
Bldg. Time
Racing Time
Final Position
Comments
Richard Golden & John Battaile
Mock Baiteaux
2:02:58
8:4S
First Place
Common sense approach to design: skilled race crew
Gary Davis & Richard Johnson
Quick & Dirty Cat
1:24:22
19:22
Second Place
Swamped near finish line; crew swam to heroic finish
Jim Sand & Craig Cooper
Knife in the Water
2:30:00
9:58
Third Place
Not quite fast enough in construction or on the water.
Robert Fisher & Tim Morganroth
Flexible Flyer
2:31:52
18:40 (Officially DNF)
Fourth Place
Great disappointment looked like a winner until sailing rig fell apart during race
Mark Sullivan & Wind Whitehill
Sika Slipper
3:10:48
19:06 (Officially DNF)
Fifth Place
Clever design; unable to round mark in sailing race
Bill Way & Mark Gabrielson
Otter Do
5:24:01
Did Not Start (Sank at Dock)
Sixth Place
Otter try another design
Designer Builders
M l
they began filling up. But perseverance paid and all three hulls (and rigging) sogged to success. The next day was as sunny as the first one was wet. Builder morale was high as another canoe, a catamaran and something called the M o c k Batteaux began taking shape. The catamaran crew, as innovative as the S i k a Slippers, used a "stitch and glue" technique, lacing the hulls together and forcing them to shape with triangular bulkheads. G u m m y but unbowed, they were first to finish. T h e M o c k Batteaux began to look suspiciously like a real boat. Broadest-beamed of all the entrants, it had at least 18 inches of rocker, a truly elegant sheer, and a small trapezoidal transom on each end, A moment of concern arose when one of the M o c k Batteaux team accidentally used the saw to cut through its own power cord, but the catamaran team shared its saw with the kind of grace and sportsmanship you used to see in tennis. When they were finished, spectators gasped with amazement. Neither builder had any Sikaflex on anything but the very tips of their fingers. " A h a , " said the wise, "the truth is in the sailing . . . and rowing . . . and whatever." — Chas D o w d The
Behind were Knife in the Water, S i k a Slipper and the Quick and Dirty Catboat, all about even, and all with performance problems. Sika Slipper was set up for one sculler and a coxswain. The oars were 8 feet long, and Wind Whitehill had quite a struggle clearing the blades on the recovery. Knife didn't have the fast acceleration of the leading boats, due to more wetted surface. Q & D had identical hulls, but the paddlers differed greatly in weight. With one hull deeper than the other, she wanted to go in circles. Positions changed at the first mark. Flyer has a wide-radius turning hull, so Mock Batteaux, with her rockered bottom, spun smartly around the buoy, set up her spritsail and was off on the downwind sailing leg before Flyer had her rig up. Knife turned the buoy next, and raised her spritsail quickly. She stayed offshore to try and catch more wind and make an easy sailing turn at the lee mark. Knife could not make a spinning turn. Q & D next set her square sail and followed the same strategy as Knife. S i k a Slipper turned the mark quickly with her barn-door rudder slamming her around, but she chose the rhumb-line course to the mark, flying her twin sails glued to the mast. Flyer lost ground on this leg, due to her sail grommets pulling out, one after another. Tim Morganroth was recruited to be a surrogate mast and sprit , . . but much time was lost in the process. At the last turn. M o c k Batteaux pirouetted around, closely followed by Knife and Q & D. Sika Slipper reached the mark with Q & D, but was downwind and couldn't haul to windward enough to pass around the buoy. Flyer had the same problem. Slipper and Flyer kept tacking, hoping for a favorable wind shift, while M o c k Batteaux, Knife and Q & D were streaking down the final leg. Slipper and Flyer finally made the turn with the aid of oars. (This technically disqualified them, but fit the spirit of the whole affair.)
