Shavings Volume 4 Number 5 (September-October 1982)

SHAVINGS

Newsletter of The Center for Wooden Boats - Vol. 4, No. 5 - September-October 1982 - 25 Cents CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Launchings

Saturday, October 2 F A L L C W B R E G A T T A - Noon t o dark, Gas W o r k s Park, Seattle.

SON OF SINDBAD

This is our semi-annual-fool-around-with-boats event. Bring your wooden boats! We'll have a boat parade, rowing race and sailing race.

The potluck lunch will be at 1 pm this time, with coffee and dessert at pm following the various events. As always, there should be a lot of unscheduled time before and after races to try out the boats.

The potlucks at our regattas have traditionally been an outstanding feature - the culinary expertise of CWB members has become a minor legend. This time chefs are invited to participate in a seafood chowder competition, with prizes awarded for the best.

Others are asked to bring the usual pot luck items - drinks, salads, main-course items, dessert, paper plates, etc. • Saturday, October 16 C W B M O N T H L Y M E E T I N G - The Museum of Sea and Ships, Pier 5 9 .

(Mezzanine level, next to the Seattle Aquarium.)

We'll be hosted this month by Ken and Francine Zmuda, who opened the Museum of Sea and Ships July 1. Following a guided tour of the exhibits. Ken will offer a slide talk on his maritime-history research, including inside views of the famed Greenwich Museum.

Emphasis of the Seattle museum is on the history of navigational instruments and ship models, but there are many unique artifacts from other areas of maritime history.

The Judas moved their collection to Seattle from Sidney, B.C.. where Ken teaches music (and plays for the Victoria Symphony).

If you cannot make the October meeting but would like to tour the museum some other time, winter hours are 10-5 daily, and 10-9 Tuesdays. There will be no admission charge for members attending the CWB meeting October 16, but normal rates are as follows: $2.00 for adults; $1.50 for youths and seniors; $I.00 for youngsters 6-12.

Kids under 6 slip through the turnstile without charge. •

Sindbad is a 40-foot schooner designed by Leigh Coolidge, Seattle, and built by Mojean and Ericson, Tacoma, in 1926. Since then, she has been cruising the Northwest so much that she's become a Puget Sound metaphor.

In fact, when boatbuilder Ken Powell of Anacortes was looking for a design for a good cruising boat, people kept telling him it ought to be a lot like Sindbad. So Ken decided you can't beat a proven boat and forged ahead with construction of a replica.

Ken launched his new version, Tillicum, off the beach at Guemes Island on August 20 after urging the boat seaward from his inland

shop on a home-built Flintstones trailer of beach logs and recycled truck axles.

Powell works full-time as a boatbuilder at Tony Lovric's Sea Craft yard in Anacortes. He moved to Guemes Island four years ago. and in his spare time has built his home, shop and the schooner. Local rumor has it that Ken works three times faster than anyone else.

Believe it! - D.W. •

NANKING DUCK Don Hollis will always be a Yankee. He was born in Boston and sailed on Alden boats before he could walk. Yankees are supposed to be as conservative as baked beans, but six years ago Don read "Junks of the Yangtze" by G.R.G. Worcester. Hollis said "the junks just caught my fancy, that's all . . ."

Six years later, Don has rebuilt a wreck of a Bristol Bay sailing gillnetter, salvaged from a beach in Hadlock. On August 28. Don launched his restored boat, a junk-rigged gillnetter. Nanking Duck. so named because - according to Worcester - ducks herded to market by junks were the best table fare in China.

In the past six years, in his spare time. Don replaced or sistered all of the frames, replaced half of the planking, put in a new sheer clamp and shelf, mast partners, new deck and cabin, leeboards. and rebuilt

a 12 hp U.S. Falcon engine. The two lug sails were made in Hong Kong, of course.

Before the hull was caulked. Don had to mow the grass. In the open boat shed, the grass had grown through the seams and drain hole and was waving majestically three feet above the keel. As Don laconically, says, "it's been a lot of time . . . " •

HOW T H E BRISTOL B A Y GILLNETTER B E C A M E CWB'S LOGO Some sort of statement about our logo is long overdue. We have more than enough information on the boat's history, construction and handling to fill a monograph. And that's just what we plan to do in the near future.

