View Post

Bright Star

In Festival Boats 2018, Festival Boats 2019, Festival Boats 2021

Bright Star is a Tolman Jumbo 24, from a design by Renn Tolman of Homer, Alaska. As are all the Tolman boats, she is a plywood stitch-and-glue wooden boat. The Tolman Alaskan Skiffs began as 18′ open boats, built for fishing in Alaskan waters. The basic design has evolved. Most now are cabin boats 22′-24′ long, with a few built …

View Post

Arroyo

In Festival Boats 2018, Festival Boats 2021

Built in 1938 by Blanchard Boat Company in Seattle for Markus Mayer Jr as “We’re Here”. Launched with sistership Tola. Past owners include Dr. Carl Jensen, AC Woodley, David Skinner and Dr. Robert Smith. Over the years the name was changed from We’re Here to Oscar IV, Avolonte, Kate, and currently Arroyo. The yacht was extensively raced in NW waters …

View Post

Eager Beaver

In Festival Boats 2018, Festival Boats 2021

Simmons Sea Skiff, 22 footer. Powered by 90 hp Suzuki outboard. Built to plans, but, with my tweaking, Eager Beaver is at 23 feet. I included a cuddy cabin with horizontal 6 feet 6 inch interior, but low ceiling. Added three-sided ‘hardtop’ to protect occupants in helm area. Curved handrail on top is unique – a ‘one of a kind’, …

View Post

Leslie Jean

In Festival Boats 2018, Festival Boats 2019, Festival Boats 2021

Leslie Jean is a 15′ Whitehall that is a combination of many designs. Mostly the lines were taken from an article in National Fisherman Magazine from 1954 and 1977 written by John Gardner. She was a learning project that took 10 years to complete. Each year the builder took a class, first from the Wooden Boat Shop in Seattle and …

View Post

Jean Alden

In Festival Boats 2018, Festival Boats 2019, Festival Boats 2021, Festival Boats 2022, Festival Boats 2023, Festival Boats 2024

Jean Alden uses the traditional catboat configuration to achieve the objectives of a weatherly pocket cruiser that maximize my available shop space while still fitting on a trailer. Mostly I built “by eye” with little attempt to follow a plan other than to steal some hull sections from Phil Bolger’s twelve foot Bobcat. My shop is large enough for a …

View Post

Miss Mile-a-Minute

In Festival Boats 2018, Festival Boats 2019, Festival Boats 2021, Festival Boats 2022, Festival Boats 2023, Festival Boats 2024

The design is Rascal by Ken Bassett. She was built by the owner and completed in 2014. Cold molded, batten seam construction, planked in mahogany and maple. The bottom incorporates a 12″ wide speed pad allowing for tremendous acceleration and top speed with moderate power. The vintage Mercury outboard powering her uses a 1980 140HP powerhead with a short shaft …