Water Race
The first boat to swamp was Bill Way's Otter Do Better, a slabsided toothpick. No matter. The contestants and crowds of onlookers were in a party mood from the start of the electric saws, and Otter flipping over was just part of the whacky spectacle. The race course was three equal back and forth legs of a quarter-mile each, going parallel to the Naval Base seawall, about 150 feet offshore. The legs were either upwind or downwind. At the start, to windward, Flexible Flyer shot ahead with B o b Fisher and T i m Morganroth, the "Plywood Pirates," sculling. Bob and Tim were decked out in leather barnstorming helmets, goggles, Mae Wests, and they puffed fat cigars. The M o c k Batteaux was close on their tail. The builders, Dick Golden and J o h n Battaile, added theatrical flair with expressionist face paint. They used their double paddles with a powerful, synchronized stroke. Mock Batteaux kept a steady beat and stretched out its lead. As they crossed the finish line, Golden and Battaile, still in perfect synchronization, threw up their paddles and dove overboard. Knife followed, by about four lengths. About 100 feet from the finish, Q & D, which had only two inches of freeboard on the low side, took a wake that slopped in about five gallons of Lake Union, Flyer was just astern of Q & D, with Slipper just behind. Q & D didn't know the boats nipping her heels were disqualified, so the Q & D crew, now with zero freeboard, decided to skip bailing and make a desperate sprint for the finish. About 50 feet from the line, Q & D swamped, The crew - Gary Davis and Richard Johnson - instantly swam free of the hulls, grabbed the bows and side-stroked to the finish so hard they almost stood on the water. (After all, the last leg was advertised as "Anything Goes.") Flyer and Slipper slid even with Q & D, but the crowd of about 3,000 cheered on Davis and Johnson for their soggy spirit. Even Bill Way in Otter received enthusiastic applause for his appearance
on the course — though he was in the water more than on top of it. What was it all about? We all learned something. We know Sikaflex sticks. We know about reserve buoyancy, more or less. We know that boatbuilding isn't necessarily an agonizingly slow, black-magic affair. In fact, we saw boats built fast, cheap, and for fun. Orrin Sand, 11-year-old son of J i m the Knife's builder, said it best: " D a d , let's do it together."— Dick Wagner •
LAST WORDS ON THE BOAT SHOW... What sort of Wooden Boat Show was it? As usual, it was our big public splash of the year. The crowds came. "There wasn't a parking spot for blocks around," said one spectator. About 25,000 visitors looked, stroked, sat in or tried out 150 boats. The demonstrations, talks, films, races, water tours, auction and music added depth to the rich maritime-heritage tapestry. Thousands boarded the 165 foot schooner Wawona and listened to Capt. Matt Peasly talk of her lumber schooner days. They saw the film of Capt. Ed Shields on Wawona's last cod- fishing voyage. More came our new site and enjoyed crumpets and coffee in our Victorian boatshop. Several of C W B ' s boats were tied up outside - the start of our working display fleet. Enraptured throngs enjoyed the latest rage in thrills-and-spills spectator sports - the Quick & Daring Boatbuilding Contest. For action entertainment with a " G " rating, the Q & D was unrivaled. Once more, the credit for all this goes to the volunteers. Here, then, is the honor roll of those who gave freely to help make our 1983 Wooden Boat Show a success. Lake Union Naval Reserve Base, our host for the event; Northwest Marine Trade Association, for the small-boat floats; U.S.C.G, buoy tender Bayberry, which provided and set anchors for the floats, Fremont Boat Co., which towed the floats to the site; Mike Wolaston. towing the floats back; Barney Abrams, sail cloth for the Quick & Daring contest; Northwest Nurseries, Bellevue, the trees (or the show; Bayless Bindery, tree transportation; D.W. Close Co. and Veca Electric. loan of electrical cable; Stusser Electric, loan of cable spools for cables. Bob Hale, Quick & Daring contest chairman; Chas Dowd, Quick & Daring announcer; Brian Bonicamp. events and entertainment manager announcer, Foster Lewis, show committee secretary; Gordon Patrude, managed the races and water tours; Darlene Allen and Alice Bonicamp, managed our food booth; Kristin Beattie, managed the Boatshop Cafe; Dave and Lauralee Cox, managed C W B Store. Neil Allen, refrigeration installation; Neal Fridley. electrical installation; Marty Loken, Boat Show photography; Wilderman Refrigeration, Boardwalk Restaurant. The Restaurant, The Landing Restaurant and Hyatt Hotel/ Seatac, donation of ice. The following C W B members donated two or more hours to build and dismantle the show structures, or operate the various show functions; Tom Whittaker, Paul Quinney, John Campbell, Steve Cameron, Kurt Abel, Rip Knot, Caroline Schimke, Paul Ford. Ray and Paula Fair. John Bruce, Jim and Barbara Sand, John Harlsock. Chris Cunningham, Nancy Whatmore, Bill Peters, Leslie Bruce. Corinne Oaks, Tuck Edelstein, Myron and Carol Richards, Bob and Deborah Gavey, Jay Hamilton, Dick Warren, Kay Bullitt, Eric and Dottie Norstad, Jerry Graham. Clay Prescott, Larry McCormack, Gary Frankel, Barbara Oakrock, Steve Rander, Lanne Larrimore, George Kuchenbacker, Robert Dokka, Eric Burkhead, Stu Currier. Vic McKillop, Bruce Skilling, Jim Beattie, Dart Boulton. Robert Mueller, Wind Whitehill. Pat Lane. Jim Fristen. Gary and Eileen Kuhar. Bob and Ann Crimer, Chuck Berkey, Ted Cooper, Land