The first model of our logo boat was built by J.J. Griffin in San Francisco in 1868. It was used on the Sacramento River for salmon gillnetting. Until then, gillnetting was done for subsistence fishing only. But by the late 1860's, an efficient can-making process was developed. (This is a euphemism for "cheap labor.") In fact, the highly motivated Chinese immigrant work force had just come on the market, with the completion of the trans-continental railroad. Thus, to harvest the abundant salmon runs, canneries sprang up on the Sacramento. They needed greater capacity boats than the rowing skiffs previously used for gillnetting.

Soon, the prime Sacramento run of salmon was fished out, and in the 1870's the Columbia River began to be exploited by the canneries.

They took the Griffin boat up to the Columbia and found it more suitable than other types, and the double-ender soon became the prevalent type on the river.

The demand of Columbia canneries was insatiable. Hundreds of sailing gillnetters were built each year by shops in San Francisco and

Astoria. By 1904, a real machine was developed to make cans. The inventor, E.E. Smith of Seattle, boastfully named his contraption "The Iron Chink."

Within 10 years, the Columbia run was severely depleted from overfishing. Many canneries then built fishing stations in Alaska, especially Bristol Bay. They shipped their faithful boats north. The Columbia River boat proved most useful for the shallow Bristol Bay waters and became the main boat type there, from the late 1890's to 1952, when engine-powered fishing boats were finally allowed.

Between 500 and 800 boats sailed Bristol Bay every season.

Thus our logo is a significant part of our small-craft heritage which is what the Center for Wooden Boats is all about.

What were these boats called? Depends on where you are. In San Francisco - "Columbia River Salmon Boat." In Astoria - "Columbia River Gillnetter." In Seattle - "Bristol Bay Gillnetter."

The hulls were not all alike. Each shop built to the specifications of its cannery patrons. But the common denominators are: easy bilges, flare above the waterline. lovely springy sheer, straight keel, plumb (or almost) stem and stern posts, large centerboard, short fore and aft decks, narrow side decks, oval coaming and spritsail cat rig.

The dimensions varied from 27' by 8' to 30' by 9'- 6." The planking was Port Orford cedar on oak frames. Sterns and keel were oak.

The sail was long on the foot and short on the hoist. It was the most sail you could get on an unstayed mast. The reefing technique unship the sprit and tie the peak to the tack, giving a low aspect legof-mutton profile. There were mast hoops. The boom and sprit were secured with snotters. The boat was powerful. With the sail set well, she trucks along at a good clip with light helm and little or no wake.

On Sunday, the Columbia River fisherman would sail for fun.

Our logo was taken from an 1899 photo of a boat going downwind the extra sail being used only on runs with the wind. This is set flying from an extra masthead block and wung out with a spare sprit.

We purchased a sailing gillnetter from a cannery in Bristol Bay. She needs much restoration work before she will sail again, but her lines are finer than most and she will be a good performer. If the sockeye salmon run through Lake Union keeps increasing, we might get Dan Dygert, a 16-year Bristol Bay sailing veteran, to teach us howto gillnet in front of the new CWB headquarters! — Dick Wagner

Letters Dear Dick: Thanks for your recent blurbs on all of the goings-on on the old Lake. I should like very much to take in one of the Wooden Boat Shows. It would be an historic event if I were to crank up and head for the city on the Fourth - perhaps that's the thing to do, as it seems everyone else is in West Sound (Orcas Island) or nearby over that weekend.

In 1983 Sharon L. will be 50 years young and we will have sailed

SHAVINGS A publication of The Center for Wooden Boats. Issued six times a year for numbers; single copies are available for 25 cents.

Editor Marty Loken Writers Chas Dowd, Dick Wagner

Editorial contributions are heartily encouraged. We are especially interested in submissions for the Owner's Notebook series. Simply tell us about your boat design, construction, performance, history, etc. - and include a few photos if they are available.

We 're anxious to receive news from Center members - boatshop projects, new designs, voyages undertaken or planned, thoughts on the CWB and its offerings, items for sale or trade, profiles of traditional Northwest small craft and so forth.

What are you up to? Let us know!

Please address all correspondence to Shavings. CWB. 2770 Westlake Avenue North. Seattle. WA 98109. •

MEMBERSHIP R E N E W A L Your membership expiration date is listed on the Shavings address label. Please renew your support, or bring a friend into the fold if your membership is not up for renewal.

A broad base of loyal membership is important for our success, but other donations should also be considered. We could use classic boats, of course, but also need a truck, a warehouse, and a small forest of cedar, fir and spruce. A l l are tax-deductible. Or consider a deferred contribution. All will be of great value in preserving our small craft heritage.

