Shavings Volume 1 Number 5 (August-September 1979) (txt and pic only)

SHAVINGS

August, September 1979

Volume One, Number Five

MORE ON THE BONITO BOAT That Samoan Bonito boat donated to CWB by Mr. and Mrs. John Haydon drew a l o t of a t t e n t i o n during the boat show. When John was governor of Samoa, he e s t a b l i s h e d a c u l t u r a l museum in Pago Pago and commissioned b u i l d e r s from the i s l a n d of Tau to construct a bonito f i s h i n g canoe as part of the opening festivities.

The f i n i s h e d boat was put in the new museum, but the demonstration of Samoa's boatbuilding heritage and techniques was so e f f e c t i v e , that Gov. Haydon commissioned a second one to be b u i l t the next y e a r .

This is the one we r e c e i v e d .

Although the b r e a d f r u i t wood of which i t is constructed makes the canoe unusual enough, the sewn plank c o n s t r u c t i o n i s even more interesting.

Each of the many (continued on page 3)

SUN, WATER, WOOD AND VOLUNTEERS ALL ADD UP TO SUCCESS The Third Annual S e a t t l e Wooden Boat Show, the CWB's major e f f o r t t h i s year, was part s p e c t a c l e , part school and part pilgrimage for aficionados of craftsmanship and t r a d i t i o n a l design. V i s i t o r s had a good time, e x h i b i t o r s had a good time and nobody wanted the party to end.

Even with the crowds, there was a relaxed, unpressured f e e l i n g as the public d r i f t e d from booth to booth, from float to f l o a t , and from l e c t u r e h a l l to the decks of the large ships lined up along the bulkheads.

While most of the attendees came from around Puget Sound, others had travelled impressive distances - from Maine, upstate New York, Minnesota, southern C a l i f o r n i a , and from Y e l l o w k n i f e in Canada's Northwest T e r r i t o r y . (continued on page 2)

A PUBLICATION OF THE CENTER FOR WOODEN BOATS

BOAT SHOW (cont'd) Boats and ships on d i s p l a y ranged in s i z e from Dennis Corum's d e l i c a t e " S a i r y Gamp" canoe, a 9 foot copy of Rushton's smallest design to the 105' Carribean trading schooner and " t u r k l i n g b o a t " , the "Goldfield" .

It was t r u l y i n t e r n a t i o n a l as w e l l .

Boats launched into c h i l l y B a l t i c waters moored near c r a f t b u i l t in Alaska, Holland, A u s t r a l i a and England.

Traditional Scandanavian d e s i g n s , c l a s s i c d o r i e s , w h i t e h a l l s of every p r o p o r t i o n , s a i l b o a t s , rowboats, canoes, motor and steam c r a f t t i e d up to the f l o a t s , often r a f t i n g out three or four deep.

So many large ships came that two dozen were moored Mediterranean f a s h i o n , t h e i r sterns secured to to seawall and t h e i r anchors streamed forward so they pointed up the l a k e .

Viewed from the water, it was a cross between a Cote d' Azur yacht harbor and a Fisherman's wharf with a heavy dose of t u r n - o f - t h e - c e n t u r y Boston.

There was even a f u l l y f i t t e d out f l o a t i n g boat shop - Rip Knot's "Ultramarine S e r v i c e " anchoring the end of one of the floats.

Serious students of the c r a f t could listen to Minnesota's Dean Haynes - a t h i r d generation rowing c r a f t b u i l d e r - talk about h i s graceful Whitebear s k i f f s .

Tom Beard and Gordon Young gave t h e i r audience comprehensive i n s i g h t into the b u i l d i n g of the famed Poulsbo Boats.

Gordon is the son of Roland Young), t h e i r designer.

He is so e x c i t e d about the revived i n t e r e s t in these boats that he is b u i l d i n g one h i m s e l f .

Puget Sounds' own

old-world craftsman, Paul Schweiss, shared his knowledge of the d e s i g n , c o n s t r u c t i o n techniques, an s a i l i n g performance of V i k i n g b o a t s .

For those who want to open t h e i r own boatshop, Pat Ford explained how to begin.

And in case they wanted to do it in the Northwest, Bob P i c k e t t ' s l e c t u r e on native woods f o r b o a t b u i l d i n g was an e x c e l l e n t d i s c u s s i o n of local resources.

Saturday evening was given over to a thorough d i s c u s s i o n of the C e n t e r ' s trademark, the B r i s t o l Bay g i l l n e t t e r .

An a l l s t a r panel of Dan Dygert, Clark C o u l t e r , Tom Dyer and Joe Eberharter gave a f u l l account of t h i s sail-powered f i s h e r y .

If people wanted one-on-one i n s t r u c t i o n , they could learn k n o t - t y i n g under the t u t e l a g e of Lyn Smith, Deb Harrington and Jim S t o r e y .

Marty Langeland helped them r i v e t , Pat Ford demonstrated steam-bending and Brian Toss showed them the ins and outs of r i g g i n g .

Decorative carving by Tom Parker and Terry Wolfe drew the k n i f e and c h i s e l s e t , while Tom Finch and Gale S h u b ' s oar-making showed yet another use of edged t o o l s .

Half-models, the d e s i g n e r ' s beginning and the i n t e r i o r decorators d e l i g h t were explained by Dave LeFebvre and Gil Vik. And if all of those d i s p l a y s , demonstrations, and e x h i b i t s d i d n ' t answer a l l of an a s p i r i n g b u i l d e r , owner or r e s t o r e r ' s questions there was always B i l l M o d r e l l ' s "Ask the Experts" booth.

