Shavings Volume 7 Number 6 (November-December 1985)

© 1985

The

Center for

Wooden

Boats

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Volume 7, Number 6

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Nov.-Dec.

1985

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25¢

A SPECIAL " C O M I N G - O U T P A R T Y " FOR A G R A N D OLD LADY This October, in conjunction with the annual conference of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Wawona, was hauled out at Lake Union Drydock. The purpose was a National Trust-coordinated lines-taking, to document this historic vessel professionally and establish standards and techniques for lines-taking on other large vessels.

Northwest Seaport, trustees of Wawona, made this haulout a public occasion. Colleen Wagner organized the first-ever maritime festival at Lake Union Drydock. This yard with its seven drydocks was built in 1919 and hasn't changed a bit since. It was a party for the Wawona, and Colleen invited an armada of venerable vessels to join in - Arthur Foss, an 1889 tugboat, part of Northwest Seaport's fleet; Lotus, a 1909 houseboat cruiser; Duwamish, a 1909 retired Seattle fireboat ( C W B member Dennis Broderson headed a volunteer fire-department crew to bring her); Adventuress, a 1913 yacht-schooner, now a youth sail-training vessel; Challenge, an 1890 tug (she towed Wawona); and Virginia V, a 1922 tour steamboat.

The drydock became a weekend circus.

Besides touring the yard, visiting the guest vessels, and gawking at Wawona's belly, visitors could watch spar-making, marlin-spike and woodcarving demonstrations, sea chanteys, take short cruises on Adventuress and Virginia V, see firepump demonstrations by Duwamish. There were food booths and films. The Center had a booth and provided a shuttle van from Waterway 4 to the drydock.

Maritime preservation doesn't get much bigger than the 165-foot schooner Wawona. The threemaster, which looms over the Center, was built

by Hans Bendixen in Fairhaven, Humbolt Bay, California, in 1897. She sailed year-round out of Puget Sound mill ports, loaded with timbers from keelson to poop deck, the largest lumber schooner ever built. She voyaged to all corners of the Pacific. In 1913, Wawona joined the cod-fish mania. Every spring, she loaded dories and rock salt in Anacortes, and in company with Azalea and Joseph Ross hand-lined for cod in the Bering Sea for six months. After being drafted into the A r m y and serving as a lumber barge during WWII, her bowsprit and masts were restored and she continued as a working sailing craft through 1947. Nothing afloat has more Northwest history than Wawona.

For those of us who have been on board, special impressions have been etched forever in our memories. Long rows of massive grownknees punctuate the deep hold, stretching from foc's'le to transom. Sheer clamps sweep and twist from stem to stern in one unbelievable monster ribbon of Douglas fir. The high hump of the keelson seems like the backbone of a prehistoric sea monster. Elephant legs couldn't be more

substantial than the bulwark stanchions.

C o u l d mortal hands have built this? Her structure is of such dimensions that one is awestruck.

The Center's wooden small boats alongside are

like a sprightly flute solo compared to a rich, complex opera.

Wawona is drying from old age. Yes, there has been considerable neglect, too. But for the past

five years, a roof has kept the rainwater off. For five years, she has had lots of ventilation and weekly doses of rock salt. She is now stabilized.

Below the waterline, she is tight and sound.

However, everything above the waterline, except spars, must eventually be replaced. About seventy percent of this vessel is bad wood.

The measuring is done. The dried-out seams were tightened by volunteer shipwright Lee Ehrheart and helpers, the bottom was sandblasted and a new coat of anti-fouling paint applied. Wawona is now back at her Waterway-4 moorage, next to the Center.

In the last few years, the self-professed maritime preservation mavens have been having target practice on Wawona. They have dreamed up a thousand ways to say how Seattle has screwed up and that Wawona is a lost cause.

Colleen Wagner now keeps the Wawona open on weekends and keeps volunteer work crews busy. It's funny about the comments from the steady stream of people who brave our gloom, rain and wind to tour the Wawona this fall. Some have been aboard the C.A. Thayer at the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco. They've been to the Thayer's stern where the rudderpost, big as a telephone pole, goes through its fitting in the massive horn timber and the wood is polished, polished as bright as a desktop by what must be thousands of pairs of kids' jeans. Sitting there you can see the huge open space of the hold and obviously lots of people treasure that view. The foxtailed trunnels shine like silver dollars. As they stuff their dollars in the donation box, they say variations of "Let's save this historic vessel. It's not too late."

Maybe it's the pioneer instinct still surviving in this Northwest outpost, but the visitors don't have dejection and despair. Instead, they talk of the vessel as our trust, our history. They surely see the rot, but sense the glory. C o m e and see for yourself.