Membership is now at the 1,200 level. Naturally, most of our members are in the Northwest, but we also have CWB supporters in Brazil. New Caledonia and Saudi Arabia. A good wooden boat has universal appeal! •

N E W ACQUISITION her for 38 of those years. I would like to do something fitting and commemorative for the occasion. I have considered Opening Day— that used to be a big thing in our life - but after reading an account of this year's event I think I'd rather remember it as it was in the late '40's and '50's Perhaps a month in Barkley Sound would be more fitting,and my kids will be out of school then. I haven't seen Wauwer Island for many a moon. There are a few things that should be done in the meantime, all of which would improve the boat. If we were to have a big party and drink a lot of booze the old boat wouldn't gain a thing.

Perhaps we could figure a way and a time to do both - we'll have to give it some more thought. . . .

Right this evening the clouds are thick into the trees on yonder Turtle Back. The centerboard out of Sharon L is standing upside down just outside of the window for a refurbishing, creosoting, etc.

Sharon L. is tethered out to her mooring and the old wood stove feels pretty good. . . In another week my crab pot will be back in the bay, and we generally do fairly well through the summer. It would be nice if you were to find yourself up this way to call on us; we'd throw the chest out and make good on a big crab feed for you.

Good luck to you, and hope to see you around the bend somewhere.

By the wind, Miles McCoy Orcas Island Hello to all of our 1.200 members. Where have you been? I've been looking for you and all I seem to see are the same 40 or so doing the work over and over.

I'm sure that our members come from most every profession, and we need help from every one of you . . . now! Most importantly, we need to get busy raising money for our Center site. Our fund-raising committee needs suggestions from you . . . or perhaps you can do some fund-raising on your own.

Our initial fund-raising was not a great success financially, but it was good for public relations. Many people now know who we are, thanks to good media notification by Paula Fair.

We need more membership participation in all areas. It is unfair that Colleen Wagner always has to coordinate the food, set it out and pick up and clean up at all of the regattas and the boat show. We also need people who can help nail booths together, and help build new ones. We really need fetch-and-carry people for the Fourth of July show, with pickups or station wagons. We also need a few to stuff, fold and sort Shavings and other mailings. I've spouted off enough now it's up to you to answer the call. People and money are what it will take to make the CWB a floating success.

Darlene Allen Seattle

The Willits canoe has a nationwide reputation for excellence.

Floyd C. and Earl C. Willits of Day Island. Tacoma, built these stock canoes from 1919-1959. Their standard of materials and craftsmanship was nothing short of perfection.

The Center for Wooden Boats recently received a donation of a very special Willits boat - a 22-foot motor launch. This boat was designed and built by the brothers in 1929, as their own utility boat.

They used their canoe construction techniques - flat cedar frames edge to edge with equal-thickness planking fastened with copper clench nails. The Willits brothers used this boat for their annual trip to a mill in the south end of Commencement Bay. There they selected the perfect red cedar log and towed it back to their shop for sawing and seasoning.

This boat was donated by Mrs. Leonard T. Willits. — D.W. •

S T E A M B O A T A'COMING The Puget Sound steamboat revival is heartening to all who love the good old stuff. There is nothing as spellbinding as watching the engineer throw some chunks in the fire, check the gauges and ritually oil the 77,000 exposed joints and bearings.

There is only one strident note in the sound of nostalgia echoing down the Northwest passages. It's that the beautifully crafted engines and boilers appear too often in entirely inappropriate hulls.

Buxom lifeboats and heavy Navy whaleboats are commonly seen with 1-5 horsepower steam engines. The steamboat skippers often don't seem to know or care that their boats fall short of the sleek, slim shapes of historic steam launches.

But the tide may be turning. Pat Spurlock, a Seattle steam nut who owns a proper, lean fantail 20-foot launch with a 3-hp engine, has been commissioned to build a 24-foot steam launch. Pat researched, conferred and developed what will be close to a state-ofthe-art launch. He figures this fantail boat should use only .69 hp to slip along at 4 knots. That should leave plenty of pressure for a good, long toot! — D.W.

P A T BRODIE Pat was a skilled boatbuilder. Since graduation from the Seattle Community College boatbuilding school in 1974. his skills were in constant demand. Pat was part of a hand-picked crew building a Friendship sloop and large cruiser. He had helped construct and repair several fishing boats and small craft, and beautifully restored his Columbia River bowpicker.

But more than that. Pat was a caring person, always volunteering to help his many friends. So he came to be working on a friend's crab boat in the Bering Sea last April. He and the crew had been fishing for 47 straight hours when Pat was swept overboard and lost. Age 32.

