PORT REPORT - Port of Port Townsend
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PORT
REPORT
ECONOMIC VITALITY ❙ COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
Wooden
Boat
Edition
The beauty and versatility of wood has inspired generations of builders and boaters. This 10-foot Lawton dinghy was built by resident Jack Becker as tender for the Beckers’ 42-foot 1928 Lake
Union Dreamboat Emmeline. Becker, a graduate of the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, worked for Townsend Bay Marine for nine years. The lapstrake construction features red cedar
planks over oak frames, with copper rivets and bronze screws. The seats and transom are mahogany. Photo by Elizabeth Becker
,
❙ Commissioner s Corner
Builders to wooden
boats: From one living
thing to another
In a child’s beams, stringers,
mind, wood is elemen- planks, pegs and
tal. Every stick or block spars by craftsmen
has the shape of some- drawing on thousands
thing buried deep in- of years of accumu-
side it, if we only had lated craftsmanship,
the skill to get it out. discovery and innova-
tion.
Before humans learned
to make metal into us- As if by alchemy, a
By Bill Putney III
able shapes, spin glass boat emerges or is re-
Commissioner,
into fabric or change stored to a new useful
District 2 Bertram Levy’s Able captures the wind as it sails before the Jefferson County Courthouse during the Shipwright’s
the chemistry of oil life from the elemen-
into plastics, there was wood. tal forest. Rigging, forged fit- Regatta in 2015. Both wooden boats and the local people who build and maintain them are iconic parts of local
Since humans discovered they tings and sails are culture. In their honor and in recognition of the upcoming Wooden Boat Festival, this edition of Port Report is
dedicated to local wooden boats. Photo by Elizabeth Becker
could build something that added by artisans whose shops
would let them travel on wa- are all within a few miles of
ter, wood on wood, and ani-
mal skins or natural fiber cloth
on wood was the answer to
the saltwater. The boat takes
shape and finds motive force
in the wind.
❙ From the Executive Director
“...what do you build a boat
with?” Electrical, mechanical and hy-
draulic systems are added to
PT’s wooden boat culture
In every generation and in ev- make this thing with an-
ery region, the way people cient roots perform all the My first meeting with and story. The Port’s ing on an inventory of wooden
used wood to build boats is tasks asked of any modern the Port’s Moorage marinas have about boats and a platform to share
one of the most lasting char- vessel. Tenants’ Association 100 wooden boats as the stories of those boats. This
acteristics of a civiliza- was on Zoom, of permanent tenants and issue of the Port Report is fo-
tion. Not written on paper but I think there is a kinship be- course, but what is no- the boat yard sees cused on Port Townsend’s
written in the structure of a tween people and wooden table were the mem- dozens of wooden wooden boat culture, stories
boat that may have been found boats: The kinship that any bers’ introductions. boats annually for about the boats, their owners
hundreds or thousands of living thing feels towards an- maintenance work. and the tradespeople who keep
other. We share about half of Each person held up a
years later, you can track the By Eron Berg them floating season after sea-
our DNA with trees. Put your photo of their boat for These boats span the
trading routes of ancient peo- Port Executive son.
hand on a wooden boat. Do me to see and in each centuries, range in size
ples. Director
you feel it? Look at how the case, the boats were and are used for mar- I hope you enjoy this celebra-
Modern metals, glass and boat is constructed. The bones made of wood. This itime work, fishing, tion of one of the threads in the
plastics dominate boat build- and skin and sinew placed was my first introduction to the pleasure and blue water adven- fabric that makes this place so
ing today. But the build- skillfully, lovingly by crafts- wooden boat culture in Port turing. Wooden boats are remarkable.
ing and maintaining of men who understand the ma- Townsend. trusted technology and remain
resilient through time. (Thanks to the leadership of
wooden vessels is still terial intimately.
Wooden boat owners aren’t the Moorage Tenants’ Associa-
alive today on a 20-acre plot
With the intrinsic beauty of just crazy, they are keepers of In the coming months, a group tion for their help with the con-
of ground in one county in the
the material, a wooden boat an ancient tradition and stew- of volunteers from the Moor- ception and implementation of
Pacific Northwest. Wood
doesn’t merely transport. It in- ards of particular vessels, each age Tenants’ Association, this celebration of wooden
is cut, shaped and bent into
spires. with its own unique history along with the Port, are work- boats.)
