I
was asked by Dr.
Jim Sanders to give an account of what brought me to boat building. Up
until the time I started writing this account I had paid very little attention
to how these sorts of things occur. Even as I recollect the events that
brought me here I can’t help but marvel at the way time and events
flow. This look backward only makes me more certain that as great as the
events in the past have been the events currently unfolding and ones to
come will be even more spectacular. This look back has also provided me
with a new perspective on events in my life. I would like to thank Jim
for this opportunity.
From racing to sailing
At that point in my life I did something very strange. I got into automobile
racing. I even built the car. I had no woodworking tools but I did have
metal working tools. The auto racing was a great experience but it turned
out to be much harder than it looked. My father was an avid woodworker.
I think in an effort to establish my own identity I really didn’t
have an interest in wood. In any case the auto racing lasted about two
years. Automobile racing was replaced with a fishing boat out of Pt Judith
Rhode Island. Being back on and around the water was great. The boat was
new but completely lacked character or style. At the time character and
style were not prerequisites in picking a boat. The fishing boat was eventually
moved to New Bedford Harbor and my dock space was next to a sailboat.
I had never spent any time around sailboats. The owner of the sailboat
asked me if I wanted to go for a sail. I always enjoy new experiences
so I accepted the offer. I found the initial experience very dull. I couldn’t
figure out what made the boat move. When I say move I am referring to
the 4 or 5 knots we were doing. I was use to doing 20 or 30 miles per
hour on the water. I think being in a hurry has jaded my sense of reality.
Even though the first sailing experience was not great I kept checking
on the “Pendragon”. I think my interest in “Pendragon”
occurred for several reasons none of which related to sailing. The boat
was old but it had retained something like dignity over many years of
use and now neglect. I think looking at “Pendragon” I realized
that in my world where things move so fast and then are disposable that
there are some things that can stand the test of time. This became a reassuring
feeling that had become connected with the boat. The boat became a link
to the past where I 
believe
that life was somehow different. I looked at the Friendship Sloop the
same way. For me the Friendship Sloop stood out in a sea of fiberglass.
On one of my last visits to Noank, I was disappointed to find the “Pendragon”
gone. I ask the yard manager about the boat. He said it was a sad thing
that the boat was “on her heels”. He told me that the owner
was in poor health and had moved the boat to a yard on the Hudson River.
I had no real information about which yard so it was no small feat to
find the boat. My fishing boat had lasted two years and was replaced by
a Harley Davidson. In retrospect I have been very fortunate. I have been
able to experience many interesting things in my life. My hobbies had
all lasted two years and that probably meant that I had not really found
something I liked. My wife use to give me a hard time over this. My position
was that while I changed hobbies every two years I kept the same job and
wife. I usually thought this was funnier than she did.
Texas, our Texas
In 2000 we were then transferred to Texas. My wife had thought we had
been in Massachusetts for so long that we were done moving. I even thought
we were going to retire in Massachusetts. We really liked Massachusetts
but my company has a way of encouraging you to move. During the move I
sold all the metalworking tools and the Harley. I made a trip to the yard
from Texas. The boat had gone down hill and the yard had taken possession
because of non-payment of 
storage.
The yard was asking much more that I thought it was worth. At this point
in my life I had no woodworking ability and no way to move or restore
an old wooden boat. I also knew that if I did find a way to get this boat
to Texas my wife would shoot me. Because Texas is a state with plenty
of guns I was concerned. When I would talk to my wife about “Pendragon,”
she would listen intently and then say ”buy it if you have to.”
These words usually had a very chilling effect on me. I thought about
the “Pendragon” and the Friendship Sloop and what I could
realistically do. I decided that the “Pendragon” was out of
my reach. This was a difficult decision for me because I had followed
that boat for ten years.
I bought a table saw when we moved to Texas. I don’t know why I bought a saw. I had no projects that would require a saw. I refused to believe there was some past connection with wood or that woodworking could pull me backwards in time. I did believe that the dignity and presence I felt in wooden boats was probably related to the wood itself.
Texas
was a great place and I had a three car garage. We only had two cars so
there was room for a shop. The shop began to fill with tools. I found
that I love buying tools. I had even solved the question of buying tools
without my wife getting mad. My wife would see some furniture that she
wanted me to build. I explained that I could build the piece but that
I needed a few things. This process worked out very well and I bought
tools that I might use once a year. Buying tools a little at a time apparently
made the tools invisible. It was genius. In short it was great. This bit
of knowledge would prove to be the key to the next project. Over time
and many tables, cabinets and things I was looking for a new project.
I had found that working in wood was something I really liked.
Looking back, still a rare occasion, I had really enjoyed my time on
and around the water. The Dallas area was a long way from the ocean but
there were several good size lakes very close to the house. Well it wasn’t
the ocean but it would do. I began thinking about buying another boat.