Those of us who were lucky to work with Pat will remember his sure and certain workmanship and his giving spirit. — D.W.

BOATSHOP NEARS COMPLETION

By early September the boatshop - a project underwritten by the Oakmead Foundation - was nearing completion on the Lake Washing-ton Ship Canal. Wh Waterway 4 the refurbished structure will be towed into place as 'building number one" at the new site.

The boatshop was originally built about 1900. Following extensive restoration the shop now looks more Victorian than ever.

One end of the 900 square-foot boathouse features a small office to be used as a plan room and library. The remaining space will primarily be devoted to boat-restoration activities.

After the boatshop is in place work will begin on the second floating structure, an education building to house seminars, CWB meetings, classes in sailing and seamanship and perhaps also the plan room/library.

PUBLICATIONS We have some unique, high-quality publications that are available at reasonable prices. Have you purchased your copies yet?

The Poulsbo Boat - 16 pages with fold-out lines and offsets; $4.50 |X)stpaid. The story of the origin and construction of the well-known Puget Sound boat, developed by Ronald Young for salmon-fishing resorts in the 1930s. Author Tom Beard is a Northwest yacht designer.

Davis Boats - Author Marty Loken studies the boat building and entrepreneurial skills of a talented Tsimshian family in Metlakatla.

Alaska, focusing on their 14-foot, double-ended handtrolling classic.

28 pages; $4.50 postpaid, including lines and offsets.

Centerboard - A historic review of Puget Sound boatbuilding and the history of the Center for Wooden Boats; 32 pages of newsprint,

published in connection with the 1982 Seattle Wooden Boat Show.

S2.75 postpaid.

Tales from the Nailery — Marty Langeland. proprietor of Skookum Fastenings, takes us on a witty tour of nail history for the past 5,000 years. 14 pages; $2.75 postpaid.

Haida Canoe Poster - 17 by 22 inches; sepia-toned view of a 35foot classic Haida canoe drawn up on a beach. $2.50 postpaid.

Whitehall Skiff Poster - 11 x 16 inches, horizontal. Exciting color photograph of a sailing John Gardner-designed Whitehall on Seattle's Lake Union; ready to frame; photo by Marty Loken. $2.50 postpaid.

In addition, many back issues of Shavings are available for 25 cents each postpaid. How can you go wrong?

Send all orders to The Center for Wooden Boats. 2770 Westlake Avenue North. Seattle. WA 98109. •

OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST . . .

Ash Breeze, published quarterly by the Traditional Small Craft Association, P.O. Box 350, Mystic, Connecticut 06355. TSCA's newsletter offers a national perspective on matters of interest to wooden-boat enthusiasts, including a calendar of events, book reviews, plans, letters, etc. Subscriptions come with T S C A membership—$10 per year for individuals and/or families.

Antique & Classic Boat News International is a new monthly publication from Meckler Publishing, 520 Riverside Avenue, Westport. Connecticut 06880. The first edition leaned heavily on East Coast boat shows and included notes on boat restoration, new publications, classified ads and short news items. The publisher offers a get-acquainted price: $9 for the next nine issues (standard 12issue cost is listed at $18). •

CONCERNING T H E TERRIBLE HIGH PRICE OF NAILS . . .

By Marty Langeland In 1533: One hundred 4d (1 1/2") nails cost 4 pence. A master carpenter's daily wage was 6 pence, while "his man" took home 4 pence from a day presumably lasting from sunup to sundown roughly 12 hours.

Circa 1800: One 10-inch "bolt" (copper rod) with two clenching rings, used to fasten the hull of a Royal Navy frigate, cost 3 shillings.

A master shipwright's daily wage was 1 shilling.

Circa 1923: A pound of copper rivets cost $1. Thus, one hundred 1 1/2" rivets would have cost $0.40. The average wage for a carpenter was $1 for a 10-hour day.

And in 1982: One hundred 1 1/2" rivets cost $6.35. Journeyman boatwright's wages range between $5 and $7 per hour - or $40-$56 for an 8-hour day.

The figures speak for themselves to relate the change in value of nails throughout the last half millennium. However, some of the background details may prove of interest.

In the Sixteenth Century nailmaking most likely was very much a local operation. Smelting of the ore would have occurred at the mine to reduce cartage. But the ingots, along with a vast assortment of other goods and personages, might travel a great distance before being further worked. The local forge is the most likely place for the

ingots to be cast into rod, drawn into wire, or bar. and finally formed into nails.

