Festival Boats

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 …

She has had a topsides rebuild in 2007, a new rig of local sitka in 2015, and I purchased her in 2017. In march of that year I hauled her for investigation of a small leak at the garboard and found a heavily fastened garboard, and rotted planking behind a fiberglass engine well. We then embarked on full bottom replacement …

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 …

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’, …

This boat has been in the family for decades. She sailed the waters of Lake Washington for decades, later ownership passing on and spending decades in dry storage. In 2014 she was hauled out of storage and given a new lease on life with a complete hull repaint, fiberglass restoration, and replacement hardware. Some strategic upgrades such as a British …

Holiday has been family-owned since launched in July 1946. My Grandfather Rex Bartlett commissioned Ed Monk Sr. to design her and she was built on Seattle’s Lake Union by the Edison Technical School. Jim Chambers, who ran the school along with Earl Wakefield and Vic Franck, also worked on building her. I grew up on the boat and later helped …

Daddy’s Third is a 26 ft St. Pierre Dory powered by two electric trolling motors. This is the third version of an electric dory I have built since 1996 and incorporates some recent innovations in electric propulsion. The two 36 volt Minn Kota motors and lithium iron phosphate batteries give us a range of 50 nautical miles at hull speed …

RAVEN was built by Frank Black, a fish boat builder in Coos Bay, OR, for his own use in 1974. We were attracted to her sturdy design by Kenneth Smith of Grand Banks fame as well as her workboat construction and outfit by Mr. Black, and found her for sale at Fisherman’s Terminal in Seattle in 1996. We enjoyed cruising …

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 …

12 of these stout crew boats where commisioned by the navy to ferry crews from alternate locations to both Bangor and Bremerton shipyards during the cold war. However due to Seattle voting in the fast ferry system, The marlineers never seen active service and where turn out to supplus where a New Car Dealership (Cadilliac) purchased 11 of the 12 …