Published for members of The Center for Wooden Boats
Volume X V I I Number 4 A u g u s t 1995
WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL '95 C u t t i n g right to the heart of the matter: what boats were on display at the Festival? N a t u rally, there was C W B ' s collection o f more than 100, of w h i c h six sail, six oar and three enginepowered boats were g i v i n g people rides. T h e rest of our fleet was moored or on cradles along
magazine, also went to Radiance. (It's hard to
few years.
avoid recognition of perfection!)
Besides l o o k i n g over boats at repose at the
A n d then there was the P r o s ' P i c k , the
docks and on shore, thousands of spectators at
award sponsored by Fisheries Supply. It was cre-
the Festival and around L a k e U n i o n watched the
ated to let the boatbuilding and maintenance pro-
E d C l a r k M e m o r i a l C l a s s i c Y a c h t Race. They
fessionals poke and prod under the floorboards
sail up. d o w n and across the lake. The course
the margins to make r o o m for 89 others that were afloat or on shore. T h e favorites? We all have our own standards of value so we asked Festival visitors to vote for their choice of which boats s h o u l d r e c e i v e s p e c i a l r e c o g n i t i o n . Strangely, we call these best-of-show selections the People's C h o i c e A w a r d s . T h e best non-sailing boat under 2 5 ' was Aurora, a 2 2 ' inboard runabout built of H o n duras mahogany and coated with a g a z i l l i o n layers of varnish. E r i c H v a l s o e is the designer and builder. It was created in the mode of J o h n H a c k e r ' s 1920's speedboats. It's a classic design with a spin of technology advances in hull and structure based on post-'20s empiric information. Aurora is the definition of understated elegance at rest and a screaming rocket at speed. E r i c is frequently at C W B teaching lofting and boatbuilding. The best sailboat under 2 5 ' was Sinbad, a 14' lapstrake Iain Oughtred designed sailing canoe built by R a l p h M e r r i m a n . R a l p h participated i n one o f C W B ' s early lapstrake w o r k shops and he o b v i o u s l y learned better-than-average boatbuilding s k i l l s . T h e best powerboat over 2 5 ' was the cruiser Rita, a 5 1 ' Ed M o n k design built in 1938 by the L a k e w o o d Boat C o m p a n y of Seattle and now owned by L e w Barrett of Seattle. L e w is an o l d hand at m a k i n g basket cases into award winners. He received the same accolades a few years ago at our Festival for Varnishing Point. E v e r y time I passed Rita there was a line of visitors w a i t i n g . T h e p u b l i c ' s choice for the best big s a i l boat was Radiance, the 7 2 ' ketch designed by L. Francis Herreshoff as Ticonderoga. T h i s version was built in 1994 by Legendary Yachts and is o w n e d by Stan B i s h o p r i c k of V a n c o u v e r , W A . There were big lines waiting to board Radiance. No wonder: she glowed with quality design, materials, craftsmanship and maintenance. T h e Best O v e r a l l A w a r d , also chosen by the folks and sponsored by Northwest Yachting
and in obscure orifices to see the " r e a l " quality
looks like an " X " closed at the top and bottom:
of craftsmanship and maintenance. T h i s year's
the idea is both to race and to provide m a x i m u m
award went to Wee Rob, a traditional lapstrake
visibility.
canoe designed by Iain Oughtred and built and owned b y C a r l L i n d . C a r l was C W B ' s Boatshop Manager from 1992 to 1995. We already knew C a r l builds a wee bit better than most.
What a parade of history and diversity appeared on the race course! O l i n Stevens' 1929 5 2 ' y a w l Dorade was there. (Stevens was barely out of high school when he designed Dorade.
The W o o d e n Boat Festival is meant to be
She took her shakedown cruise across the A t l a n -
an opportunity for total immersion in the w o r l d
tic, entered the grueling Fastnet Race and won.)
of wooden boats. The y o u n g folks took full ad-
C u r r e n t o w n e r M i k e D o u g l a s s k i p p e r e d her
vantage o f the T o y B o a t b u i l d i n g W o r k s h o p .
around the lake course with a crew of 16-year-
( W h y didn't we think of patenting that idea when
olds.
we first began d o i n g it in 1978?!) I'm expecting to see some second generation boatbuilders in a
There was Barlovento.
a 65'
schooner