2 Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port Townsend
From Doing
Business
sailing with the Port
kids to
...
How do I:
charter • Become a tenant? Talk to Sue
Nelson (snelson@portofpt.com).
skippers
• Sign up for permanent boat
Erik Brown and Alyce Flanagan moorage? Call the Boat Haven
sailing aboard the Katie M. Moorage Office at 360-385-6211.
Brown & Flanagan’s day • Sign up for transient boat
sailor is new Port business moorage? Call the Boat Haven
upbringing that included trans- Moorage Office at
If you think wooden boats are all ocean crossings from the time she 360-385-6211, the Point
about crusty old folks using hand and her sister were toddlers. Hudson Marina at
tools from the dawn of civiliza- Alyce has taught sailing since she 360-385-2828, or the Herb
tion, you haven’t met Erik Brown learned to talk, and has crewed on Beck Marina (Quilcene) office at
many tall ships and sail training 360-765-3131.
or Alyce Flanagan.
vessels. Besides helping with the
• Get a vessel hauled out? Call
This couple, each 30 years old Katie M, she coaches the Port
the Boat Haven Yard Office at
and each lifelong sailors, has Townsend High School sail team 360-385-6211 to schedule.
launched a new business on the and works at a local marine can-
local waterfront via the restored vas shop. • Pay a bill? Call the Boat
catboat Katie M, which serves as Haven Moorage Office at
a classic and comfortable day Erik and Alyce married in 2019. 360-385-6211.
sailor for charter trips in Port Both are licensed skippers. Dur-
Katie M’s wide cockpit and shallow draft make her the perfect sailing ing colder months, they form the • Comment on or participate
Townsend Bay through their
charter for Port Townsend Bay. Erik and Alyce’s new company is called Left crew of a 70-foot cutter named in a discussion of the Port
company, Left Coast Charters. Commission? Call Karen at
Coast Charters. Geronimo, homeported in Rhode
360-385-2323, or
Erik hails from Connecticut, Island, that takes handfuls of high email info@portofpt.com.
where even as a child he was Haven, Conn., a skilled boat- ther’s yawl in the Sea of Cortez. school students on six-week trips
shaping and cutting wood, and builder. between New England and the • Attend a meeting of the Port
obtained his first wooden boat at In the Northwest, Erik also had Bahamas. of Port Townsend Commission?
the age of 14. Erik made his way West to attend jobs at the Center for Wooden All meetings are open to the
The Evergreen State College in Boats in Seattle and as a fabrica- But their summertime love is sail- public. Regular meetings are the
“I’ve worked in wood since I was Olympia in 2009, where he also tor in Pete and Kathy Langley’s ing the Katie M, with locals or second Wednesday of each
old enough to convince my mom visitors looking for a day sail in a month at 1 p.m. and the fourth
taught and coached sailing for the Port Townsend Foundry.
it was a good idea to get me a comfortable, restored catboat. Wednesday of each month at
Olympia Yacht Club. One day on 5:30 p.m. Meeting agendas and
router,” he said. He was 10 years Alyce is the daughter of Jefferson (Catboat refers to the design of a
the docks in Olympia, he learned supporting documents are
old. He soon became a sailor and, of a planned sailing voyage to County’s storied Flanagan-Mc- working sailboat, common in the accessed via the website,
in part thanks to a four-year mar- Mexico, met Alyce, and before Nish family, growing up on the Northeast, that features a wide portofpt.com. Click on
itime trade high school in New long was aboard her grandfa- 82-foot schooner Alcyone in an ›› Continued on page 5 "Commission Meetings" and
find the meeting you want. Each
District 1 District 2 District 3 Executive agenda includes links and
Commissioner Commissioner Commission Chair Director information on how to attend a
live meeting via Zoom. The Port
Pam Bill Pete Eron also maintains full recordings
and documents of all previous
Petranek Putney III Hanke Berg meetings.
Skipper, commercial fisherman. Technology engineer, pilot. Owns PS Express, pilot.
Email: bill@portofpt.com Email: phanke@portofpt.com Email: eron@portofpt.com.