This time maybe a sailboat. The “Pendragon” was gone and Friendship
Sloops seemed very expensive to me. I had no current project I was in
some sort of shopping mode. I had been reading Wooden Boat for many years.
When I read a magazine I always start at the back where the ads are. I
read all the ads about boats for sale. I was always looking for the boat
that will take the place of the “Pendragon”. I realized that
there were very few wooden boats in Texas and that shipping a boat in
would be very expensive. The thought also occurred to me that I could
not hide a boat from my wife. Then a different thought occurred to me.
If a single tool was invisible then a single board was also invisible.
This one thought would prove to be the key to boatbuilding for me.
The search begins
I began searching for boat plans. I also began wondering about the possibility of building a Friendship Sloop. In a stroke of luck my wife decided not to park in the garage. I decided to leave my car outside. This meant that I had 25 feet on a diagonal inside the garage. The height of the garage door was about 8 feet. There were several other constraints as well. I thought the homeowners association would have a problem with pouring a lead keel. I don’t think this activity was specifically banned in the covenants, but it may have been in the fine print. The constraint on the keel led me to an unballasted boat. The construction method should not be too complicated and the time for construction should be about two years. The time factor was my average hobby life. I looked through dozens of plan books. I kept coming back to a plan by the Stevensons. The plan was for a Vacationer.
Many angles of the boat had the look of the Friendship Sloop
that I was looking for. Many of the angles did not have the Friendship
Sloop proportion that I wanted. I had another idea at this point. I drew
on my old problem solving approach and an even older personality flaw.
I really don’t follow directions very well. This flaw while immensely
disconcerting to my parents isn’t the result of making errors. I
have found that it is a product of confidence and a different perspective
on how things work. The departure from the plans was not really a problem
for me. Out of all of the furniture that I have built there never even
were plans. I don’t even write down the dimensions. I get an idea.
The idea forms a picture. The picture is made up of the individual pieces
of the project. I can see all of the details. Not really the exact dimensions
but the proportions. At that point I purchased plans for a 22 foot Friendship
Sloop from the Maine Maritime Museum. I took various proportions off of
those plans and tried to adapt those proportions to the Vacationer. I
kept many of the basic dimensions and the construction technique for the
Vacationer. I found the construction method to be straight forward and
something that anyone with basic tools and abilities could follow. In
short out of all the plans I looked at I was pretty sure that the Vacationer
was a boat I could adapt to what I was looking for. I would have to say
that building the boat exactly to the plans would have saved a great deal
of time and money. At this point in my life the time and money were not
nearly as important as the result. I would never dissuade people from
customizing any design. They just need to keep in mind that one change
necessitates another and the end result is not always predictable.
The first boards arrived and they were completely invisible. They were
2x12 20 feet long. Subsequent boards had the same characteristics.
I started my modifications with the keel. I have this thing about a motor
hanging off of the stern so I wanted a motor that was built in. I decided
that my keel would be 14 inches deep all the way back. This would just
give me room to build in a trolling motor. I chose a trolling motor because
I was going to be sailing on a lake. This decision would require some
re-engineering when we were moved to California and the boat would be
used on the ocean.
The next thing was to attach the deck. That part went according to plan
except that my deck is longer. The transom had to be made a little higher
to accommodate a nice fair line between the 
stem
and the stern. This was done with a string attached to the stem and stern
lying at deck level at the cabin bulkhead. The next change I wanted to
make was adding more rake to the transom. This change would require a
longer deck. The Friendship Sloop also had a curved transom and tumblehome
at the stern.
The curve of the hull sides would prove to be most challenging.
I was aware that plywood could not be bent in two planes. The hull sides
were according to the plans back to the cabin bulkhead which I moved forward
to give more cockpit room. At the cabin bulkhead I attached a rib between
the upper and lower stringer that had a slight curve. The original transom
was in place but on each side there was a 2 x 12 cut with a 2.5 inch curve.
I decided that was the maximum curve that the ¼ ply would take.
The real transom extended 6 inches beyond the hull bottom and 12 inches
beyond the deck level. This allowed for a greater rake of the transom
somewhere between 35 and 40 degrees. As the 
stringer
on the bottom went past the cabin bulkhead I changed to angle slowly to
45 degrees as it reached the stern. The bottom stringer went through the
original transom for another 6 inches. The top would extend 12 inches
past the original transom and would transition to 0 degrees at the stern.
I attached the hull sides from the bow back with no incident. The last
piece attached at the cabin bulkhead and ended at the stern. I alternated
putting in screws between the top stringer and the bottom. Once I got
to the original transom with the 2x12 attached I put in screws every inch
working from top to bottom. The wood was under a great deal of pressure
but it bent just like it was supposed to. The hull side terminated at
the real transom. The real transom was enclosed and the project looked
like a boat.
Friendship Sloop photo, Courtesy of Friendship Sloop Society
Back Yard Yacht Builders
A non-commercial association of amateur boat-builder enthusiasts.
All our wooden boats are Stevenson designs.