— Dick Wagner •

NEW B O A R D O F T R U S T E E S The Board of Trustees election ballots were counted on September 1. O u r new trustees, elected to serve a two-year term, are Bob Ashley, Bob Bell, D a n Hinckley, Marcus Lester, Blake Lewis, Bob Pickett and Bill V a n Vlack. They join Archie C o n n , Mary Ford, Pat F o r d , Paul Ford, Rip Knot, Judy Mazzano, T o m Parker and Mike Phimister.

At their first meeting, on September 17, the Board elected officers for the coming year: Mary Ford, President; Marcus Lester, Secretary; Archie C o n n , Treasurer.

The retiring board members are Neil Allen, Eric Burkhead, and Lee Ehrheart, who generously gave countless hours to help the Center realize our dream.

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WANTED We need lots of things at the Center. In addition to a fully-restored gillnetter, another floating building, triple our current membership, and access to the Getty fortune, we need some immediate contributions.

Socket wrench set Truck or van 14 - 16" bandsaw Firewood Photocopier Firewood Firewood Firewood Answering machine (functioning, please - we already have the other kind) (Do you get the idea that the boatshop's cold on winter mornings?) •

S E A T T L E FISHERMEN MEMORIALIZE THEIR O W N A group of Seattle fishermen working in cooperation with local fishing vessel owner's associations and the Port of Seattle are raising funds and soliciting ideas for a memorial to Seattle's fishermen lost at sea. Intended for the Fisherman's Terminal in Ballard, the memorial will carry the names of approximately 700 who "went missing" since 1900.

"It all started about a year ago when local owners were asked to contribute to the Dutch Harbor Memorial. Some of us got together and began discussing the possibility of creating our own monument as well," said Dennis Petersen, Chairman of the steering committee. The Port of Seattle was enthusiastic, suggesting that the memorial be located on Port property in the Terminal. " W e have the Blessing of the Fleet there every year and we thought it would provide a place for memorial services, too. All they said was that we shouldn't block the place where everybody stretches out their nets."

Currently the association is involved in two key activities: raising money for the memorial and collecting the names that will be carved on it. As far as fundraising goes, the committee has raised approximately $12,000 of their goal of $100,000 by 1987. " U p to now, most of the money has come from small individual contributions and the sale of T-shirts. This winter we're going to go to the corporate contributors, people who expressed interest in the memorial, and start asking for contributions. In the spring we'll look at our

finances and decide what to d o . " Part of what's to do is plan a design competition, which involves the other part of the project, collecting names.

Petersen said that they had collected about 160 names and their booth at Fish Expo '85 added 20 or so more. The committee estimates that there will be 700, so the search must be intensified.

Each name must be researched and confirmed.

"We're making sure that all the people listed on the monument were lost at sea while fishing," he explained. "It's important to get all the authentic names in the beginning. If the artist decides to list the names by year, as they do on the Anacortes memorial at the C a p Sante Marina, it's important that we have all the names before the memorial is cast or carved." He also pointed out that there would have to be provisions for adding names as well.

"It would be nice to think that we were putting up a memorial to the last fishermen to be lost, but the fishery doesn't work that way."

If you wish to add a name that you know to the list, send it to: The Seattle Fisherman's Memorial Committee Building C-3, Room 218 Fisherman's Terminal Seattle, WA 98119 Contributions and T-shirt orders go to the same address. The shirts cost $8.95 and are the handsomest ones we've seen for a long time.

Designed by committee member J o h n Sabella, they show a porthole with Seattle Fisherman's Memorial around the edge and outside, Hokusai's "Great Wave". They're available in a full range of sizes for men, women, and children and in a variety of colors. C a l l 285-3385 for more information, •

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Note: Except where specified, all events are held in the C W B Boatshop on Waterway No. 4 at the south end of Lake Union. Workshop sessions are limited in enrollment. To reserve your place, please send payment in full, except for the boatbuilding and restoration workshops for which a $100 deposit is required. Questions? Call 382-2628.

January 17 C W B M O N T H L Y MEETING 8 p.m.

Slide talk by Paul F o r d on a kayak and canoe cruise in Barkley Sound, Summer '85.

February 3 - 7 BOAT RESTORATION WORKSHOP 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily G o r d o n Ruby will guide a class through timetested procedures and methods of restoring a classic round bottomed lapstrake rowing boat.

Cost: $225 for C W B members; $250 for nonmembers. Limited to 7 students.

February 20 LOFTING WORKSHOP 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Simon Watts shows how to loft 19' rowing boat that will be built during a workshop the following week. (See February 22 workshop.) Cost: $40 for C W B members; $50 for non-members. Limited to 10 students.

February 21 C W B M O N T H L Y MEETING 8 p.m.

Alex Crichton will talk about his circumnavigation of the Pacific Ocean in the Culler designed clipper-schooner Lizard King.

February 22 - March 1 (Sunday, February 23 off)

LAPSTRAKE WORKSHOP 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Simon Watts will instruct a class in construction of a 19' lapstrake rowing boat with outriggers and sliding seat. Cost: $300 for C W B members; $325 for non-members. Full series (preceding lofting workshop and boatbuilding workshop) available for $325. Limited to 7 students.