Email: pam@portofpt.com
360-385-0656, ext. 6 360-385-0656, ext. 6 360-385-0656, ext. 6 360-385-0656
Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port Townsend 3
Levy sailing the Able, a 24-foot cutter he built and has sailed for thousands of miles. Photo by Elizabeth Becker
The wooden
However, the unrecognized navigate our local waters and lapstrake, plywood and cold
jewel of its crown is the large are maintained by residents. molding. The ages of the
collection of year-round Each of these boats has a boats range from 120 years
boats of Port
wooden boats in our marinas. story, and those stories in- to brand new. Boats from the
In a world where wooden clude the commitment of the 1930s, 1940s and the 1950s
boats have largely disap- individuals who own them. are common.
Townsend
peared from most marinas,
over 20 percent of the boats Except for the Thunderbird Why wood?
in local marinas are still One design racing class, no
two wooden boats in our ma- Ask the owners why they
made of wood.
rina are alike. This diverse own a wooden boat and you
Until now the wooden boats collection of vessels is liter- will get a variety of answers.
By Bertram Levy west School of Wooden Boat- Generally most owners are
building, the prominence of the in this community have been ally a visual history of 20th
defined by the large sailing century boat design. These drawn to the unique beauty of
marine trades industry, the
Port Townsend has become vessels such as Alcyone, include sloops, cutters, the older designs, the warmth
growth of the Northwest Mar-
the wooden boat capital of Martha, and Adventuress. ketches, cabin cruisers, of wood and aesthetic quali-
itime Center and the Wooden
the West Coast. However there are well over trawlers, multihulls and row- ties of traditional workman-
Boat Festival have been cited as
100 wooden boats of all sizes boats. Construction tech- ship. For woodworkers it is
The emergence of the North- the basis of this new reputation.
and styles moored here that niques vary: plank on frame, their comfort level with the
4 Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port Townsend
construction material.
Still others are drawn to a
sary to repair, restore and
maintain these vessels. A
number of boats have under-
This in turn has created a vi-
brant marina culture. Ulti-
mately the survival of the
health of this asset.
It also provides an opportu-
Skippers
vessel’s history and embrace nity to introduce the com- ›› Continued from page 3
gone major restorations, un- wood boats and the culture
the sense of privilege as a derscoring a great advantage they encompass are inexpli- munity at large about local beam and shallow draft with its
steward of maritime history. of wooden boats - every part cably bound together. wooden boats and the in- single unstayed mast stepped all
is replaceable. Many water maritime community. the way forward in the bow.)
For me, it’s the sound of the
wooden boat owners are Port of Port Townsend
wooden hull charging In this country where gentri- She was originally built by the
woodworkers comfortable Executive Director Eron
through the water, a sensa- fication threatens every cool Northwest School of Wooden
with their own repairs. Oth- Berg recognizes the Boatbuilding, now located in Port
tion that no other material place, Port Townsend’s
ers rely on the excellent importance of this culture Hadlock, in 2009. Its original
possesses. wooden boat culture stands
workmanship of our vibrant and sees the large collection owner, from Bainbridge Island,
as a bulwark against this
For everyone, there is the marine trades and are sup- of wood boats as a unique didn’t use it much, and in fact, it
trend. Ours is real and it’s all
overwhelming belief that a porters of a major sector of local asset. Together with was never entirely finished by the
there! Central casting cannot
boat made of wood is a liv- our local economy. the Moorage Tenants time Erik found it. He had first
put pieces of wood together
ing creature whose organic Association, a project has seen it while restoring his previous
that can withstand the forces
soul comes from the life of A unique community begun to document the wooden boat, Kirin, a two and a
of nature, resist the rays of
the tree and the hands of her Wooden boats suffer from wooden boats of Port half-year project.
the sun, hold back the sea
craftsmen. neglect. Ownership requires Townsend and create a water from the bilge and the When Kirin sold, Erik bought the
attentiveness which by its catalogue of them to be freshwater from the decks. Katie M in early March 2021 and
The owners who take care of hosted on the Port’s website.
very nature requires spend- That kind of craftsmanship
these boats are regular folks hauled it to their house in Jefferson
ing lots of time on the It will serve as a guide for is centuries in the making County. There, he and Alyce spent
in this community who have the general community.
