“Katie Ford”, a one-of-a-kind pilothouse cutter designed and built by Heine Dole in Astoria, Oregon in 1946 and named after his grandmother, has long graced the waters of the Pacific Northwest with her stunning lines and excellent sailing characteristics.
A venerable fixture on the classic boat circuit, winning Best in Show in her class in the 2002 Victoria Classic Boat Festival, Katie Ford has enjoyed an outstanding level of care and maintenance by her recent owners (retired shipwrights) as well as by previous stewards.
In her early years Katie Ford was considered the finest sailing vessel and Queen of the Lower Columbia until Dole migrated north to Gig Harbor in the 1950’s. In the 1960’s he lived aboard her for several years on the south end of Puget Sound while teaching sailing. Around 1970 Katie passed into Canadian ownership and has spent the past half century based primarily out of Victoria BC, with voyages to Alaska, Haida Gwaii and a circumnavigation of Vancouver Island. Now at age 77 Katie Ford has finally returned to the States.
With a unique traditional design, Katie possesses, as the saying goes, “the heart-stopping elegance of perfect sheer.” Long and slender and very strong, not much has changed on her exterior since she was first launched. The original bronze deck fittings Dole installed are still in place, including the substantial Highfield levers for the runners. One concession to modernity is the jib and staysail converted to roller-furling.
Built for the rainy Northwest, her cozy pilothouse with inside steering station affords excellent visibility through distinctive vertical windows, while the second wheel at the aft end of the cockpit makes her a true “pilothouse sailing yacht.” Down below varnished woods gleam and glisten, while her layout features a gorgeous “key-hole” bulkhead between galley and salon. Warmth is provided by a traditional Coast Foundry oil stove, and a pair of grandma Katie’s reading glasses are framed near the bookcase.
Beginning around 2016, then-owner Barry Goss initiated an extraordinary refit in Port Townsend which brought Katie Ford back to life. After her mast was removed she was placed inside the Navy A building at Sea Marine where Robert d’Arcy, master of the schooner Martha, surveyed the bottom and confirmed the need to remove most of the planking below the waterline.
That required the removal of around 2,200 bronze screws–no mean feat in itself–revealing the state of the interior structure in the bilges. After 70 years, many of the frames under the cockpit and amidships were ready to be retired. Around 1000 feet of Alaska Yellow Cedar planking was shaped and fitted to the turn of the bilge–a skill that is rare these days beyond Port Townsend. And the 2200 bronze fasteners were able to be reused!
This once-in-a-lifetime restoration of the old girl thus included a completely new hull below the waterline, with Purpleheart ribs and Yellow Cedar planks, the replacement of all 18 keel bolts with silicon bronze, refinishing of cockpit coamings and doghouse, re-powering with a 60 hp Beta diesel, installation of new fuel and water tanks, complete re-wiring and other systems upgrades including through-hulls, circuit breakers, head replacement and re-plumbing. The spruce mast was stripped and refinished with 18 coats of varnish, and all mast hardware pulled and re-bedded. And Katie received a complete set of new sails from Carol Hasse at Port Townsend Sails.
Previously, in 2014 the elegant transom of the beautiful counter stern was rebuilt, and in 2009 the cabin top replaced, including removal of all fittings and dorade vents, which were also replaced. Before that Brian Toss Riggers of Port Townsend had replaced all standing rigging and lifelines. And finally to bring us up to date, in 2022 the teak decks were completely refurbished by the retired shipwright owners.
Thanks to all Katie Ford’s stewards, Heine Dole’s inspired creation remains ready to be enjoyed by the next generation of wooden boat enthusiasts.