S H A V I N G S Volume One, Number Four June, Ju ly 1979

NEED FOR NEW HOME

The Center for Wooden Boats is far from being the Mecca for small c ra f t enthusiasts, at th is point , but more and more devotees are dropping by at our corporate headquarters to see what's happening and to pay the i r respects.

We ta lk about the Wooden Boat Shows, regattas, n e w s l e t t e r s , research on Northwest small c r a f t , the upcoming monographs, seminars and meetings. I hope we are be l ievable, re la t ing these events and exc i t ing plans, while we are s i t t i n g in our k i tchen, s i p ­ping cof fee, with the dog napping in the sun spot, and the ducks demanding lunch at the doorway.

This sleepy, homey atmosphere is the l i k e l y impression of most out of town v i s i t o r s . With the Wagner kitchen as the CWB entry, I think we have stretched our c r e d i b i l i t y to the l i m i t . The main focus of our ef for ts now must be on a new locat ion for the Center.

Impressing v i s i t o r s w i l l be no problem once we have a permanent s i t e , with boats in the water, a shop restor ing and bui ld ing traditional small c ra f t , a display of photos and drawings of our small boat her i tage, a l i b r a r y , and a proper l i s t i n g in the telephone book

I s t i l l v i sua l i ze a sleepy dog, hungry

ducks, and a big pot of cof fee, always ready. But with an i d e n t i f i a b l e , organizat ional l oca t ion , we w i l l spend far less time saying, "Yes, CWB s t i l l is in business."

Dick Wagner, Director

HURRAH FOR THE VOLUNTEERS

I t ' s amazing what can happen when a group of people, interested in an

insp i r ing pro ject , work to pul l i t a l l together.

Our sincere thanks to the volunteers who took on the job of

planning and staging the Third Annual Seatt le

Wooden Boat Show.

Thank you for the long hours of planning, for the press

re leases, the s igns, the posters, for set t ing up the Show and s i t t i n g in the booths, and for se lect ing a program we are proud of.

This donation of f ree ly given time, ta len t , and energy is the most valuable asset of the Center for Wooden Boats.

Dick Wagner, Director

ONE MORE TIME

SHAVINGS needs contr ibut ions from i t s readers. What are you up to? What's news, where, among our membership? We also need an ed i to r i a l team!

A PUBLICATION OF THE CENTER FOR WOODEN BOATS

TRIP TO MYSTIC

CWB Director Dick Wagner represented the Center at the 10th Annual Mystic Seaport Small Craft Workshop and the 5th Annual Museum Small Craft Confer­ence, June 2, 3, 4.

Among notes of in teres t :

Chesapeake Maritime Museum buys white oak timbers for $0.20 a board foot.

Strawberry Banke found that the i r apprentice shop was producing neither well-rounded boatbuilders nor good boats. They now w i l l bui ld a l imi ted number of t rad i t iona l types for sa le , with a three man shop. Boatbuilding ins t ruc t ion w i l l be l imi ted to weekend "fundamentals" classes for amateurs.

Hampton Mariners' Museum uses local (North Carol ina) juniper for planking.

The Museum of Man has about 45 Eskimo kayaks and an equal number of Indian birch bark and dugout canoes. Only one of these has been measured.

The Adirondack Museum has 120 guide boats and Rushton boats. No l ines have been taken of f yet.

Wooden Boat magazine w i l l commission and s e l l boats. They w i l l publish detai led plans, as for the recently completed dinghy.

The Apprenticeshop w i l l launch a 35' Tancook whaler about now, to be used for sa i l t ra in ing and commercial f re ight .

Mystic Seaport is expanding the i r l i s t of l i nes . They sold more than 300 sets las t year.

The Mystic Seaport Boat Shop w i l l bui ld Melonseed, from Chapel le 's AMERICAN

SMALL SAILING CRAFT, as a l imi ted stock boat, to se l l for $2035, with r i g .

The Workshop and Conference both were exc i t ing experiences. Many contacts were made, comments absorbed, programs analyzed. Dick f igures he gained both in information valuable to CWB, and in confidence that we are on the r ight track in our approach.

In the course of the three day gather­ing , Dick also f igures , he rowed about 30 miles and sa i led about 10 mi les. He can report on the performance of a 16' Adirondack guide boat, a Rangeley boat, a Psquataca River wherry, and a New Haven sharpie, among others. He also can draw from memory a l l the sand bars in the Mystic River between the Railroad Bridge and the I-95 Bridge!

Topics covered by the Conference agenda included: A c t i v i t i e s of the museums; small c ra f t programs in Scandinavia; s tar t ing a small c raf t program; boat­bui ld ing t ra in ing ; audio-visual documentation of boatbui ld ing; cooper­at ion in small c raf t research; small c raf t inventory cata log; smal lcraf t restorat ion phi losophies; future of the conference.

Representation included: Viking Ship Museum,Oslo; Mystic Seaport Museum; National Museum of Man, Ontar io; Thousand Islands Shipyard Museum; Heritage Ship Gui ld of Ph i lade lph ia ; Hampton Mariners' Museum, Beaufort, NC; Mariners' Museum, Newport News, VA; Adirondack Museum; East Hampton H is to r i ca l Society; Strawberry Banke; Apprenticeshop; Peabody Museum.

THE BOAT BUILDERS DIRECTORY w i l l be ready for d is t r ibu t ion July 6. This f i r s t issue w i l l include a l l Northwest smal lcraf t bui lders we could f i n d , plus designers, suppl iers . The Directory is largely the work of Char l ie Bond.

