Shavings Volume 2 Number 1 (January-February 1980)

SHAVINGS

VOLUME

TWO,

NUMBER

JANUARY,

ONE

OUR "STATE OF THE CENTER MEETING" LOOKING AT 1979 On November 7, the Center f o r Wooden Boats held i t s f i r s t anniversary meeting. Dick Wagner made a f u l l report on the y e a r ' s a c t i v i t i e s and accomplishments. CWB sponsored a t h i r d Annual Wooden Boat Show with seminars, r a c e s , an auction and a r e a l chance to spread the wooden boat s t o r y . We were at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat F e s t i v a l and the F i s h Expo, making f r i e n d s and gaining memberships.

The Boatbuilding and Seamanship Seminars showed j u s t how valuable CWB can be as a means of passing on information and preserving s k i l l s .

The CWB c o l l e c t i o n grew s i g n i f i c a n t l y .

Boats included a 27' Columbia River g i l l n e t t e r , a 12'6" R e i n e l l s k i f f , a 14' f l a t i r o n s k i f f , a 16' Navy dingy b u i l t at the Bremerton Navy Y a r d , an 11 1/2" Grandy dingy and t r a i l e r , a Samoan Bonito Boat, and a 9' Rushton r e p l i c a , the " S a i r y Gamp".

A f l o a t i n g boathouse was donated which may become part of our permanent f a c i l i t y .

Tom Beard's Poulsbo's boat l i n e s , the l i n e s and o f f s e t s of the Davis boat, l i n e s of a B r i s t o l Bay g i l l n e t t e r and tapes of the Boat Show l e c t u r e s were added to our h i s t o r i c a l archive.

The anchor winch from the "Norden" made a u s e f u l a d d i t i o n to our c o l l e c t i o n of n a u t i c a l gear.

Of course, the monthly meetings were a main a c t i v i t y .

Besides the s k i l l s and h i s t o r y that our speakers provide, i t s heartening to j o i n with so many others who share an abiding i n t e r e s t in wooden small c r a f t .

A l l i n a l l , t h a t ' s a very s o l i d record of accomplishment f o r an inaugural y e a r ! (continued

on

page

4)

LAST SEMINAR OF

By Dave Cox

FEBRUARY

79

The f i n a l CWB B o a t b u i l d i n g Seminar f o r 1979 was held at the Good Shepherd Center in mid-November.

The pros and cons of various t r a d i t i o n a l boat types were explained b r i e f l y by Dick Wagner who talked about both performance and. construction d e t a i l s .

He a l s o suggested a short b i b l i o g r a p h y of boatbuilding t e x t s and discussed sources for p l a n s .

Paul Schweiss, a n a t i o n a l l y known b u i l d e r who runs Tacoma's C l i n k e r Boatworks d e l i v e r e d a s t e p - b y - s t e p l e c t u r e on b u i l d i n g a small boat from l o f t i n g to plank hanging and frame bending. P a u l ' s d i s c u s s i o n showed c l e a r l y what CWB can o f f e r that textbooks c a n ' t .

With audience g i v e - a n d - t a k e , he could c l a r i f y d e t a i l s untouched by books.

Even b e t t e r , he could e x p l a i n techniques which speed the process while preserving q u a l i t y , the kind of t i p s that w r i t e r s d o n ' t know (or that b o a t b u i l d e r s never seem to w r i t e about).

Besides, Paul's confidence in amateur b u i l d i n g puts heart in his l i s t e n e r s . (continued

on

page

4)

REGATTAS PLANNED The Center is planning two Lake Union regattas for 1980.

The s p r i n g one w i l l be on A p r i l 12, j u s t before the " o f f i c i a l " opening of the yachting season, the autumn one w i l l be on October 4, a month a f t e r the Wooden Boat F e s t i v a l .

Further information will be a v a i l a b l e as the dates draw near, but c i r c l e those Saturdays on your calendar now.

A PUBLICATION OF THE CENTER FOR WOODEN BOATS

Working against a l a t e spring or e a r l y summer deadline imposed by the l o s s of the Old Boathouse moorage, the D i r e c t o r and Trustees of the Center f o r Wooden Boats have decided to approach the C i t y of S e a t t l e with a s i t e proposal f o r Waterway 4 at the south end of Lake Union.