Washburn, Charlie Bond, Eric Hvalsoe, Ric Flynn, Rollo England. Sandy Loomis, Bill Miller, Pat and Mary Ford and Colleen Wagner. We also give special thanks to all the exhibitors, demonstrators and entertainers. They embellished the show with a dazzling repertoire of knowledge and techniques Films and slide talks were provided by Ken Zumuda, Brad Tinius and Marge Reichardt. The musicians were David Levine, Mark Bridgham, The Free Lunch Conspiracy and the Geriatric Dixieland Band. Insights into special fields were given by Hewitt Jackson, on 18th Century vessels, Steve Phillips on traditional small craft of the Northwest; the Seattle Public Library on all their boat books and magazines; Dave LeFebvre on half models; Malcolm Wehncke, Paddy Bruce, John Foster and Clay Prescott on repairng sails; Dick Fenly, Chuck Zeiger and Dudley Davidson on antique engines, Dan Dygert on crawdad trap making, Todd Bryant on oarmaking; Kelly Hurst on carving (he started our Waterway Four streetside sign); Lee Ehrhart on caulking and Bob Kaune on antique tools. The generous and varied contributions to our gourmet potluck dinner were greatly appreciated, too. And a most special mention goes to those volunteers who endured the long, exhausting hours working on a multitude of preparations in the final hysterical days before opening From dawn to midnight they remained steady and good humored, remembered to do all the things the director told them and all the other necessary things he forgot. Our enduring gratitude to Caren Crandell, Dick Foust, Judy Mazzano, Herb Orlins and Tom Parker. - Dick Wagner 0
POULSBO BOATS - A REUNION ON LIBERTY BAY For those of us who cannot resist a saucy sheerline, tumblehome transom or beat of an old one-lunger putt putting across the channel, there was only one place to be over the July 23-24 weekend - Poulsbo, site of the First-Ever Poulsbo Boat Rendezvous. The gathering drew 22 boats and hundreds of boat owners and interested onlookers. . .including misty eyed oldtimers who recalled details of Ronald Young's boatshop or their own personal adventures in Poulsbo Boats.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Friday, August 19 C W B M O N T H L Y MEETING 8-10 p.m., Waterway 4 Boatshop David J a c k s o n , Anacortes boatbuilder, will talk and show slides on the building of the 46-foot schooner Sophia Christina, and other boatbuilding projects going on at his Anacortes shop, Freya Boatworks. August 22-26 L O F T I N G SEMINAR Offered by Port Townsend's Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. Students will loft a 26-foot sailboat at one-third scale on a 4x8 sheet of plywood To register, call (206) 385-4948. Saturday, August 27 GREAT CROSS-SOUND RACE Alki Beach, Seattle, to Winslow, Bainbridge Island This is the big one when it comes to rowing events in the North west. Last year's C r o s s Sound drew almost 400 boats and the '83 event should be even more popular. Register early. Start is at noon. Details: 842-4202. Saturday, August 27 L A S T , F I N A L , S E C O N D A N A C O R T E S INDUSTRIAL T O U R 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. The O l d Anacortes Rowing & Sailing Society ( O A R S ) is once again putting together a good time tour of the town's boatshops, sail lofts, shipyards, nail factories, schooners-ill progress, etc. included will be a culinary contest to see who can produce the best hand-cranked ice cream and cake (ice cream must be made on the site - please bring your crank, even if you're not planning to compete, so that others can participate). The tour will wind up with a concert by Larry Hanks and Laura Smith, Bellingham folk singers. For details, call 382 B O A T . August 29-September 2 S M A L L B O A T C O N S T R U C T I O N / M A I N T E N A N C E SEMINAR Offered by the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, Port Townsend. The seminar will cover construction of a 21-foot lapstrake skiff, including layout, planking, clenching and steambending. Maintenance of small craft also will be covered. For registration information, call (206) 385-4948.
We learned a lot about the boats during preparations for the rendezvous. The search for boat owners resulted in a list of more than 100 Poulsbo Boats (in varying states of repair - some excellent, some merely restorable), distributed from the Columbia River to Southeast Alaska. We uncovered the names of eight builders who put together their own versions of the familiar Poulsbo Boat design in the 1930's, 40's, 50's and early 60's. . .all within a few miles of Poulsbo's waterfront. (Ronald Young, of course, remains the key figure in the history of
Friday-Sunday, September 2-4 CLASSIC B O A T FESTIVAL, VICTORIA Some of Washington and British Columbia's most beautiful vessels - old powerboats and classic sailing craft - show up for this annual event. In order to qualify for judging, power craft must have been built before 1953; sailboats before 1956. (Some newer vessels are accepted if they're built to pre-1955 designs. . .but don't count on anything until you check with the registration committee.) Registration fee is $15 Canadian or $12.50 U . S . For details, call (604) 385-7766. Friday, September 9 SHAVINGS DEADLINE Final deadline to mail your free Classified A d s and/ or editorial contributions for the next edition of S H A V I N G S . Send all materials to Marty Loken, 9521 - 25th Ave. N.W., Seattle, WA 98117. Friday-Sunday, September 9-11 PORT T O W N S E N D W O O D E N B O A T FESTIVAL Last big fling of the season, at least in the boat-festival department. Details: 385-3628, Port Townsend. Saturday, September 10 VIRGINIA V V O Y A G E ( C W B FUND-RAISER) The steamboat Virginia V will make a special round-trip run to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, leaving Seattle at 8 a.m. and departing Port Townsend on the return leg at 5 p.m. The $29 ticket will include coffee and donuts outbound, admission to the Wooden Boat Festival, and dinner on the homeward leg. For details, or to make your reservation, call 624 9119. Friday, September 16 C W B M O N T H L Y MEETING 8-10 p.m.. Waterway 4 Boatshop Marty Loken offers a slide talk on the history of Poulsbo Boats, including photographs and details from the First Ever Poulsbo Boat Rendezvous, held this summer in Poulsbo. Marty's research has uncovered eight Kitsap County boatbuilders who produced what we now call Poulsbo Boats, and he has located more than 100 of the boats . . . from Oregon to Southeast Alaska. G o r d o n Young, son of builder Ronald Young - who was responsible for 900 of the boats built from 1933 to 1966 - hopes to attend and share his knowledge of the jaunty, seaworthy craft. (Gordon worked with his dad from the time he was 10 until he left Poulsbo for college.)