docks. As a result, the docks and takes years of training, the next several weeks bringing her
either grown up with or ac- Documentation provides a
have become a unique Port apprenticeships, exchange of up to snuff. They replaced rub rails,
quired the knowledge neces- basis for monitoring the
Townsend micro-community. ideas and the opportunity to some planking, built a new rudder
study over 100 examples in and did a lot of sanding and cos-
our marinas. metic work. Moored just off the A
Bertram Levy When I came into town 46
years ago I was greeted by
Dock ramp at the Port of Port
Townsend’s Boat Haven, the Katie
M glows today, in perfect condi-
Bertram Levy settled in Port the sign: “Welcome to Port tion.
Townsend 46 years ago to build a Townsend, Victorian Sea-
port.” Over the years that One of her special features is a
boat and sail these waters. He has
historical reputation has been silent electronic propulsion system,
since built 10 boats, notably the 5 ½-
replaced by a living one: installed by Erik with guidance
ton cutter Able and the 1 ½-ton
“Port Townsend: Wooden from local marine electrician Chris
Spitzgatter sloop Murrelet. Both
Boat Capital of the West Brignoli of Revision Marine.
vessels have been featured in the
wooden boat magazine calendar. Coast.” As the years go on, At every step of the way, Erik said,
this reputation will increase he not only acquired experience as
He and his wife Bobbie have sailed as a magnet not just for a skipper and boatbuilder, but be-
their 24-foot Able to Hawaii, the tourists but for young people came ingrained in Port Townsend’s
Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida drawn to a desire for identity unique wooden boat community.
Gwaii) and circumnavigated through craftsmanship.
Vancouver Island five times, “I’ve met a lot of great people in
including a trip with their daughter The implications for the lo- this wooden boat community,” he
Madeline when she was one. He can cal economy are obvious. said, “gaining skills, and digging
be seen sailing on Port Townsend Our harbor full of wooden myself deeper into the world of
Bay most sunny afternoons in his vessels and the people that wooden boats.”
varnished 19-footer Murrelet. He has care for them are an essen-
(Contact Left Coast Charters at
also been a voice for the marina tial part of this vision. My
www.left-coast-charters.com,
community and founded the Moorage hope is that the community
email leftcoastcharters@gmail
Tenants Union. will recognize this asset and
.com, or call 360-215-5381.)
celebrate it.
Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port Townsend 5
Two
journeys
cross
paths in
Port
Townsend
By Carl Berger
Like so many of our neighbors, I was
drawn to Port Townsend by saltwater
and sawdust, and by the amazing
wooden boats that blend those unfor-
gettable smells into the regional cul-
ture we now call home.
My journey goes back more than 30
years when, after traveling through
Port Townsend on a vacation to
Olympic National Park, I discovered
the Northwest School of Wooden The fully renovated Sockeye, for almost 60 years a fishing troller, is now one of the prides of Port Townsend’s wooden boat fleet,
Boatbuilding. I was already working converted into a yacht. Photo by Ron Moller
with wood as a carpenter, building
concrete formwork for the founda-
tions in industrial plants. I dreamt of It didn’t work out. Instead, I spent the was launched in late March that year the usual year-to-year maintenance.
building something more beautiful, next three decades continuing my work to start her fishing career in Alaska. During this time, according to survey
something other than those square, with concrete and steel, helping build Her original owners were Eric and records, the original wood bulwarks
plain forms, only to be discarded after high-tech industrial plants all over the Ellen Johnson. were replaced with aluminum and the
the concrete set. country: Alabama, Texas, Nevada, planks were refastened with galva-
Pennsylvania… But not Port Townsend. nized screws. Now 50, Nestor was
Fifteen years later in 1959, Lloyd Er-
So, I wrote to the school, inquiring ready to lower the trolling poles and
landsen took possession of the boat,
about enrolling in their program. Meanwhile, in Ballard… continue working.
renaming her Lori Lu and brought her
south to fish for tuna off the coast of
In September of 1988, I received a Meanwhile, there was another jour- Oregon and Washington. Fast forward to 2002.
letter from Sean Lappetito, the ney underway, one that started in
school’s director back then, encourag- 1944. The troller was rechristened again Nestor was berthed in Port Townsend,
ing me to visit. Included with the let- with a new name, Nestor, in 1983, awaiting the next journey when Les
ter was the 1989-1990 catalog, de- Jacobson Brothers, boatbuilders in when Jim and Linda Carson became and Libby Schnick came looking for
scribing the school and its six-month Ballard, Wash., were completing the the new owners. Nestor journeyed their next project.
program. At that time, tuition was construction of a new Ed Monk-de- back to the salmon grounds in Alaska.
