I was contacted by Gail, Paul's wife, and told that he passed away unexpectedly on May 30th. She contacted me through the messing-about.com forums site:
Quote:This is Gail and I am sorry to be telling you but Paul passed away on 5/30/18 in the hospital. I am not sure who I need to contact to get this message out. I do not want anyone thinking that he is ignoring you and does not care. He cared a great deal. If you would please pass this along to the different boat forums that he was active in as I do not know all of them. Thank you and God speed.
His passing is noted on
messing-about.com,
SailNet,
BoatDesignNet and I'm sure most other boat building forums out there. Paul was always a great contributor and generous with his time and expertise. A
GoFundMe page has been started to help the family with funeral expenses. I understand services will be this Saturday, June 9th.
His wake that he left behind him will roll across the waters for a very long time.
Al
Quite a shock and sad news. Condolences to his family and friends.
Only knew Paul through his posts, but clearly we've lost a very thoughtful and generous man.
Thoughts are with the family.
Dale
So sorry to hear that. And I am especially sorry that he didn't see my boat - a design of his - finished and launched. He was so helpful with everything and always ready to discuss my ideas of the implementation.
So very sorry to hear that you left the dance early, Paul. All the Prayers and comfort to your family and those that love you. You will certainly be missed. Thank-you for your selflessness and willingness to help anyone who asked.
"Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made, for somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid"
-Robert N Rose
My cup is raised to you, Paul, for helping so many make their dreams come true and to help them hear their song...salute, sir.
Peace.
capnpablo
Paul was a huge help to me during my build, and I’m sure to many others.
Just shows how fleeting life can be and a reminder to set the sails and do what matters to you
Oh no! I feel gutted by this terrible news. I started off years ago being a bit irritated by Paul's blunt honesty sometimes- but as usual, that turned out to be more my problem than his... it turns out that he was always right and his suggestions always held water. He never hesitated to give advice and draw up little solutions to things, and his advice about carpentry, seaworthiness, and sailing, which he always gave freely, have helped a lot of people. Paul cared more about people being safe on their boats than he did about their feelings about their carpentry!
I ultimately purchased his plans for the Weekender keel modification, and corresponded with him on this forum quite a bit about it. Last autumn he called me on the telephone and we had a very nice hour-long chat about sailing. He was very pleased that his keel was a success on my boat.
We've lost a friend. I am very sad about this news. I was just out putting some springtime paint on my new keel yesterday and wondering how Paul was getting on. I meant to send him another message once I'd tried out the new keel abit more this spring. Terrible news, just terrible. He gave me so much more than just the 20 bucks the plans cost. I owe him some beers that I will now never be able to pay.
I only interacted with him on this site, but always looked forward to his advice. I'm very sad about this. Prayers to his family.
Ouch, ouch, ouch.
Without Paul's contributions on this forum and email messages, I hate to think where my boat build would be. I am really bummed that he won't get to see his fin keel on Kingsfold.
And I am sad for his family, too. Death sucks plenty when it is expected, but unexpected...