Poulsbo Boats, having built about 900 of the seaworthy craft during his 33-year career.) Spectators and boat owners at the rendezvous seemed fascinated with the differences in the boats. Quite literally, no two boats were the same, especially when it came to powerplant/gearbox combinations. Rendezvous instigator Marty Loken put together a slide show on the history of the boats, including details on several of the lesser-known builders and photos of about 40 boats. (The slide talk, now including photos of the rendezvous itself, will be repeated during an upcoming C W B meeting, Friday, September 16, 8 p.m. at the Center's Waterway 4 Boatshop. Gordon Young, son of builder Ronald Young, hopes to
attend and augment the slides with first-hand details on the building of Poulsbo Boats.) Marty also plans to publish a directory listing all known Poulsbo Boat owners, including descriptions of their boats, photos, historical notes, free classified ads and other items of interest. It is hoped that the directory (and future get togethers) will encourage the restoration of more of the salty little boats from Poulsbo. If you have an unregistered Poulsbo Boat, or know someone who owns one of the Northwest classics, please contact Marty Loken, 9521 25th N.W., Seattle, WA 98117; phone 282-8116 days. Deadline for Poulsbo Boat Directory copy is September 16. •
September 16-18 CALIFORNIA W O O D E N B O A T S H O W Newport Beach, CA
WELCOMING THE PRIDE OF BALTIMORE
The second annual event features everything from the smallest craft to the largest schooners — new and old. For details, contact Judi Bradac at (714) 673-9360.
The 138-foot schooner Pride of Baltimore was in Seattle June 1-13 as part of her West Coast tour. Built in 1976, she is a replica of an 1820's Baltimore Clipper schooner - complete with cannons! Since her launching she has traveled extensively as a good will ambassador for the city of Baltimore. The evening of the Pride's arrival the C W B , together with Northwest Seaport and the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, sponsored a reception and dinner to fete the captain and crew. Master of ceremonies was author Ernest G a n n and attendees included Seattle Mayor Charles Royer, King County Executive Randy Revelle and many others. It was quite the affair! After dinner Captain Jan Miles introduced the Pride's crew and described their trip, which included a wild, 13 knot ride through the
Saturday, September 17 SEA C H A N T E Y & F O L K S O N G C O N C E R T Museum of History and Industry ( C W B FUND-RAISER) C W B sponsors a concert by the nationally known group, Morrigan, which has a special, upbeat style. Don't miss them! For details (including time), please call 382-BOAT. September 24 REPAIR-MAINTENANCE SEMINAR Offered by the Northwest School of Boatbuilding, Port Townsend. Call (206) 385-4948 for details. Saturday, October 1 CWB FALL REGATTA Noon to dark, Waterway 4 Boatshop O u r first official Waterway 4 regatta . . . at last! Please bring your boats, friends and enthusiasm. We'll have the usual mix of rowing and sailing races, good food and fun. For details, please call the new C W B number, 382-BOAT. October 8 D I N G H Y & L A P S T R A K E C O N S T R U C T I O N SEMINAR Offered by the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, Port Townsend. F o r details, call (206) 385-4948. Friday, October 21 C W B M O N T H L Y MEETING 8-10 p.m., Waterway 4 Boatshop Member Dave C o x covers the subject of shallow-water small boat cruising, focusing on places that are more populated with herons, eagles and seals than the ubiquitous flocks of guzzle gassaux. For details, call 382-BOAT. October 22 S T E A M - B E N D I N G SEMINAR Offered by the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. Call (206) 385-4948 for information. •
Strait of Juan de F u c a . "She's never gone quite as fast before," he said, noting sails had to be reduced to keep from driving her under. On June 11 the Center held a small craft regatta at the south side of Waterfront Park, next to the Pride's berth. Despite frequent doses of liquid sunshine, the event was well-attended and quite a success. The Vancouver and Puget Society brought along two of the 21 foot R . O . M . Gigs (see S H A V I N G S , M a r c h April, 1983) and challenged
C W B members to a series of races, most of which were won by the southerners. Results looked like this, with all crews described from coxswain to bow: MIXED VPS: Sheri Rourke, Deb Haskett, Anne Connelly. Lee Harrison and Michael Bailey: CWB: Lauralee Cox, Chas Dowd, Debby Dowd, Karen Syrjala and Hal Cutting. MENS NO 1 — C W B Courtney Mathews, Chris Cunningham, Dave Cox, Dick Wagner and Ralph Mathews; VPS: Nils Becker, Peter Becker, Mark Oesrich, Dave Burdick and Randy Shuman. WOMENS - VPS: Molly Staley, Emily Brownstein, Anne Appleby, Miun Rubin and Martha Jolly; CWB: Caroline Schimke, Chris Shuman, Courtney Mathews, Elizabeth Stevenson and Lauralee Cox. MENS NO. 2 — VPS: Sara Krogh, Carl Brownstein. Duane Fagergren, Dave Krogh and Charlie Stephens; CWB. Cindy Fisher, Chris Cunningham, Rip Knot, Ralph Mathews and Les Bolton After the races, the sun made an appearance and attendees paraded past the Pride, then down the waterfront. The crew of the Pride were asked to judge the boats, and here are their opinions: BEST POWERBOAT - Shine, 16 foot Poulsbo Boat owned by Marty Loken and Gloria Grandaw. BEST SAILBOAT - Cordelia, a 14 1/2 foot Ranaboat, complete with topsail rig, owned by Bob Allen. BEST ROWING BOAT - The 14 foot New York Whitehall newly built by Chris Cunningham — Dave Cox •