March 23 PRE-OWNED B O A T AUCTION/SALE 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., C W B Parking Lot A spring cleaning for boats donated to C W B .

Some are in good shape, but we don't need them.

Some are classics but need lots of work. A real pot-pourri of boats that can be yours for a pittance.

March 8 M E T A L L U R G Y SEMINAR 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Professor Paul F o r d provides information on kinds and properties of alloys and heat treatment for ferrous and non-ferrous metals. This background will help in the future casting seminars.

Cost: $15 for C W B members; $20 for nonmembers. Limited to 20 students.

March 29 & April 5 INVESTMENT CASTING WORKSHOP 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Learn the lost-wax method of casting delicate details. Another hands-on program taught by Professor Paul Ford. Cost: $40 for members; $50 for non-members. Limited to 12 students.

March 9 - 1 4 LAPSTRAKE WORKSHOP 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily Eric Hvalsoe will instruct the building of a 9-1/2' Norwegian lapstrake pram. Cost: $275 for C W B members; $300 for non-members. Limited to 7 students.

March 15 & 22 SAND-CASTING WORKSHOP 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. each day Professor Paul F o r d will teach basic foundry know how in the first session. Students will cast simple forms. The second session will involve more complex casting, including Professor Paul Ford-designed rowlocks for our exhibit boats.

Cost: $40 for C W B members; $50 for nonmembers. Limited to 12 students.

March 21 CWB M O N T H L Y MEETING 8 p.m.

Captain Adrian Raynaud. Tall tales about tall ships from a Cape H o r n veteran.

T H R E E B O O K S FOR T H E B O A T ' S LIBRARY F R O M Spending a day in a small boat, especially a small open boat, is the best way we know of to rekindle interest in the world around us. Like backpackers, small boaters have plenty of time to observe their surroundings undisrupted by everyday haste and hurry. Coves too small to rate more than a glance from the cruisers heading for Desolation Sound can provide small daysailers and oarsmen an entire afternoon of exploration.

If that's one of your reasons for being involved with boats, three books published by the Washington Sea Grant can increase your enjoyment and understanding of Puget Sound.

We discovered Sea Grant books when we were searching for birding guides and stumbled on Marine Birds and Mammals of Puget Sound

by Kenneth Balcomb and Tony Angell. We seized it with glee, partly because regional guides of this type are worth any three general guides and partly because the author and illustrator are Known Experts. Balcomb was co-founder of the Friday Harbor Whale Museum and program director of the O r c a Survey; Tony Angell's work on owls and crows was an international award winner.

In Birds and Mammals,each species has its own location map and a table in the back shows the time of year that you can expect to find the critters home. Other useful charts include a life history of Sound mammals, feeding strategies and how man's impact can effect them, even what kind of beach various birds like. Angell's illustrations are in crisp black and white and though they

April 13 SPRING R E G A T T A Noon - 5 p.m.

O u r rites-of-spring boat gathering - races, stories, socialization, sharing of boats and, especially, a potluck lunch. A w a r d for the best pasta salad, •

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Is it proper to hail a ketch named the Spirit of Erin by shouting " O ' h o y ? "

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WASHINGTON SEA G R A N T

don't help when identifying plumage, his attempts to show the birds against a natural background engaged in their natural activities can be a big help in identifying birds by their behavior. The book's only drawback is its large format, a tight fit in the boatduffle.

Page 11 and page 43 with their photos of spit formation and sediment transport sold us The Coast of Puget Sound by J o h n Downing. The spit pictured is Vaughn Bay, one of the most beautiful launch sites in South Sound and the sediment transport cell is the one on the south end of Herron Island, about two thirds of the way between Vaughn Bay and M c M i c k e n Island.

Understanding the principles behind the shaping of coastal landforms is doubly interesting when it's illustrated with familiar examples. A n d scenery becomes more interesting when it's seen as the result of understandable natural principles.

If you gunkhole through river deltas, fight alongshore currents and tides or have ever gone over to West Seattle after the spring rains watch the houses at the top of the bluff slide to the bottom, this book's for you. Used as a reference in conjunction with a chart, it can help plan an outing or explain what you saw when you were out on one.

Lots of photographs and diagrams add to its value.

If you're more interested in human history than natural history, Daniel Chasan's The Water Link deals with attitudes toward Puget Sound as a resource from the creation of the Washington Territory to the 1970s. With chapter headings 3

April 6 - 1 2 A D V A N C E D LOFTING WORKSHOP 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily Eric Hvalsoe will lead the students through the lofting and pattern-making of a 16-foot Davis double ended rowing boat. This lofting system is efficient and precise and was developed to eliminate guesswork from boat construction.