$2,880 and you could enroll at the be- signed 46-foot fishing troller. With a
The long-working troller officially re-
ginning of every month. Hmm. plumb bow, horseshoe stern and fir
In the 1990s it was time for more than tired from commercial fishing when
planking over oak frames, Hike II
the Schnicks took over stewardship
6 Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port Townsend
Libby and Les spent 13 years loving what they renamed the Sockeye back to beauty and full
function. In 2016, they presented her to the new owners, Carl Berger and Sarah Heiner.
Les and Libby Schnick bought Nestor in 2002 and poured themselves into her complete
rebuild and conversion into to pleasure boat. Here, Les is in the middle of rebuilding the pilot
house.
and chose another new name, Sock- I had learned to sail on small sail-
eye. boats on Lake Mead, Nev. I had never
seen a boat like Sockeye, 35 tons with
This capable couple spent the next 13 a classic sheer line rising to her sea-
years transforming Sockeye from a worthy bow, traditional pilot house
World War II-era fishing boat into a and heavy stabilizer poles lashed to
stately yacht. The work was never- the mast, all powered by a Detroit
ending. Electrical and mechanical 6-71 diesel, the engine that helped
systems were upgraded. The fish hold win World War II. I was amazed how
was removed, replaced by an aft Les, despite making so many changes
cabin with a galley and salon. The to the troller, had maintained her tra-
house was rebuilt and expanded, a ditional Pacific Northwest look and
full pilot berth added. workboat feel.
As the Sockeye’s owners, Sarah Heiner and Carl Berger continue to work on this iconic vessel,
now 77 years old.
Meanwhile, on Craigslist… Could we handle a boat like this?
Would I be able to maintain it as well
Six years ago, as my wife Sarah and I as everyone before me? Les and the lessons of wooden boat steward- in marinas from Seattle to Santa
were contemplating retirement, mov- Libby spent untold hours patiently ship. With help from Les and a throng Monica and South Florida.
ing away from the desert southwest answering all our questions. After of marine trades folks at Boat Haven,
and someday relocating to Port months trying to convince ourselves Sockeye has seen three successful But Sockeye was a package deal.
Townsend, I spotted a Craigslist ad not to, with Sarah’s blessing we haul outs, navigation equipment up- When we bought this boat, she came
for a 46-foot wooden troller called bought Sockeye. We spent our first grades and several plank and house with new friends, a town, a home
Sockeye, moored at the Boat Haven night onboard on New Year’s Eve wood repairs. After spending an en- port, and a subculture unlike any
in, of all places, Port Townsend. We 2016. tire career worried about plumb and other. It was no contest. We’ve never
made a trip up, met Les and Libby level, I am now learning about sheer looked back.
and saw Sockeye in person. A year later, we finally left the desert and camber.
and made the move to Washington. And I still have that school catalog
The paths cross. I could have opted for a big, white, and the letter from Sean Lappetito. I
It’s been five years now and thanks to fiberglass boat loaded with chrome, wonder….
It was love at first sight. lots of help, we’re continuing to learn the kind you see moored side-by-side
Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port Townsend 7
Thunder
bird:
Legacy
of a
family &
a
wooden
boat
Tell Joe Daubenberger about
Port Townsend’s unbroken his-
toric legacy of wooden boats
and he can only laugh.