In a s e r i e s of weekly meetings, they debated the v i r t u e s of two p o s s i b l e s i t e s to the east and west of Gas Plant Park; Waterway 3, j u s t west of the Naval Reserve Center, and

Waterway

by a c i t y operated asphalt plant f o r many y e a r s .

Now p u b l i c lakeshore is scarce and the c i t y is t r y i n g to preserve what p u b l i c access s t i l l remains f o r mini-parks and s c e n i c viewpoints.

As a n o n - p r o f i t corporation which would make the lake a c c e s s i b l e to the p u b l i c in a t r u l y unique way, CWB makes an a t t r a c t i v e client.

for

Waterway 4.

The concensus that grew around Waterway 4 was the r e s u l t of four c o n s i d e r a t i o n s : availability, s u i t a b i l i t y f o r small c r a f t , congruence with c i t y planning and land use goals and harmony with other groups.

Narrow and sheltered by a b u i l d i n g on one side and a ship moorage on the o t h e r , Waterway 4 l i e s at a s l i g h t angle to the p r e v a i l i n g winds.

The f l o a t i n g f a c i l i t y we're planning would be protected by the s o u t h e r l i e s and the summer breezes would make access under s a i l a tack

Waterway 4 is c u r r e n t l y t e n a n t l e s s , one of several drowned s t r e e t ends owned by the c i t y .

In the past, waterways l i k e it were c a s u a l l y appropriated f o r long-term houseboat moorages, s h i p y a r d s , marinas and s i m i l a r commercial e n t e r p r i s e s . W-4 was used

out, run in o p e r a t i o n .

The south end of the lake is a good place f o r rowers with s h i p y a r d s , a gravel p l a n t , commercial moorages, and the NOAA a c t i v i t y to e x p l o r e .

The seaplanes which make Waterway 3 hazardous are no problem in 4.

Heavy marine t r a f f i c

which congests the s i t e east of the Gas Plant is minimal.

On the landward s i d e , there i s s u f f i c i e n t parking already a v a i l a b l e and good access from Valley St. Although most of the land is underwater, enough is a v a i l a b l e to provide a promenade f o r t o u r i s t s or photographers who want to j u s t look at the CWB f l e e t framed against the northward s t r e t c h of the l a k e .

A CWB moorage in Waterway 4 would blend n i c e l y into the development that NW Seaport plans and we support t h e i r efforts.

But t h e i r h i s t o r i c harbor i s s t i l l in the p r e l i m i n a r y stage and has many hurdles to c l e a r .

For us, time passes.

There are disadvantages to Waterway 4.

I t ' s currently unsightly, crowded with broken asphalt and gravel; muddy in the rain.

It w i l l take work to whip it into shape in time. The south end of the lake is not a touristy place and the rental crowd which w e ' l l rely on to make us self-supporting w i l l have to find us. Some seed money is going to be necessary to get us established down there. Yet in some ways, these problems can be turned to our advantage.

The waterway must be leased from the c i t y and the c i t y w i l l keep a c l o s e eye on what we do with i t .

If we can b e a u t i f y that scrap of land enough to a t t r a c t p u b l i c users to the south end o f the l a k e , i t w i l l f i t i n n i c e l y w i t h the c i t y ' s a e s t h e t i c plans f o r that unique body of water.

If we f o s t e r t o u r i s t t r a f f i c and r a i s e l o c a l i n t e r e s t , it could do a l o t f o r the Seaport's plan.

I f the r e n t a l t r a f f i c i n c r e a s e s , we can b u i l d our c o l l e c t i o n and finance our educational and preservation goals.

A l l we r e a l l y need to f u l f i l l these I F ' s i s money, - - a l i t t l e o f i t - - and work -- a l o t of i t .

Volunteers w i l l be needed to c l e a r the l a n d , r e p a i r f l o a t s , donate and plant shrubs and greenery, paint s i g n s , gravel the parking l o t to expand i t , r a i s e funds.

If we get the waterway, we w i l l need so many things that every member w i l l have a s k i l l that they can donate or a t a l e n t that we w i l l be glad to have.

The D i r e c t o r is working on the s i t e , the t r u s t e e s are h e l p i n g .