SEMINAR SERIES SUCCESSFUL

The seminar ser ies recently concluded were a thorough success. Almost 300 persons attended 15 sess ion, on nine top ics , from January 27 to Apr i l 14. The Center gained 65 members and made a l i t t l e p ro f i t . Further, we broke ground in our f i r s t educational venture and gained a foundation of know-how for future ser ies .

None of th is could have happened with­out f ree ly given help from volunteers in the Center. The i n i t i a l ser ies was planned by Pat Ford, Land Washburn, Ray A l i b e r t i , Rip Knot, and myself. Pub l i c i t y was handled by Land Washburn and Doc Doo l i t t l e . Many others helped on mail ing of announcements. Weekly phone and mail reminders were done by Pat Ford and Colleen Wagner. Every Saturday, Colleen and I set up, made cof fee, introduced speakers, and closed up. Dennis Corum watched our kids and our business.

The space for the f i r s t three seminars was donated by the Wooden Boat Shop; for the las t ser ies by Svein Madsen.

The f i r s t ser ies opened with Joe Trumbly ta lk ing on Plugging into Boatbui ld ing, with expert knowledge and humor. Paul Schweiss followed with a down-to-earth ta lk on considerations in s tar t ing a boatbuilding business.

The th i rd session cut through the advert is ing smokescreen on adhesives, sealants, and f i n i shes . Then Lyn Smith took a smal l , dedicated band through the world of knots and s p l i c e s , with the grace of a patient teacher.

The lecture on wood by Bob Picket t was loaded with information. We who heard Bob know not only more about wood, but about the calculated gamble involved in the lumber cycle from cutt ing to dealer.

Carl Harper's session on maintenance had that special Harper stamp. Where else would a lecture on maintenance begin with a rusty revolver and end with the speaker surrounded by a l i t t e r of shavings and wood scraps, passing around a bott le of rum?

The hal f model lecture by Dave LeFebrve was another model of enlightenment, as Dave demonstrated bui ld ing models from l i n e s , and as a design too l . Dave showed nine study hal f models that lead to the design of his 13' catboat.

The climax of the ser ies was Deb Harrington on handtools for the boat bu i lder . It was l i k e Christmas, with Deb opening three tool chests and several boxes, going through f i f t y years of hand work on boats.

I got in the act with a ta lk on perform-ance charac ter is t i cs of t rad i t iona l boats, and on sa i l i ng techniques.

Our thanks to a l l the speakers, to the helpers, and to the audiences. It was a special achievement for a l l , and a major step forward for the Center.

If you missed out th is Spr ing, we w i l l have another ser ies in the F a l l .

Dick Wagner

CONTRIBUTIONS b r i e f l y noted

The Center recently has received several valuable donations. The most s t r i k ing is a 26' Samoan Bonito boat donated by Mr. & Mrs. John Haydon. A most welcome donation, jus t in time for the Boat Show, is four f l o a t s , by Lyn Buckl in of K i rk land, from Eagle Harbor Marina.

Detai ls on these gra te fu l l y received g i f t s w i l l appear l a te r .

3

SAWDUST

Can a Poulsbo boat take a load?

North Burn, of Waldron Is land, has a 17' Poulsbo. He put an outboard motor on i t , to give more room to carry cargo, since Waldron has no fer ry .

North's boat may have set a record, recent ly , when he carr ied ten 55 ga l . drums of gasoline and 1,000 lbs . of cement in one t r i p !

Miracles s t i l l happen.

Hank long keeps tuned to the wood grapevine, looking for good red cedar to plank his 12' and 15' Whitehall type boats. Hank uses only t ight ver t i ca l g ra in , and needs wide planks.

A f r iend of a customer to Hank to check out a couple of old bachelor brothers who mill in Humptulips.

The brothers once planned to bui ld a boat, and cut the planking stock, but

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM

never got beyond that stage. There was the old growth, quarter sawn red cedar, neatly st ickered in the barn, 3/4" x 22" x 25 ' - -cut 63 years ago!

Hank w i l l use the cedar for his back orders, but fee ls the boards might better be used as a museum d isp lay .

On June 9, two Santa Cruz, CA men departed from CWB headquarters on Lake Union in the i r 18' Grand Banks dory, to row to Glac ier Bay, Alaska!

Dick Lukon and Pete McKay have been cru is ing the i r boat, bu i l t by Aeolus Boats, Davenport, CA, and racing in rowing events in Monterey Bay, Half-moon Bay, and San Francisco Bay the past three years. The idea for the Alaska venture came to Dick and Pete af ter reading of Ginger Cox and Tish Davis 's rowing c ru i se , las t year, to Skagway. Dick and Pete hope to return in time for the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Fest iva l in September.

( ) Please e n r o l l me as a member of the Center, a nonprofit organization (dues tax deductible), and send me the Center's Newsletter for one year, the mono­graph s e r i e s , membership card, and supporter's p i n .

( ) Regular--$7. 50/year ( ) Contributing--$15.OQ/year ( ) Life--$100.00 ( ) Organizations--$15.00/year

( ) Please send me a Center T - s h i r t (Navy blue, preshrunk cotton, with the Center's logotype--$5.50 postpaid.

( ) Adult small ( ) Adult medium ( ) Adult large ( ) Adult extra large ( ) Youth medium ( ) Youth large

Name TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED $ Address Cit y State Boat(s) owned Zip code Phone

THE CENTER FOR WOODEN BOATS 2770 Westlake Avenue North Telephone (206283-9166

Seattle WA 98109