Cost: $275 for C W B members; $300 for nonmembers. Limited to 7 students.

like "Trees to Cut and Water to Float Them O n " , "Give This Great Natural Resource Back to the People", "Free to D u m p Anything", and "Economic Reality Had Nothing to Do W i t h It", Chasan shows how we got where we are today.

It's an excellent introduction to the economics and the ecological problems of the Sound. The photos are all stock shots, but so carefully chosen that it doesn't matter. Again, it's a book to dip into for specific answers, not necessarily one to curl up with on a winter's night.

According to Managing Editor Trish Peyton, Sea Grants got underway in 1966 to provide research, education, and advisory services to the marine community. Washington's publications were inspired by a Sea Grant that produced a series of monographs on the New Y o r k Bight but are intended for the "interested general public", not just the scientific community. Trish is quick to point out that "even though we love the Sound, we don't have any particular environmental axe to grind. We try to edit out any bias. We understand much more fully than a lot of groups that the Sound belongs to the public. There are tradeoffs that must be made between development and ecology and we're trying to get the facts to the citizens so they can make informed choices."

For a list of current Sea Grant publications and a monthly Sea Grant activity calendar, write: Laura Mason Washington Sea Grant 3716 Brooklyn Ave. N.E. Seattle, WA 98105 •

H O W O N E C L A S S DID IT The day before Lapstrake I began the Shavings Story Desk called the Shavings Photo Desk asking for day-by-day pictures of class progress.

The Photo Desk sent out Marty Loken, ace photographer. Marty works almost full-time for the C W B . His collection of slides is a complete history of the Northwest's Wooden Boat Revival over the last decade. Sometimes Shavings loans Marty's talents to struggling boating pubs like Small Boat Journal, Yacht, Nautical Quarterly, and WoodenBoat, but down at the Center everybody knows he's our own F-stop Fitzgerald. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, here's Marty's 6,000 word essay on boatbuilding.

1. The class built their skiff upright, a departure from previous techniques. Here M i k e Huffman, a helicopter pilot adjusts a cross-spall during setup. The jingus sitting midships is a hydraulic jack to spring the rocker into the bottom.

2. J u r Bekker clamps the third plank. He's planning to bring wooden boatbuilding back to Lake Kootenai, his home. J u r camped in the C W B parking lot and built a fire and made coffee for everybody. He also memorized J o h n Gardner's Dory Book. Look at that network of supports! Y o u can also see the supporting beam that gave shape to the rocker. Also pay attention to the special lapstrake clamps like big clothespins. Rediscovering tools like these is a big part of the C W B ' s purpose.

3. Bill C o o k , a carpenter at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, looks on with M i k e Huff-

man as Steve G a r y clinches down a bow fastening.

4. It's morning in the boatshop and the hull's complete enough that the braces have come down and the boat's on sawhorses. Paul McElwain clamps the breast hook.

5. The whole class joins in to clamp on and fasten the inwale. Floorboards, seats, rowlocks, and the false stem still need to be added. It's

always amazing to see how much more there is to a boat than just the hull.

6. All we need now is paint. The class (left to right): Steve Bolender, Jerry Stensgaard, Simon Watts the teacher, Paul McElwain, J u r Bekker, Stever Gary, M i k e Huffman and Bill C o o k . Notice that the Canadian contingent is sensible enough to wear their hats. In the foreground, their dory, skiff, "Fair Enough." •

C W B C O M P L E T E S ITS T E N T H A N D E L E V E N T H Wooden boats are being built all over the world. There is no problem of maritime skills preservation today in places like Indonesia, Turkey and Portugal. But here in polyelectronic America, the old calloused hands techniques are definitely on the decline. Back-to-basics in boatbuilding is happening mainly in backyards, garages and basements, by lone builders and their tattered copy of Chapelle's Boatbuilding or Gardner's The Dory Book. To help that lone builder, there are boatbuilding schools of every size and flavor.

The northwest has two long-standing established schools as part of the regular state-run department of public instruction. L . H . Bates in Tacoma and Samuel Gompers provide a twoyear course which they bluntly call "vocational training." When you finish, you're ready for a job

L A P S T R A K E BOATBUILDING

in a boatyard.

Bob Prothero's Northwest Boatbuilding School in Port Townsend teaches wooden boatbuilding exclusively, in a "master class" environment. Many of Bob's students have already built boats or worked in boatyards before and are visiting for six months or more of instruction from the O l d Master. Prothero says that when you leave his school you can get a job and "spend the next 25 or 30 years learning to be a boatbuilder."

The Apprentice Shop in Maine offers two years of hands-on building in an atmosphere combining the traditional idea of apprenticeship with the best parts of a mid-70's commune. For a summer of total immersion boatbuilding under the direction of experienced builders and teachers, Maine also offers the WoodenBoat School. If you're young enough to be a high-school student, you could attend the Sound School in New Haven, C o n n . Here a regular high school curriculum relates the prescribed educational basics to boatbuilding, sailing, and maritime history.