The d a i l y rowing and s a i l i n g races were true crowd p l e a s e r s , even though the rowing races east turn took on a resemblance to Ben Hur's c h a r i o t r a c e .

A

t h r e e - s i d e d course of a mile long doesn't n e c e s s a r i l y show which is the best rower or who has the f a s t e s t boat, but it sure provides the maximum p o s s i b l e action when there are f i f t e e n boats speeding down it with anywhere from one to four rowers bending to the o a r s .

The most important f e a t u r e of the show, however, was what made it a l l p o s s i b l e in the f i r s t place: The S p i r i t of the Volunteer.

Floats and boatshop were towed over by the M.V. Sea Quest under skipper Frank Didier.

Steve Osborn drafted from his v a c a t i o n , helped bring the newly-donated f l o a t s from Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island.

When they a r r i v e d , C h a r l i e Olsheski and his crew of twelve moored them in p o s i t i o n and then turned to assembling the various booths. The CWB booth was b u i l t by Doug Gorgeo, and Colleen Wagner and her helpers spent many hours on the e x c e l l e n t hand-painted signs that added to the show's high quality.

One of the best expressions of the S p i r i t of the Volunteer was the toy b o a t b u i l d i n g booth.

Throughout the three days of the show at l e a s t a dozen youngsters were busy under the p a t i e n t s u p e r v i s i o n of G i l Vik at a l l t i m e s , hammering, sawing, g l u i n g , and c a r v i n g .

Their output was as diverse as the boats on d i s p l a y and t h e i r i n t e n t labor and the lessons they were l e a r n i n g made sure that another generation of woodworkers w i l l appear.

C o n t r i b u t o r s whose s k i l l is c u i s i n e rather than carpentry made the evening potluck at the Gasworks Park a success. This

p i c n i c is r a p i d l y becoming the s o c i a l event of the wooden boating y e a r .

A f t e r the show ended, the CWB had made a modest p r o f i t , p a r t l y from the r a f f l e of Tom Finch and Gale Snub's 9-foot s k i f f and some from the Marine Auction.

On the people p r o f i t l e d g e r , the Center gained over 50 new members.

B0NIT0 BOAT (cont'd)

planks is smooth outside and looks l i k e customary c a r v e l construction.

The inboard surface has a r a i s e d l i p around a l l edges, l i k e a frame around • picture.

Holes are bored through t h i s frame, p a r a l l e l with the outer surface and matching those in a d j o i n i n g planks.

The b o a t b u i l d e r s then lace the planks together with sennit (twisted coconut f i b e r s ) and caulk the seams with r o t t e d breadfruit.

There is a small outrigger for s t a b i l i t y .

The b u i l d e r s also carved a row of knobs on the deck.

In use, these are capped by small white s h e l l s which the fishermen b e l i e v e act as a l u r e f o r the bonito.

Gov Haydon says that while dugouts are s t i l l common in the the planked and sewn islands types are only in museums now

JOHN GARDNER HONORED

MEMBERSHIP NOTICE Some of the CWB memberships w i l l be due for renewal in October - our 1st a n n i v e r s a r y .

Please continue your support of the Center by renewing your membership.

A recent scan of our membership l i s t shows 411 CWB members in 22 s t a t e s & 3 Canadian P r o v i n c e s .

DONATIONS Tom & Linda May have c o n t r i b u t e d the hand crank anchor winch from t h e i r schooner "Norden". The winch was o r i g i n a l equipment on the Norden, which was b u i l t in Denmark in 1929 as a f i s h c a r r i e r , taking cod in a l i v e well from Denmark to S p a i n .

The winch is now stored on the San Mateo.

PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE Copies of the B o a t b u i l d e r ' s D i r e c t o r y are s t i l l a v a i l a b l e .

They are $2.00 each, add 50 cents for m a i l i n g .

John Gardner, A s s o c i a t e Curator of Small Craft at Mystic Seaport and National Fisherman's Technical Editor was the guest of honor at a h a s t i l y - c o n v e n e d reception at the Old Boathouse September 15, as he passed through S e a t t l e on his way to Port Townsend.

Dick Wagner presented Gardner with a handsome c e r t i f i c a t e , created by several of the CWB members, expressing our a p p r e c i a t i o n for his i n s p i r a t i o n to a l l of us and c o n f e r r i n g upon him l i f e t i m e membership in The Center For Wooden Boats.

Responding to applause, Gardner assured the members that the c e r t i f i c a t e would have a s u i t a b l e place of honor over his desk u n t i l " i t was time to put it in some maritime museum".

EDITORIAL STAFF Shavings has a new e d i t o r i a l team.

Chuck Dowd, E d i t o r - i n - C h i e f Dave Cox, Typesetting Ted Cooper, Production C h a r l i e Bond and Dick Wagner, Reporters

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION ( )

P l e a s e e n r o l l me as a member o f the Center, a n o n p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n (dues t a x d e d u c t i b l e ) , and send the Center's membership p u b l i c a t i o n s f o r one y e a r , membership c a r d , and s u p p o r t e r ' s p i n . ( ) Regular--$7.50/year ( ) C o n t r i b u t i n g - - $ 1 5 . 0 0 / y e a r ( ) Organizations--$15.00/year

Name Address City Z i p code

( ) Life--$100.00

T o t a l Amount E n c l o s e d State

$

Boat(s) owned

Phone

THE CENTER FOR WOODEN BOATS

2770 Westlake Avenue North Telephone (206)283-9166

S e a t t l e WA 98109