It’s true that boomtown Port
Townsend in the late 1800s Joe Daubenberger stands before Dorado, the 26-foot Thunderbird that was built for his father, Jim Daubenberger, in 1962-63.
was thick with tall-masted It’s the boat on which Joe, as a 7-year-old, first sailed. Now it’s back in the family.
ships. It’s also true that in the
early 1900s, the Madison
Street Marine Ways, owned by store, got together with two Joe, 7 years old when the in the years that followed, as Abraham’s boat, Caveat, had
William McCurdy, built friends – lawyer Glen Abra- Thunderbird named Dorado ar- the families moved toward apparently remained in Port
wooden commercial vessels ham and Dr. Bill Scheyer – and rived in 1963, said Wednesday other boats. Today, many Townsend, bought by a Port
near what is now the North- decided that sleek wooden sail- evening sailing races among Thunderbirds have fiberglass Townsend school teacher and
west Maritime Center. But the boats called Thunderbirds the Thunderbirds started al- hulls and metal masts. Very later donated to the Northwest
schooners disappeared and would be perfect for summer most immediately. few if any new Thunderbirds Maritime Center. Marge Abra-
McCurdy’s boat business family cruising in these waters. are built from wood. ham meticulously copied all of
Glen Abraham’s Thunderbird
closed after his death in 1911. Built of marine plywood, with Caveat’s logbooks and turned
was named Caveat and Dr.
fin keels, flat bottoms and hard all of that over to the NWMC.
Scheyer named his Zaca. In 2007, Reto Filli, also an
When Joe was growing up in chines, the 26-foot Thunder-
Daubie and Abraham also avid boater and married to The Zaca, once owned by Dr.
Port Townsend in the early birds were quick yet could
started a sailing school, and Joe’s sister Jana, told Joe about Scheyer, had made its way to
1960s, he recalled, there were sleep four aboard for cruising.
over many years taught hun- a planned gathering in Gig Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Is-
exactly three sailboats moored
“They were fast and fun to dreds to sail. Harbor to mark the 50th an- land, when Joe’s brother spotted
here. Three.
sail,” said Joe. niversary of the first Thunder- it for sale on Craigslist. Before
Joe, now a real estate broker in birds. At that event, and then at
This was before the likes of long, Glen and Marge Abra-
The Thunderbird design was the Port Townsend with Miller & subsequent sporting events, Joe
Dave Thompson started repair- ham’s daughter Ann, with her
result of a contest held by a ply- Ashmore Realty, recalled the start encountered a boat owner who
ing wooden fish boats and 15 partner Doug Bolling, bought it
wood association won by de- of his lifelong passion for sailing was certain he now owned the
years before the renaissance of and brought it home. Doug, an
signer Ben Seaborn in 1958. and boats from those earliest 1962 vessel that once belonged
wooden boats was launched at accomplished shipwright, went
While the three vessels for the days. That included overnight to Daubenberger’s family, the
Point Hudson in the to work on a complete rebuild.
Port Townsend families were family camping trips with six or Dorado. In time, Joe was con-
mid-1970s.
built by a professional boat- seven companions spread out in vinced this was the same boat Now all three of the original
In 1962, Joe’s dad Jim builder in Seattle for $2,650 each, tents along the shore. and around 2007 he bought it, Port Townsend Thunderbirds
Daubenberger (“Daubie”), many Thunderbirds were built by Those original three Thunder- fixed it up and brought it back were back home. The complete
owner of a downtown clothing hand by competent amateurs. birds went their separate ways to Port Townsend. homecoming, however,
8 Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port Townsend
wouldn’t come until Joe, Doug Dock at the Port of Port
Bolling and board members of
the Northwest Maritime Center
engineered a swap in 2014 that
Townsend’s Boat Haven, more
than a dozen Thunderbirds are
lined up in slips one after the
Did you
gave Zaca to the NWMC and de-
livered Caveat back to the Abra-
ham family. The transfer was kept
secret from Marge and Ann until
other. Port Townsend’s Thunder-
bird fleet, called Fleet 33, is the
largest and fastest-growing Thun-
derbird fleet in the world, said Joe.
know?
an announcement was made at a • The Wooden Boat
Wooden Boat Festival. Daubenberger saluted the Port Festival is expected to
Townsend Sailing Association occur in person from Sept.