view of surrounding waters. A n d while we were there, a plethora of wood had washed up, providing fuel for all the fires we wanted. (Take a modest saw. . .) A nice alternative approach might be to head northwest from the launching ramp, up Rosario Strait, passing around the north end of Cypress Island. After a night (or more) on Cypress, finish your circumnavigation by heading south down Bellingham Channel. If you haven't cruised the San Juans before, take note: the currents must be taken into account when planning your trip. For instance, the
Open-Boat Cruising CYPRESS ISLAND B y Dave C o x Have you ever had a harbor seal follow your boat for more than a mile, coming closer and closer until he was only 35 feet away? Or watched another seal and her pup swim past your campsite in the early morning? How about interrupting your dinner to watch a killer whale swim by 100 yards away? A n d have you ever undergone the scrutiny of a deer as you rowed past, perhaps 75 feet away? A recent trip to Cypress Island contained these delights . . . and much more. Cypress is a lightly populated member of the San Juan Islands, not far to the north and west of Anacortes. M u c h of the island is publicly owned and the State Dept. of Natural Resources has developed two small campgrounds for boaters, one at Cypress Head on the east side of the island, the other at Pelican Beach, also on the east side, near the north end of the island. The best jumping-off spot for a trip to Cypress is Washington Park, at Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes. Follow the signs to the state ferry dock, then continue past it to the park. T a k e a roll of quarters: 13 are required to use the ramp for launching, then 13 more to retrieve. There is a dollar-bill changer, but be prepared! The ramp seemed usable even during a minus tide. O n c e in the water, head north (and slightly east) up Bellingham Channel, between Cypress and Guemes islands. Cypress Head is about four nautical miles from the launching ramp. This may be a quick trip, or longer than you planned, depending on the currents. Cypress Head is a small island itself, joined to Cypress by a low, narrow spit of beach. It contains perhaps a dozen campsites and sanitary facilities, but no water. There are several mooring buoys for larger boats and a float. Small boats should beach if possible, or use their clothesline-reel anchoring system. Just off the Head, several currents meet, making a lovely noise. They also make a good piece of water for small boats to avoid, so stay a quarter mile or so to the east while rounding the Head. It was at Cypress Head that we saw the seal and pup and watched the killer whale as it repeatedly appeared, then submerged. Cypress Head is also where we spent an unplanned extra night to wait out the unexpected storm. Remember, small-boat types can't plan on fighting through regardless! M a k e contingency plans and carry extra food and water to allow yourself the option of retreating gracefully. In our case, we were not about to battle a 35 knot headwind in a pulling boat, and besides, look what we'd have missed! Pelican Beach is 1 1/2 or 2 nautical miles to the north. It contains three mooring buoys (one of which I managed to use instead of an anchor for my clothesline-reel system), six campsites, sanitary facilities and, again, no water. This is a delightful spot. There is a wide variety of sea life uncovered each time the tide exits from the extensive beach. Several trails take you to viewpoints 800 feet above the water, providing a commanding
current running south down Bellingham Channel can exceed two knots on an ebb tide - not a raging river, but enough to make a big difference when you're rowing. The current setting west through Guemes Channel is at least as strong, and the two combine between Cypress Island and Fidalgo Head, heading west a quite a rate! A useful bit of "local knowledge" is the existence of a back eddy running most of the length of the east side of Cypress Island. This helps you progress against the prevailing tide by staying close to shore. (But you still have to get past Cypress Head - no back eddy there!) S o , consider Cypress when planning a San Juan adventure. As a stopping place during a longer cruise, or as an objective in itself, it's worth a trip. •
SQUAXIN ISLAND REGATTA The wind blew 20 knots, it rained a lot and we all had a wonderful time! W h o says the pioneer spirit is dead? June 18 the fourth annual Squaxin Island Regatta was held in spite of the weather. Quite a number of folks braved the storms to enjoy races, test boats, talk about boats and, of course, enjoy a generous feast. (Just to give you an idea, 40 pounds of shellfish, among other things, went into the communal chowder!) All of which goes to prove if you are going to live in the Northwest, you just have to own good raingear - and enjoy wearing it. Ya'all come next year, hear? Dave Cox •
LOST AT BOATSHOW. . . Please contact Bruce Shilling (935-0710) if you have seen a small steel-handled hammer, coping saw, backsaw or four small C clamps, lost in the Toy Boatbuilding Contest area. Thanks. •
OUR SITE GROWS
LETTERS
Having gained experience with the Peter Principle and Murphy's Law during the prolonged site-permit process, things are now falling nicely in place at Waterway 4. The 65-foot cutter Circe received her second launching at Waterway 4 on June 17. She was originally built in 1932 by Lake Union D r y d o c k , only a quarter-mile west of the waterway. Circe was designed by Ben Seaborn, then a 16-year-old high school student, for his uncle, Ray C o o k e . For the past three years she has been under reconstruction on Waterway 4. After a pull the earth-inside-out, 77-wheel crane gently deposited 50-ton C i r c e in Lake Union, it plucked our 40-foot ramp and set it from shore to the new Boatshop. At the same time this Northwest
