By Robert d’Arcy For me, working on classic wooden boats is about values. Good design: these vessels are drawn for seakeeping—finely tuned to their purpose and environment, highly functional, and incredibly beautiful at the same time. Fine construction: these boats had to be well-built to survive a variety of wind conditions, sea states, and weather events, both expected and unexpected. …
2021 Wooden Boat Festival Canceled due to COVID-19
Dear friends, It’s with a heavy heart that, despite our best efforts, we are cancelling this year’s Wooden Boat Festival. It’s a big shift since last week’s announcement of our advanced safety protocols, but this is a rapidly shifting world, and we’ve decided cancelling is the only responsible way forward. We stand by the “vaccinated/negative-test-only” protocols we established which received …
Wolfhound
Written by Andy Gale. Wolfhound photos by Paul Wyeth Marine Photography. Crewed by owners Steven and Louise Dews, the 64-foot schooner Wolfhound is on a 25,000-plus mile delivery, from the shipyard where she was built in Shillingstone, UK, to her new home in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Wolfhound and the Dews are on an extended layover in Port …
The Story of Alcyone
By Sugar Flanagan (owner) When we think about boats, we often wonder, “Is she a keeper?” Alcyone is definitely a keeper. She was designed and built by Frank Prothero in his backyard in Seattle. He sailed her for 9 years and then sold her to the Hanke family who took care of her for 22 years. We have now owned …
Orca
The Gartside Workboat “Orca” is a Paul Gartside designed motor boat, constructed of cedar planking bronze fastened over oak frames. A heavy workboat of traditional construction, the Gartside is ideal as a yard launch or small towboat. Built with carvel plank-on-frame cedar over oak with a locust backbone, this functional 18’ boat, powered by a 20 HP Beta Diesel, gave …
Sockeye
Sockeye is an Ed Monk Sr. design, built by Jacobson Brothers in Ballard, WA. She started a long trolling career in 1944. Known back then as Nestor, she retired from fishing in the early 2000s when Port Townsend’s Les and Libby Schnick started her long conversion to a recreational boat. Her aft cabin emerged in 2008 from what was once …
We are BACK and ready to celebrate Wooden Boats!
The excitement is building… You can feel it in the air… Wooden Boat Festival is coming… We are BACK and ready to celebrate Wooden Boats! Here’s a taste of what’s in store: For the boat-lovers among us: The Harbor is almost full! Several gorgeous new boats, many festival favorites, and even—gasp—Canadians! Check out the website—boats are being added daily. For …
Let’s Plan on a Festival!
Hope is in the air. Vaccinations are up and cases are down, we are moving into Phase 3 and there is talk of normalcy by July 4th. The sun even came out. We are not in the clear yet, but things are looking better and better. If the pandemic takes a turn for the worse we’ll alter our course, but …
Tribute: Brion Toss
Rigger, Husband, Teacher, Friend … Honoring the Life and Memory of the Extraordinary Brion Toss This article was written by Scott Wilson and Ian Weedman, and originally published at 48north.com. It’s cliche to say that they just don’t make them like that anymore, but it’s been something we’ve heard often and from many sources in the days since Brion Toss …
Tribute: Larry Pardey
Written by Lin Pardey “An amazing sailor. He did it all,” wrote one magazine editor. “Raced boats, delivered boats, built two boats, sailed them engine-free around the world, both east about and west about. Rounded the great southern capes against the prevailing winds…” “Amazing boatbuilder,” wrote another. “But he’ll be remembered for his motto, go small, go simple go now, …