Maybe the question's not where to start, but where to finish. When we try to teach wooden boatbuilding, we're in deep historic shavings.

Boatbuilding has been going on forever, or longer than the Johnny Carson Show, whichever came first. Pharoh Cheop's royal barge is still around for us to examine, after 5,000 or so years. What limits of knowledge are we dealing with? How far back in history do we go? Trunnel fastenings?

Sewn planks? Design through half-models?

Should you learn logging? Milling? What degree of lofting? Should tool-sharpening be included? In that case, there's the stone-rubbing cult and the grinder-and-buffing-wheel cult, with numerous sub-groups.

Plank-on-frame has several branches. W h e n should a plank be spiled? When scribed? H o w long does it take to learn enough?

Since schools are a new phenomena, there are no standards of instruction. We each follow our instincts. The Center's tenth and eleventh boatbuilding workshops took place this past October.

Both seven-person classes built a 13'6" Chamberlain dory-skiff in a week. One was built upright;

CLASSES

the other, upside down. See what I mean?

A typical C W B class begins when seven strangers gather at 8:30 a.m., standing next to their tool boxes, hands wrapped around a steaming coffee cup, while the instructor outlines the week's course. All have come to learn a new skill.

Most are middle-aged professionals. All are experts in their field of knowledge and haven't been to school in years. A l l have private fears that the others are cosmic craftsmen and only they will screw up the project. They are to work together with a tight schedule, no confidence in themselves, no knowledge of their classmates.

The first day or two everyone is tense. No one talks. Everyone tries to find the simplest oneperson jobs. Gradually confidence grows; jokes are exchanged; students laugh at mistakes, whistle, sing; friendships blossom.

In the end, the boat is completed. There are contented grins as tools are put away for the last time. Pride and inner peace radiate. Kelly Mulford softly whistled "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Gene M c C o r m a c k played his bagpipes outside in the twilight, to an audience of ducks.

When Gerry Stensgaard was leaving to return to his naval architect work in Vancouver, B . C . , I said, "It will be hard to get back to the real world again." Gerry's answer: "This is the real world."

Lapstrake I:

Simon Watts, Instructor Paul McElwain, Seattle, WA "Jur Bekker, Argenta, B . C .

Stephen Gary, Seattle, WA Steven Bolender, Seattle, WA Gerry Stensgaard, Vancouver, B . C .

Michael Huffman, Coupeville, WA William C o o k , Astoria, O R

Lapstrake II: Eric Hvalsoe, Instructor Pam Vogt, Snohomish, WA J o h n Kaitis, Briar, WA Harry Sorby, Seattle, WA Gene M c C o r m a c k , Seattle, W A John C h u r c h , Seattle, W A Todd Blakely, Seattle, WA Kelly Mulford, Seattle, WA — Dick Wagner

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L O O K O U T J A C K , THERE'S S O M E T H I N G BEHIND Y O U I can talk for hours about the manifold virtues of trailerable boats. Extended range. Easy lowcost storage. Convenience. In fact, I can think of only one drawback to a trailerable boat. The trailer.

I don't think I'm alone in my attitude toward trailers. Think of all the hours you've spent talking about boats. Comparing the characteristics of spruce to cedar. Discussing the best way to apply varnish. Swapping knot stories. Learning new ways of simulating contagious diseases or passing out in morning staff meetings to get the afternoon off during good sailing weather. But how many times has a salty companion shifted his quid to leeward, spat over the dockside and said, " N o w how about that Calkins there? Isn't that a yare little trailer?"

There certainly aren't any standards to help you tell good from bad naval trailer architecture.

O n c e when we were waiting our turn at Shilshole, Stroke O a r put the problem in a nutshell: " H o w come all the boats are the same and all the trailers different?" Y o u can stand there for 20 minutes and see four identical 21-foot Plasticraft Luxury Sedan Cruisers loaded onto trailers each with a different complement of keel rollers, bunks, side rollers, bow chocks, and tiedowns. My first skipper spent many hours explaining that there

C O O L W E A T H E R , H O T CHILI, FAST BOATS THE CWB FALL REGATTA At our regattas there is friendly racing competition of course, but we always like to run the boat contests quickly and efficiently to get on with the socializing. Between our spring and fall regattas there is just enough time for everyone to cultivate a new crop of boat stories and we at the Center can't talk without eating. We do both with gusto.

Some of us do them simultaneously, at the expense of our wardrobe. This year's potluck lunch featured chili madness. Seven chili entries graced our groaning planking bench, along with a sumptuous array of salads, breads, desserts and drinks. The gang from Shelton not only brought a gig to race, but also generously supplied a mess of freshly dug Shelton clams, which they steamed in an exotic concoction of spices, herbs and who knows what. The clams were sinfully delicious.