Now two of the three vessels and Fleet 33 as responsible for
10-12 at the Point Hudson
were back in the hands of their the strong and thriving fleet of
Marina in Port Townsend,
original owners. T-Birds in Jefferson County.
barring a major surge in
As a result, the Thunderbird Racing Thunderbirds, Joe noted, coronavirus cases. Big
fleet in Port Townsend is thriv- is not about winning. It’s about boats, small boats,
ing. In the last decade, Thunder- building a community of sailors demonstrations,
bird-only racing has taken root, who like to gather up together be- presentations, stuff for
with races conducted exclu- fore and after races, and about sale, kids building toy
sively for the Thunderbird fleet, welcoming younger people to the boats – it should all be
(instead of a mixed, handi- fold. Joe Daubenberger’s Dorado, on the left, sails neck and neck with two other returning this year,
capped fleet). vessels of the Port Townsend Thunderbird fleet – Thatuna and Coco Solo – according to Jake Beattie,
“That’s what you need to do to during the Classic Mariners Regatta of 2016. Photo by Elizabeth Becker executive director of the
On one of the finger piers of A build the fleet,” said Joe.
festival and the Northwest
Maritime Center.
An oldie some 20 years in Alaska.
• The Northwest School of
but a
The shipwright is not sure when this
Wooden Boatbuilding,
saw was built or when it arrived in
whose main campus is on
goodie
Port Townsend. But by odd coinci-
the waterfront in Port
dence, he recalls using it at the Port
Hadlock, has also leased
when it belonged to another shop
part of the Nomura
some 30 years ago.
At the center of Mark Stout’s boat- Building (once home to
building shop – Scow Bay Boats – in
It was six years ago that Stout the Skookum Jump Rope
the Port of Port Townsend’s Boat company) at the Port of
bought the shop that he now calls
Haven is a huge band saw that has Port Townsend Boat Haven.
Scow Bay Boats from shipwright Ar-
rattled around the Port for many, Some systems classes are
ren Day, who was moving over to
many years. It may be the largest and
the Shipwrights Coop. The saw was expected to be offered
may be the oldest of these giant but
bought separately but came with the there.
essential wooden boatbuilding tools
building. When Stout fired it up, he
in Port Townsend, one of only a
recognized he’d used it in the late • The Molo reservation
handful here.
1980s. system is live for Point
The band saw stands nine feet tall Hudson RV and moorage
from its base, sunk beneath the floor Among the saw’s unique features are slips. Guests can jump
boards of Stout’s busy shop. It is 40 how it cuts bevels or angles. Rather online to make their own
½ inches from one band of the saw than the table tilting, the saw itself reservations by visiting
to the other. tilts. The table stays flat. PointHudsonMarina.com.
Patent dates for the saw, built by It’s still a fine cutter and, like other
Crescent Machine Co. and operated band saws, is the tool of choice for
by a GE motor of the same vintage, cutting large beams from any type of
start in 1905. It carries a stamp of the wood. Today, many decades after it
Alaska Packers Association, indicat- was built, it still helps Stout build
and repair wooden boats in Port
ing it lived part of its life with an Mark Stout uses his decades-old band saw to help repair a
Alaska cannery. Stout himself spent Townsend. wooden boat.
Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port Townsend 9
Wooden
method that involves piecing
the hull sections together with
boats
thin wire, epoxying the seams
then layering the entire hull, in-
side and out with fiberglass
are a
cloth and epoxy.
KidStuff was well-used and
Kelety
took a bit of a beating each
year. Regular off-season main-
tenance typically required a
family new coat of paint inside and out
along with a few coats of var-
affair
nish. Each coat of paint or var-
nish is preceded with a light
sanding. Then any gouges are
filled with epoxy and micro bal-
By Jeff Kelety loons. Rolling out the paint fol-
Our family’s 25-year love affair lowed by brushing it out makes
with wooden boats began in se- quick work.
cret. (Well, in secret from my Nais is an altogether different
wife, Deborah, at any rate. The creature. She’s an honest lap-
kids were all in on the game.) strake boat built before the pop-
Deb had left Myles, Josh and ularity of fiberglass. Each pine
Emma with me for a little plank, or strake, overlaps the
mom’s holiday to help wean our The lap-strake sloop Nais caught the Kelety’s eye when they walked past her on the dock in Port Townsend. preceding strake. Strakes are at-
daughter. “Remember,” she said tached to one another and to oak
on her way out the door, “no frames using copper rivets.
