The Whitehall pulling boat was my first love affair. With a boat, that is. Searching for the perfect first woodworking project I found the Whitehall in John Gardner’s Building Classic Small Craft. I was hooked as much by the Whitehall’s history as by its curves.
Working out of a small marina on Seattle’s Duwamish Waterway, I was surrounded by other more experienced boatbuilders. They all had opinions about how I should, or shouldn’t, build my Whitehall. Traditionalists extolled the virtues of working with wood, layering on varnish, steam-bending ribs and gussets-and-rivets construction. The modernists leaned toward epoxying light-weight fiberglass over molds, for speedier boats and more consistent results. I listened to everyone, weighed their sage advice and, in the end, stubbornly went my own way. The West System book by Gujean brothers convinced me to use West System epoxy and their building method, edge-glued strip plank construction onto laminated oak ribs. My unique Whitehall has impeccable workmanship, clean lines, and seaworthy enough for the roughest days on Puget Sound. While there were many nods toward the Whitehall builders of generations ago, I do not deny the efficacy of using modern materials, such as epoxy and Monel staples.
After my first Whitehall, my focus veered away from small wooden boats to restoring the 1926 65-foot tugboat my family bought as a live-aboard. My company name went from R P Boatbuilding to R P Art. Under the name Ulrich Pakker, I have over a dozen monumental stainless steel public art installations across the country.
After 25 years winning art commissions, my focus has returned to small wooden boats. I use both metal and wood in my current line of Whitehalls. Yes, I’m still weighing the traditional against the modern.