The Napoleonic wars account for some of the inflation in the 1800 price. By now the process is becoming specialized with the rise of larger regional foundries and drawing mills in connection with a vastly improved transportation system. This should tend to reduce, or at least maintain the relative value. But war promotes scarcity and makes all goods dear. The context from which I derived the figures bears repeating as it is a good story and documented.

The Admiralty was consuming ships as fast as the yards could turn them out with the average life of a frigate being no more than six months before it was lost at sea to storm, enemy fire, or capture. The Royal Navy's specifications called for very stout construction, with closely spaced oak frames, sided 4", bracing two layers of 2" oak planking. The whole was joined with copper rod driven through and peaned at both ends over clenching rings. A few shipwrights with an eye to the main chance adopted a shady practice. They made up ends of bolts which, when driven into every third fastening point, looked like a complete fastening. The ship was stout enough to pass sea trials, but had an excellent chance of being sunk with the evidence before much time had passed. Meanwhile the shipwright pocketed an extra two shillings for the middle of each of these 'robber bolts'.

According to the logic which allows economics to be termed a science. 1923 should provide the lowest value for copper rivets.

Production is specialized, mechanized and remarkably efficient with an adequate distribution system served by a good transportation system. On the other hand the market is at its height. All of this should combine to make the highest unit cost savings possible.

Since then production has become too efficient (in the big nailerys) to allow them to serve the dwindling market at a profit. All of those factors should lead to a higher unit cost and value.

Too bad for the 'science' of economics. The figures tell a very different story. • Editor's note: The author of this copy righted article. Marty Langeland of Anacortes, is proprietor of Skookum Fastenings - manufacturer of copper rivets and roves, clench nails and other fastening items. He is also the author of an informative booklet. "Tales From the Nailery: A Short History of the Nail." available from Skookum or CWB. (See note elsewhere in this issue.)

VICTORY IN VICTORIA Ronald Young probably would have scoffed at the very idea - one of his no-nonsense salmon-fishing boats entered in a spit-'n-polish antique boat show in the shadow of Victoria. B.C.'s doughty Empress Hotel? Nevertheless CWB members Marty Loken and Gloria Grandaw scraped some of the fish scales and sand out of their 16-foot Poulsbo Boat. Shine, added a fresh coat of paint and varnish, and entered the salty craft in Victoria's fifth annual Classic Boat Festival over Labor Day weekend.

The judges apparently liked Ronald Young's design, and the work that has gone into Shine over the years. They gave Shine the award for "Best Overall Open Powerboat." to the surprise and delight of her owners. •

Owner's Notebook T E N MILES T O T H E CAN O F BEANS

By Philip Thiel Pedal power and screw propulsion in a traditional wooden boat? The author is a Seattle-based naval architect who has created the Dorycycle a familiar sight at recent Seattle Wooden Boat Shows.

To live in the Pacific Northwest and not have a boat is against a law of Nature, if not immoral. But what does one do if one does not care to cope with the whims of the wind, nor suffer the noise and stink of a motor? Use one's human power, obviously - the original and most personal means of movement on the face of the waters.

But paddling is tiring, and rowing is backwards, so what is left?

Pedal power, of course! Why not sit comfortably, face forward, use one's more powerful leg muscles, and have one's hands free for more interesting things? And just as the invention of the wheel made things go easier on land, at the cost of some slight complication, so also does the marine propeller provide an efficient conversion of torque into thrust in the water.

So much for propulsion. What about flotation?

There are many options here. Since speed is not the name of this game (once one is out on the water, one is already "there") a New England background suggested the advantages of the capable Banks dory: easy to build, and well proven in deep-sea work-boat service.

Thus, the Dorycycle. Sixteen feet overall (13 feet on the waterline), built of fir plywood and oak, it weighs about 300 pounds.

The challenge was to see what could be done with the sustained power available to an "ordinary untrained bicyclist", estimated to be 0.12 hp at 50 pedal rpm. Using the simplest possible inboard power transmission (off-the-shelf V-belt and pulleys) and a home-made

Philip Thiel laminated marine plywood into an impressive 16-inch-diameter propeller for the Dorycycle.

propeller fabricated of epoxied laminations of marine plywood, the Dorycycle will make 3.8 miles per hour all day long.

A cutaway skeg protects the propeller, provides both directional stability and lateral plane, and permits good maneuverability. The Dorycycle handles beautifully, is very responsive, and is a perfect delight to use. •

NEW BOARD A N D OFFICERS On July 13 our newly elected Board of Directors had their first meeting. The board members are: July 1982 - '83 — Darlene Allen.