Beach launching of a relatively heavy boat can be quite a project at times; hard on the boat as well as the back. Here at Jamestown (near Sequim) we have been using a system which has worked without fault for three years and for many hundreds of launches. It has no environmental impact, and uses no power other than gravity and human muscle. My father, who designed and built it, swears he only spent $12 on the whole shebang! Our 16-foot Swampscott dory rests on three rollers made from a peeler core - easily available from plywood mills. A n y number of rollers will do, but my dad simply cut one into thirds. Into the end of each roller he screwed a large, galvanized screweye, and then spliced a loop of line through each eye, thus making a simple handle for moving the rollers. Launching is only a matter of using the slope of the beach and moving the rollers along as the boat slides easily to the water. Retrieving the boat is almost as simple. Two cedar posts with a 2x4 cross piece are dug into the sand, above high water level, and a small boat trailer winch is attached to the cross piece. (Ever noticed how boat trailers always rust to bits but usually leave behind a nice, shiny winch? Garage sales are great.) With 50 feet of 1/8th-inch galvanized cable we can easily winch the boat from the water, back onto the rollers and return it to its spot above high-water level. During low tides we can extend the reach of the cable by using the painter on the boat. With a little imagination I'm sure one could make this system more complicated, but then that's not what small boating is about. T o d d Bryant Jamestown, W A
classic was reborn on Lake Union, the first public access to our traditional small-craft museum was provided. A nice touch . . . The shoreside of WW 4 was long ago corralled by the Seattle Engineering Department with a wall of concrete castings, each the size of a small tank. The city whimsically calls them "ecology blocks." The Engineering Department has now removed these monsters to another site, providing someone a kit to build a replica of Cheops pyramid. While the Engineers were exercising their mechanical muscle, they scraped down a mound of gravel on our site left over from the last ice age. What does the site look like now? The east border is a thin line of green, featuring a stately, mature ash, with fast-growing maples and birch on either side. The rest is a blighted field of gravel over a fill of miscellaneous rubble. No plant known to mankind could live in this desert. We're waiting for a donated backhoe to dig trenches and fill them with topsoil. Then, in the fall, we will begin our landscaping. It won't be an instant oasis, of course. The trees we have in mind are made with a formula of earth and water, with sun as a catalyst. This chemical mix has a long curing period. A considerable C W B fleet is bobbing on all sides of the Boatshop, along the floats, and a few are hanging from the rafters. Tremendous restoration effort on many of them was done in crunch time by Pat and Mary F o r d , Andy Wichert, T o m Parker, Caroline Schimke, Rip Knot, Caren Crundell, Bob Mueller and Dick Foust. O u r display fleet includes a New Haven Sharpie recently donated by Bo Garrison, a wherry, Navy dinghy, Whitebear skiffs, Beetle Cats, a Grandy boat, Rana boat, Concordia sloop boat, Lowell skiff, O l d Town canoe and rowing boat, dory, cold-molded dinghy and Rushton's Sarry Gamp. Soon to arrive will be a pram. Falcon Sloop, Blanchard Jr. Knockabout, Adirondack guideboat and Reinell boat. Our development is attracting many, including daily visits from a family of Canada geese, who cruise down Waterway 4 every afternoon and take a rest stop at our ramp gateway, It's a relief to know we have been received by the Lake Union old guard and accepted into the neighborhood. - Dick Wagner •
PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESS & PHONE NUMBER. . . With the installation of C W B ' s Boatshop on Waterway 4, we now have an official address and phone-number change: The Center for Wooden Boats 1010 Valley Street Seattle, WA 98109 Phone (206) 382 B O A T
As you can see by the enclosed snapshots, things are starting to take shape on our 44-foot gaff schooner, Scoote, being built by Whaler Bay Boat Y a r d on Galiano Island. The boat should be in the water by fall, decked and ready to work on the interior and rigging. If you have any scuttlebutt in the next year about a cheap place to tie up in Lake Union, let me know! Bill Boulton 1525 E. 20th Spokane, W A 99203
(Editor's note: Notes attached to Bill's photos further describe the Boultons' new boat and future home. Scoote, at 18 tons with a beam of 14' 4". will carry 1,000 square feet of sail, and will be powered by an Easthope Model 15-18 - 150 to 650 rpm - with a 24 inch prop. The schooner will carry 12,000 pounds of inside ballast lead. She's framed in Alaska yellow cedar, with Douglas fir keel, stem and planking and a yellow cedar deck. (The stem and keel are driftwood.) I'm writing to say how impressed I was by the Seattle Wooden Boat Show. The boats were beautiful; the contests fun; the demonstrations lucid and educational. The weather was even nice! All in all, it was an exceedingly worthwhile investment of time, money and attention. It surely must require an awesome amount of coordination and cooperation by a group of motivated people to produce something of this caliber. (Editor's note: Please note list of Boat Show volunteers