S h o r t l y it may be your t u r n .

Please send l e t t e r s of endorsement f o r the s i t e proposal to C.W.B. We need them by Feb. 1 f o r our c i t y hearing.

The Center for Wooden Boats

NEXT MEETING OF TWBS The next meeting of the T r a d i t i o n a l Wooden Boat S o c i e t y w i l l be on F r i d a y , January 18 at 8 pm, at the Old Boathouse.

The Speaker w i l l be Rich Kolin.

Rich w i l l t a l k & show s l i d e s on the S t . Lawrence S k i f f & the 1000 Islands Museum.

FISH EXPO We had an a t t r a c t i v e d i s p l a y at the I n t e r n a t i o n a l F i s h Expo in S e a t t l e t h i s past October. We met some good people, passed on & picked up i n f o r m a t i o n , & found a tremendous market f o r our T-shirts.

Colleen Wagner reported on sales to many out of town v i s i t o r s i n c l u d i n g f o l k s from Uruguay, I n d i a , S c o t l a n d , B r a z i l , Y u g o s l a v i a , Korea, Venezuela, Norway and Canada.

STATE OF THE CENTER ( c o n t i n u e d from page 1) According to our Bylaws, we elected an Executive Committee f o r 1980.

Dick Wagner is P r e s i d e n t , Pat Ford is Vice P r e s i d e n t , Ted Cooper is Secretary and C h a r l i e Bond became Treasurer.

Trustees were Ray A l b e r t i , Bob Chapel, Dennis Corum, Dave Cox, Chas. Dowd, Rip Knot, Rowland Messer, C h a r l i e O l s h e s k i , Myron R i c h a r d s , Colleen Wagner, Land Washburn, and George Weldin. Land l a t e r withdrew and was replaced by Peter L e n t i n i .

A f t e r the business meeting, Washington State Mystic Seaport members j o i n e d CWB'ers for a s l i d e show and l e c t u r e by Revell C a r r , D i r e c t o r of Mystic Seaport, in town f o r a conference on maritime museums sponsored by NW Seaport.

Mystic i s i n i t s f i f t i e t h year and i t s growth and e v o l u t i o n , as explained by i t s D i r e c t o r , is an inspiration.

ROWING TO ALASKA

CWB member John Black is planning a rowing t r i p to Alaska t h i s summer.

He is t h i n k i n g about 2 or more boats, with the group sharing expenses, or b u i l d i n g them.

C a l l John if y o u ' r e i n t e r e s t e d in t h i s project at 206-632-4166 (Seattle).

SLIDE TALK

The C.W.B. endorses an upcoming s l i d e t a l k by B i l l Holm, an expert on Indian Culture.

Holm w i l l present a program on N.W. Indian Maritime A r t .

There w i l l be a l e c t u r e on J a n . 27 at 2pm at the S e a t t l e Central L i b r a r y , & on Feb. 6 @ 7:30 pm, at Kane H a l l , U n i v e r s i t y of Washington.

Both are f r e e .

This lecture is one of a s e r i e s on N.W. Maritime H i s t o r y , sponsored by the Seattle Public Library.

For more i n f o r m a t i o n , contact the l i b r a r y .

SEMINAR REPORT ( c o n t i n u e d f r o m page

1)

Flounder Bay's Bob P i c k e t t explained wood, fastenings and t o o l s .

Although h i s d i s c u s s i o n emphasized l o c a l wood, he also spoke about more e s o t e r i c timber and i t s s p e c i a l uses.

Wood samples were passed around w h i l e Bob used each one to i l l u s t r a t e some aspect of careful wood s e l e c t i o n .

Tools, f a s t e n i n g s , and adhesives closed h i s presentation.

L i k e P a u l , Bob encourages the backyard b u i l d e r , p o i n t i n g out that although a l o t of s p e c i a l t o o l s can make b u i l d i n g e a s i e r , q u a l i t y small c r a f t can be b u i l t with very few indeed.

As always, the seminar closed with a question and answer session as neophytes g r i l l e d the e x p e r t s .

It seemed as easy as Dick always avers: " j u s t cut out some wood, shape it c a r e f u l l y , f i t i t together t i g h t l y , and i t ' s a boat!"