Neil Allen, John Black. Erick Burkhead, Ted Cooper. Alan DelRey. Lee Ehrheart, Peter Lentini, Bob Pickett and Colleen Wagner. July 1982 - '84 — Lauralee Cox, Mary Ford, Pat Ford, Neil Fridley, Mary Heath. Lon Israel, Rip Knot. Caroline Schimke, Barbara Oakrock, Myron Richards. Land Washburn.

The following officers were elected by the board for 1982 -'83: President - Myron Richards Secretary - Ted Cooper Treasurer - Lauralee Cox Executive Committee - Darlene Allen, John Black.

Barbara Oakrock, Land Washburn.

WOODEN BOAT SHOW REPRISE

Following this, many suns will rise, children will be born, boats will be launched, I may master Rubrik's Cube, notices will be published, appeal periods will pass, hearings will be held and our permits will be issued.

My best guess is that by about November 1 we will be legally entitled to start construction on the site. We really shouldn't rush into these things, you know. — Dick Wagner •

T H E G R E A T CROSS-SOUND ROWING RACE Take more than 260 boats. Fill them with 480-plus people. Add the calm waters of Puget Sound at their summer best, under blue skies.

Mix in a salmon feed and live band and you have the recipe for a classic event . . . in this case the Fourth Annual Great Cross-Sound Rowing Race.

Starting near the beach at Seattle's Alki Point, then taking a turn to starboard around Blakely Rocks, the 6-mile course ends at the yacht club in Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island. Definitely a course to discourage the faint of heart - but most crews get there just fine.

Complete results were not available at press time, but CWB members turned in some fine performances. For instance: Peter Niemann and friends affiliated with the Lake Washington Rowing CIub annihilated the old race record , winning the open multi oars class in a blistering 39:03.

The Sixth Annual Seattle Wooden Boat Show was a grand success, judging from the number of visitors and their many compliments.

Once again, the volunteers were the real heroes of the show. From building a boat to carrying trash, the jobs were done with skill, imagination and enthusiasm. The spirit of the volunteers gives our Boat Show a special glow . . . and we invite anyone who wants to join our Sunshine Corps to contact the headquarters for details. There will always be more shows, regattas and special events to help organize.

The Boat Show event that fascinated big crowds was an on-thedock sawmill, which turned logs into gold before the eyes of onlookers. Bob and Erica Pickett's Flounder Bay Lumber sponsored the exhibit, selecting top-quality Douglas Fir logs for the sawmill.

The logs were so perfect that they turned out almost nothing but knot-free timber . . . and there is reportedly still some of this A - l vertical-grain fir available at their shop in Anacortes.

The sawmill demonstration also offered a neat historical connection, since the first development on the site of our show was a sawmill, the first on Lake Union. — Dick Wagner

S T A T E OF T H E CENTER SITE Do you think Rubrik's Cube is complex? Believe me, it's as easy as breathing compared to the complexities of land-use codes and ordinances. You can't play the game until you know the rules and they are randomly changing and have infinite permutations and combinations. To master the strategy of land-use laws requires superhuman mental gymnastic skills - they ought to make it an Olympic Games event.

Remember, we are going through this process in order to obtain a temporary use permit to develop a minuscule notch of unused public property into a public park and historic small-craft museum. We're doing the same thing - going through the same hoops - we would if we wanted to moor a supertanker in Waterway 4. (Well, at least it seems that way . . . ) On June 1. the City filed a proposed Declaration of NonSignificance. That was good, as it said our proposed development would not adversely affect the environment. Since then, the City has reviewed comments and written a final DNS. This is now being signed off by the proper bureaucrats.

Perhaps the most impressive win, however, was Dave LeFebvre's triumph in the singles class, crossing finish line in a boat of his own design in 1:03:17. Dave was competing in one of the toughest classes (no sliding seats, no outrigger oarlocks) against a number of young gorillas who had designed and built racing models especially for this event . . . leaving all in his modest wake. Not content with winning big, Dave spent most of the afternoon talking about "next year's boat."

Another designer-builder, Peter Lentini, was ably assisted by John Henzie in a close second place finish (1:03:03) in the doubles, Lentini vows they'll beat the Wet Paint II. this year's winner, in next season's race.

The high point of my day was finishing 6th in the doubles at 1:09:04. My crew (and wife). Lauralee, was not so sanguine, saying "next year you'll race harder and we'll do better." Hopefully she's right. — Dave Cox