elsewhere in this issue.) Enthusiasm and dedication were apparent everywhere. It would be easy to credit all this to Dick Wagner - and certainly he's a local point and driving force behind it all. But it could never have happened without an awful lot of help. I wish all of you were my neighbors . . . B u d Anderson Santa A n a , C A O n c e again I would like to congratulate the Center for a really wonderful production on Lake Union. The informal combination of seeing and doing in the open air - for free - is a delightful experience. I hope Seattle fully appreciates the benefits of the Center's efforts; at least those in attendance seemed to! In the future one hopes that more moorage space might be available, or perhaps organized more clearly into "operating" and "mooring" areas only? But the informality and spontaneity of it all is an asset, and should not be reduced . . . (Also), I have just finished reading the C W B ' s monograph on Davis Boats and would like to congratulate you on what I think is a nicely comprehensive combination of the human and the technical . . . Phil Thiel Seattle. W A
ready to announce their decision. Although it was my first attempt, I felt my chances were good. My only concern was the chowder my old nemesis, Pete, had entered. Beating him was always tough, and my success had been mixed in the past. " Y o u r attention, please"! cried the chief judge. " W e have a winner! After careful consideration we are most pleased to announce the best chowder was cooked by . . ." She paused, and I noticed I apparently quit breathing some time ago. "Dave C o x ! " Later, as I sat in the warm sun, enjoying the glow of victory, as well as the contentment a full stomach brings, I noticed the disappearance of the sun from my personal sky. Breaking from my thoughts, I found Pete towering over me, as only a short person can. "Ready for the race?" he said, an evil gleam in his eye. "What race? I'm stuffed full of chowder, and I'm damned if I'm going to row a race in this condition. I thought we were bagging the races this time. That's why we ate so early!" "It's tough all over, chowder breath," he replied, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. " T h e sprint you won from us
Thought your readers would like to see this little pram. Just under 8 feet long, it's a scaled-down version of the 10-footer in Gardner's "Classic Small Craft." I have been using it as a class project at the Cutting Edge tool stores in Berkeley and Los Angeles. Seven or eight students (of all ages) build one in 6 days and then launch it, wet paint and all, on the seventh. It's amazing how quickly people with average woodworking skills can learn lapstrake construction. The point of the class is not really the boat, but to give people the experience and confidence so they can go home and build one for themselves. We hope to expand the teaching program this fall and offer two-week classes in which a 15 foot sailboat will be completed. I don't have a
design in mind yet and would appreciate any help your readers can give me. Basically, I'm looking for a well-tried design suitable for rowing, sailing and small outboard. It also needs to be light enough for cartopping and trailering, yet sturdy and seaworthy for San Francisco Bay sailing. A rig that stows inside the boat is also essential. A n d a hull form amenable to lapstrake construction. Simon A. Watts Temporary mailing address: Taunton Press, Inc. 52 C h u r c h Hill Road Box 355 Newtown, CT 06470
THE RACE B y Dave C o x Last fall's CWB regatta at Gasworks Park contained some elements of drama and nose to nose conflict. This semi fictional vignette tells the tale. (No names have been changed as there are no innocents to protect.) The moment was at hand. The judges had gone from table to table, sampling the different clam chowders, making notes, re-tasting, discussing. Then, while we contestants waited, feigning a nonchalance we did not feel, they deliberated. Finally, they are
last summer was a fluke. We'll go three miles this time. I don't believe that Whitebear skiff of yours is all that fast." Heartburn set in as I lurched to my feel. I noticed an audience had collected, and realized this was a setup. I thought about 30 minutes of frenzied rowing and my gastric distress increased. Spotting my wife, I went over to her. "Want to row in the race with me?", I asked. Smiling sweetly, she answered, " N o thanks," and disappeared in the direction of the wine bottle, I was pondering my next move, with an eye toward escaping, when from behind me I heard, "Want a partner, do you?" Turning, I saw Dick. This was more like it, I thought. No one rows harder than Dick. "Let's go warm up," I said, "and discuss some strategy." Jockeying for position at the starting line, we found ourself next to Pete. My heart sank further as I noticed he had his usual gorilla for crew. I had rowed against John before. Hopefully, I called over. "How's your back, J o h n ? " "Great! Didn't Pete tell you? We just got back from a two week rowing cruise in the San Juan Islands!" My rising blood pressure was cut short as the starter called out, " O n e minute." I felt the familiar burst of adrenalin as we manipulated the boat into position. Quickly scanning the other boats, I saw there were no others likely to match our pace We wouldn't see the shells again until the race was over. The rest of the fleet couldn't possible stay with us Our race was strictly against Pete and John. " G O ! " cried the starter, and we leapt into frenzied action. Rowing for all we were worth. we tried to pull ahead. If successful, we hoped to stay there. Otherwise, we wanted to slay close and hope we could pass in the last stretch. In our pre race strategy discussion we had agreed our only real hope was to stay ahead, with staging a comeback almost impossible. We must stay ahead! O u r strokes perfectly coordinated, we slowly moved ahead of Pete and John. This gave me little confidence as they had been successful in the past at eleventh-hour efforts. We pulled two boat lengths ahead, then they matched our pace. Quickly, we settled into the body numbing tempo of competilive rowing. Feet together on the stretchers, a long hard stroke.