The broth was too good to be legal. Self-denial is a concept we don't know at C W B .

The racing winners: Men's gig 1. Cina Belle - Olympia 2. Shelton - Shelton 3. Glide

CWB

is only one right way to do things on the water.

Allowing a fifty percent fudge factor based on the fact that trailers are only on the water part of the time, still implies that two of those trailers were wrong.

Our first boat trailer was a narrow-gauge affair with little eight-inch wheels. Its lights were wired with stuff that reminded me of my junior high science project, " O u r Friend the Dry C e l l . " It was light enough that I could pick up the rear end and swing it into the parking place when I got tired of pretending to be Burt Reynolds backing up my ol' eighteen-wheeler. It was bright blue with creamcolored fenders. Almost from the first time we backed it into Puget Sound, Stroke O a r and I could see it dissolve.

O u r current trailer is a scant two inches nar-

Women's gig

1. Cina Belle Olympia 2. Erica - C W B 3. Glide O l d Anacortes Rowing Society (O.A.R.S.)

Mixed C r e w gig

1. Shelton - Shelton 2. Erica CWB 3. Cina Belle - Olympia

Rowing, Singles

1. Larry Dahl - bateau 2. Bill Huffington • Whitebear skiff 3. Bob Pickett • Firefly

Sailing, Traditional

1. Leslie Lincoln Beetle Cat 2. Dick Wagner Beetle Cat 3. Bill Huffington Bolger's Teal

Sailing, M o d e r n

1. J o a n Jaffee/Will Miller Windmill 2. John Brangwin/Hall Falcon

The Chili winner:

J o a n Lefebvre who claims her recipe is just, "a touch of this, a touch of that." o

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rower than the W I D E L O A D limit for federallyfunded highways. Its wiring looks like something from a nuclear submarine and its wheels are larger than our truck's. I had to cut a hole in the garage door to let the tongue stick out. It's galvanized, but I don't think it's the ideal match with our boat. For one thing.the boat weighs 175 pounds loaded. The trailer weighs 750 pounds empty. For another thing, I'm tired of being asked how the trailer for our cruiser can handle the dinghy so well.

A friend of mine is an ex-Olympic oarsman, proud owner of a beautiful 1935 Pocock single, built by the old master himself. I remember a summer when we came up with at least six ways (all blocked by his landlord) we might eliminate the arch between his living room and dining room and gain a long enough open space to hang the boat from the ceiling. Finally he decided to store it on a trailer. It would have to be a closed trailer for weather protection and to protect the scull when it was towed behind Bob's M G . Since he didn't want to remove the 'riggers, they'd have to be accommodated. The resulting contraption looks like a coffin for a tall skinny gangster being buried with his hands on his hips. The scull weighs 58 pounds, the trailer 275.

There are other aesthetic problems, too. How many well-maintained, traditionally correct, beautiful wooden boats do you see sliding off trailers padded with carpet that would turn an emergency room nurse queasy? I know everybody pads their bunks and keel bearers with carpet scraps, but scraps imply an entire carpet somewhere with that pattern. It would have to be in a home for the visually impaired. C a n you imagine the planning meeting in the factory where it was produced?

"I'm afraid all your designs are passe', guys. It's all been done before. Don't you have something new? The market's due for a little shaking up. It's jaded."

"Well P.Z., we do have one that Boris did just before they got him into the restraints."

"Eek! Yeah, I see what you mean. The market's not quite that jaded. I hope."

"Wait a minute P.Z.! That carpet would be just right in Looking at that carpet, can you fill in the blank without mentioning Wayne Newton? C a n you imagine an encounter so depraved; a weekend so lost that you might come to in a room with that carpet on the floor?

A n d of course there's the problem of taking trailers designed for planing hull Chloroxcraft speedsters and adapting them to traditional displacement hull designs. Whitehalls, dories, and launches make a trailer salesman either hide in the broom closet or call his wife to tell her that the mink coat that was too expensive last night at dinner is no longer out of their price range and could she pick up a brochure form the B M W

dealer. It takes some expensive adjustment to get short and wide to accommodate long and narrow.

Of course you can do the adjustment yourself.

But you run the risk of ending up like Burnaby.

Burnaby was a nice young man, devoted to his little rowboat. Burnaby was a bit of a gear freak.

N o w we all like some new gear every now and then but Burnaby liked it all the time and he liked to show it to folks. He liked to tell them about it and its improvements over last week's gear.

Sometimes it got a bit much, but still that was no excuse for what W i c k e r s h a m did. He even apologized, after it was too late.

Burnaby had just purchased a new trailer. It was the high-tech answer to trailer boating with improved turn signals, better rust resistance, special suspension, and all-welded construction.

CLASSIFIED A D V E R T I S I N G F O R S A L E - Engine parts: G r a y Marine 2 5 H P . S e a Scout Engine available for parts or entire carcass. Last chance before it goes to the dump. Paul (206) 522-1500.

