The Aleutian Tern was designed in 1963 by the legendary Northwest designer William Garden, for Seattle builder Warren Teller. Teller built her in the yard at his home in Seattle over the next 3 years, launching her in 1966. She is very heavily built on lines paralleling those of the halibut schooners of the Northwest.
With a wheelhouse aft, a flush deck forward housing cavernous accommodations below, she feels like a much bigger boat than she is. The Aleutian Tern is 38’ long, 13’of beam, and draws 5’. Teller built her for his own use with plans to take her to Alaska regularly. Tragically he passed away before he could realize that dream, but she has been to Mexico and was even abandoned offshore on her return from there as she caught fire and was left to burn.
Thankfully the fire put itself out and she was repaired in California before being bought by her long-term owner Pat Dana, who knew her builder, and had hunted her down hoping to buy her for himself. He and his brother, Buzz Dana, brought her home to Seattle in a rough nonstop offshore delivery from San Diego, about 25 years ago.
Pat took especially good care of her for all those years and only recently decided to sell her to us. The Aleutian Tern is a unique vessel in design and construction. “Stout” would be quite an understatement. In Garden’s own words, “The Aleutian Tern is built of massive yellow cedar construction, she is a far cry from the average glassed in power cruiser, and her plans will be of interest as another man’s solution to the perfect ship.”