R O W I N G R A C E - con't followed by a rapid return, the oar blades barely clearing the water, constantly evaluating and adjusting our pace in an attempt to keep the two boat-length lead. As expected, the other boats in the race had moved ahead or dropped behind, leaving us to our personal battle, with no distractions. The first half of the race passed quickly; soon we were at the buoy, muscling the boat around it as quickly as we could. The maneuver brought the boats close and, in gasps, the insults flew: " O k , you guys can move aside now." " K e e p dreaming, sucker." " W e r e through screwing around, now we're gonna get down to it!" " Y o u row like you cook - second best!" "I can't afford to bribe the judges like you can!" Heading back up the lake, the superior strength of our opponents began to show. Slowly, they began inching up and Dick called upon me to pick up the pace. I tried, but there wasn't much left. Breathing hurt: so did my hands and my back. 1 was temporarily blinded by sweat running down in my eyes and I had to have Dick call out course corrections to me while I tried to clear them, never daring to miss a stroke all the while. We heard shouts from our left. A large sailboat, all sails set, was bearing down on us. Unless one of us gave in, a collision was inevitable. F r o m the abuse being heaped upon us, it was apparent the crew was either ignorant or uncaring of the laws concerning right of way. " K e e p rowing!" I gasped. We concentrated on our rowing, studiously ignoring the sailboat, which at the last possible moment luffed into the wind, allowing us to shoot under its bow with six feet to spare. The flapping of its sails mixed with the curses of its crew, but we had lost no further ground by it. Slowly, our lead eroded. A boat length or less was left, and there was a half a mile to go. Time seemed curiously slowed. Five more minutes, 1 thought, wondering how I could keep going for that much longer. My throat parched, I thought feverishly of cold beer and promised myself one, if only I could finish this race.
O u r opponent's bow pulled abreast of our stern and I gasped "now!" shortened and quickened our stroke. O u r boat's wake increased and we gained five feet before they could react. A hundred yards from the finish, we shot through a group of power boats crossing our course. As we slammed through their wakes we took water over the bow, cooling our fevered bodies with spray. I prayed, with little hope, that our opponents would drop an oar, while also praying we miss no strokes ourselves. Their bow had pulled ahead of our stern, but it was too late. We flashed across the line victorious! Rowing slowly back to the beach, trying to loosen our screaming muscles, we encountered Pete and John doing the same. " D a v e " , said Pete. " Y o u weren't realty trying, were you?" They rowed quickly away while I contemplated feeding Pete my oar. This victory was sweet. In the Cross-Sound race, six weeks before, Pete and John had beat my wife and I by nearly six minutes. Dick and I jubilantly agreed, we rowed an excellent race! • Editor's note: This fall's regatta will be held Saturday, October 1 at Waterway 4. We'll look forward to a rematch between Dave, Dick, Pete and John.
LAST CALL. . . Please join our Wooden Boat Odyssey. We have planned an expedition to explore our Atlantic Coast maritime heritage from New Y o r k to Maine. This trip is an opportunity to visit museums, see restorations and replicas of historic vessels, and meet the specialists in maritime history as part of a small group with red carpet privileges. It's a once-in-alifetime chance. In addition to the itinerary sent to C W B members in June, we have also been invited to visit The Apprenticeship in Rockport, Maine, and WoodenBoat Magazine in Brooklin, Maine. The dates are October 19 26. A deposit of $150.00 should be sent immediately to reserve your space. Make checks payable to Travcon Trust A c c o u n t , and send to Travcon, 1001 West Howe Street, Seattle, WA 98109. For more information, please call Travcon at (206) 283¬ 9800, or the C W B at (206) 3 8 2 - B O A T . •