(Seattle) F O R S A L E - T w o 23' Norwegian " K u t t e r " racing sloops.

O-N-41: $10,000. O-N-63: $15,000. B o t h restored with new sails a n d covers. Moorage included. Teak deck on #63.

14' Rana style Norwegian pine rowboat w/trailer: $1,800.

17' 1947 Classic C h r i s Craft runabout. Restored 1980.

Rebuilt engine 1984. Best offer. Bjorn or F r e d Sundt.

(206) 455-1030. (Bellevue) F O R S A L E - Classic 24' M o n k design sloop. Built 1938.

Full keel. Diesel inboard. W o o d stove. Ice box. A beautiful boat in excellent condition. Lake Union moorage.

M a k e your dreams come true. $11,500. (206) 633-2450 or 631 1654 (Seattle) F O R S A L E - 17' Willits canoe in need of minor repair.

F r o m original owner. Best offer. 14' Single Folboat, frame only. $35.00. 18' M a d River canoe. C o s t was $920.

First $600 takes it. Walt Christie, 2608 East Fir, Mount Vernon, 98273. (206) 424-5361.

F O R S A L E - E G E G I K - 1932 30' Bristol Bay Gillnetter Sloop rigged. Extensively restored. September 85 survey. W o o d Stove. Lister Diesel. C r u i s e equipped.

Documented. $16,000. See at Everett marina guest dock (near Yacht Club) (206) 364-6606.

F O R S A L E - El Toro. G o o d condition with extra racing sail. Also rigged for rowing with pair of oars. C o r i n n e 789-5315 (days) 623-1338 (eves.) $425.

F O R S A L E - Custom-sawn logs: Western maple, alder, cedar, fir and some Eastern hardwoods. Flitches 2" a n d 2-1/4'. C a n cut crooks, special widths and lengths. Dave Eck, 888 3424 or Randy Mackenzie, 935-1280.

Best of all, it was infinitely adjustable. B u n k s , blocks, bearers, and rollers could be canted or raised in endless permutations. Crossbeams and strongpoints provided mountings for additional elements. It came with an assortment of rollers all in white rubber to prevent black marks on the hull. There was even a metric tool kit. Burnaby was lecturing a small group on its many adjustments and the long process he'd been through getting it to fit perfectly. W i c k e r s h a m walked by and casually remarked that he thought Burnaby's right bunk was bearing more forward than it was astern. Burnaby spent 10 minutes showing his audience how easily a little rebalancing solved the problem. He showed Wickersham. W i c k e r s h a m was quite impressed. However, as he turned back to his boat he remarked that a keel roller didn't seem to be bearing now. Burnaby adjusted the

made spruce oars by W i n Anderson a n d spruce spritsail-rig spars. Improvements in 1985 include a new horn timber and floor timbers, and installation of a quiet running one-cylinder U . S . Marine Motors C o r p . engine (a great improvement over the Wisconsin we'd used for years). C l u t c h with neutral and forward. Trailer has new bearings and axle. A l s o included: anchor and line, cushions, lifejackets a n d bilge pump—the works! $3,500.

Marty L o k e n , Seattle, (206) 282-8116 days, 284-2643 evenings.

F O R S A L E - Geodesic Airolite Boat P l a n s . . . New! 10' Whitehall Jr $21.95 includes Instruction M a n u a l , Vendors List. Monfort Associates, B o x 1490S, Wiscasset, M E 04578.

"GLOUCESTER GULL" ROWING DORY S P E C I A L O F F E R : " G l o u c e s t e r G u l l " Rowing/Sailing Dory: Centerboard/Sail Plan/ O u t b o a r d Motor Well: I L L U S T R A T E D (200) Page P O R T F O L I O (99) Boat Plans 10'/45' Fishing/Surfing/Sailing/Power Dories.

St. Pierre/Grand Banks/Carolina and Oregon Dory/ Skiffs " H o w To B u i l d " Marine Ply-Sea Boats/Gas SaverDory Skiffs. V B o t t o m W o r k Boats. Sampan Express Speeds 40 Knots- C L A S S I C & A N T I Q U E : RunaboutsHydroplanes & Motor Cruisers. Prams/Skiffs a n d Schooners only $15.00/$20.00 Air Mail: C a p t . J i m Orrell, T E X A S D O R Y B O A T P L A N S , Box 720 Galveston, T X 77553-0720 (Franchise Available) W A N T E D - C W B wants for our library: Lapstrake Boatbuilding, V o l 1 and 2, Walter Simmons. Building the Herreshoff Dinghy, Barry Thomas, Mystic Seaport Pub. W A N T E D - Universal Blue Jacket Twin Parts. Exhaust manifold and any other parts for a rebuildable engine.

Paul (206) 522-1500. (Seattle).

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F O R S A L E - 28'xl0'-6" G l e n - L design power cruiser.

Mahogany frames, / " Douglas fir planking, marine ply bottom. Unfinished. 280 h.p. C h e v . engine. $5000 investment. A s k i n g $1500. Chas. Jeane Smith,, 2013 M . Ave, Anacortes, W A 98221. 293-9307.

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F O R S A L E - Fully restored 16-foot Poulsbo Boat, built in 1946 by Ronald Young. Shine has been honored with first place awards at the Victoria Classic Wooden Boat

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keel roller which meant fiddling around with the bow chock. W h i c h meant moving the stern roller a bit to the left. A n d raising the front of the left bilge bunk. Burnaby's audience drifted away as he became more and more embroiled in his task.

Though he was working faster and faster and his casual humming had begun to take on the characteristics of a suppressed scream, nobody really noticed until he had somehow adjusted the boat into a position with the sheer strake in the keel rollers and the keel supported by the right bilge bunk.

As I said, W i c k e r s h a m apologized but poor Burnaby can't even bear to get a sport coat altered to this day.

- Chas Dowd •

WHY WORRY A B O U T L A N D U S E , WE'RE A MARITIME MUSEUM L a n d use. Urban planning. Yawn. We are in the history and education business - we have no time or need to bother with boring statistics about population growth statistics, economic trends and traffic studies.

Wrong.

All museums and historic organizations have a stake in land use. We all need to be in a vital urban area. We all need easy public access. We don't need a scrap yard or garbage dump next door.

The Center is becoming a destination place, somewhere to have fun and learn by experience of our small-craft heritage. In order to continue to thrive and attain our goal, we want a major public waterfront park alongside our site. We want easier access from our over-used Valley Street frontage. We want the three square blocks of city property across the street recycled from warehouse and weed-lot to public interaction developments. A city is people dealing with people. We want our neighborhood to be a place where people work, play, shop, dine and reside.

These are the messages the Center is sending to our city officials.

We can recall seeing fine historic buildings in Eastern cities perched on hilltops that overlook freeways, shopping centers and used-car lots. It could happen to a museum on a hill, too.

Mystic Seaport has a setting that couldn't be more perfect. It faces a non-commercial river front, lined with magnificent old trees which shield a modest sprinkling of discreetly designed singlefamily residences. It's calendar New England. But Mystic, the town has in recent years had a steady

replacement of old homes on tree-covered lots with block-sized, block-house condominiums. No red-blooded developer would hesitate, if they had the chance, to build a Chinese Wall condo across from Mystic Seaport, and throw in a Lear-jet airport on shore and ski-boat moorage on the river.

City officials the United States over are right now tapping out on their computers projected tax revenue from proposed intensive developments, and balancing it against the need for police.fire, road and sewer improvements. It's a temptation.

So, the moral of this story is beware and be paranoid. We should take the front seat at those dull, dreary land-use meetings, and state our case for preserving the preservationists. — Dick Wagner •

"STEADY AS SHE GOES" The state of the Center is darned good. We have stuck to what we promised - a place where people learn of their small craft heritage through direct experience. Some days you need an usher to lead you through the throngs building something in the shop and fooling around with the exhibit boats on the floats.

About 400 people have learned a traditional boatbuilding skill in our boatshop this year. Over 5,000 have used our rowing and sailing boats. The talks, slide shows, films, regattas and our summer festival have given thousands more a woodenboat high.

We have done this with earned and donated income, and we are in the black.

All this activity is exhilarating - emotionally and financially. We need to keep up our museum's momentum of growth, which means we must increase all sources of income next year.

We therefore have added a modest amount to 8

the dues schedule, effective January 1, 1986.

Membership contributions are tax-deductible, and there are many corporations who will match your donations.

The new dues will be as follows: Student/Senior Citizen $ 10.00 Individual 20.00 Family 30.00 Contributing 75.00 Benefactor 150.00 Sustaining 500.00 Whether or not it's time to renew your membership (your renewal date, month and year, is printed on your Shavings mailing label), please consider a year-end donation. Your contributions help us maintain what we've begun and help us pioneer new programs. They are greatly appreciated. •

MAYDAY! MAYDAY! Shavings is looking for articles. Is there anyone out there that would like to give us some cruising articles, especially sailing cruising articles? Sometimes we get the idea that only the rowers cruise.

Does anybody have an "Owner's Notebook" idea? Y o u don't have to write it, there's a member of the Shavings staff that would love to, assuming that he can have a chance to sail with you. If you hear of a wooden boat event, remember the Events Calendar. If we can't fill it with boating news, we'll start announcing the Sedro Wooley Invitational Tractor Pulls. Technical articles would be nice, too. If there's anyone that would like to do a "photo tips in the boat" piece, it would get big play in a spring issue. A n d if anyone would like to write a regular review of boating books, they'd get their own column, the first in Shavings history. •