junk food!“ So on our first Myles curled up in the Car-Top- weeks after acquiring KidStuff, bottom paint and sanding There is no bedding, glue or
evening alone, the kids and I sat per pretending to be on their Deb and I came upon a sexy, bright-work. Family sails al- caulking between planks; it’s
around the kitchen table eating first voyage. jet-black, little lap-strake sloop ways included exceptionally just the swelling of the wet
hot dogs and jelly donuts while elegantly set off with a rich, good food. And then there were wood that keeps the water - or at
Deb arrived back in Port off-white sheer-strake. She was the marvelous Port Townsend
I read an advertisement in the least most of it - out of the bilge.
Townsend a few days later - fitted with muted bright but po- Wooden Boat Festivals. These
Leader aloud: surprised but not unhappy to tentially radiant iroko cabin were magical, mystical events Nais has all of its rich iroko
“For sale: Wooden sailing find that she was now the owner sides that faired sleekly all the concocting a spirited brew of cabin sides, main aft bulkhead
dinghy. Complete with sail, mo- of a wooden sailing dinghy. She way to the forward hatch. The wooden boats, lantern lights, and cockpit finished bright,
tor and oars.” came home to find the sleek cockpit was finished bright sea chanties and kids swinging which means the wood is only
Bolger design ensconced in the iroko as well with an undulating from the yard arms. treated with traditional varnish.
“Wow! What do you think, garage. The boat had already
gang? The ad says ‘complete’. ash tiller and a lean, spruce
been sanded and made ready for As our kids grew into adulthood Each year I would have Nais
I’m sure your mother would ap- mast sporting a fractional rig.
a coat of white paint with a sea- their interests naturally ex- hauled out in the Boat Haven to
prove... if she were here.” Such She also sported a for-sale sign.
green sheer strake. panded beyond the confines of refresh her black paint and miles
was the upshot of my reasoning I memorized the number.
Port Townsend and its wooden of varnished iroko, as well as her
as the last of the jelly donuts dis- She was immediately and glee- Soon we had purchased Nais, a boats. But I am forever grateful mahogany toe and rub rails.
appeared. fully christened KidStuff. But sturdy, elegant, 1950 Danish- that their young bones, sinews
the white and green motif The Folkboat also has a canvas-
built Folkboat. The very next and minds were impacted by
Not long thereafter the four of would never grace her winsome covered deck that has to be
day KidStuff’s white and green the sights, sounds, smells and
us ambled home with an 11- hull, as it turned out. meticulously maintained with
paint was exchanged for cans of romance of wooden boats.
foot, home-built, Phil Bolger yearly milky-thin coats of paint.
black and Hatteras off-white.
Car-Topper, complete with sail, Enter Nais We were now a two-wooden- Care and feeding boats Don’t let the paint wear away
motor and oars. The dinghy exposing the raw canvas to wa-
It started with one of the routine boat family.
protruded precariously from the The Bolger CarTopper that be- ter or you’ll soon be recovering
back of the family van as we dock walks through Port From that point on the kids gan it all is a grand, little sailing the entire deck, a very big job.
drove back to town. There Townsend’s Boat Haven that grew up around sawdust, var- dinghy. The boat is constructed
Deb and I took whenever we Because Nais is also a sailboat
wasn’t even room for the back nish, pine tar and sail cloth. primarily of thin, marine ply-
could. On this occasion, two wood using the stitch-and-glue she has a mast, standing rigging
seats to be upright. So Josh and They earned money scraping
10 Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port Townsendand running rigging. All of
these components need to be
maintained. Every other year I
would don my rock-climbing
gear to sand and varnish the
mast in place.
Sanding is done wet with towels
to wipe the debris down the
mast as I lowered myself like a
climber descending Halfdome in
Yosemite. Then I’d go back up
the mast to varnish her top to
bottom, repeating at least twice.
Finally there is last year’s loose
bottom paint to scrape off and
reapply. People say to me,
“That sounds like a lot of
work.” I gently correct, “It is a
lot of time, but it’s not work;
it’s more like art.”
Jeff Kelety took the teak floor of Emma Rose to his shop to varnish them.
They furrow their brows not
sure if I’m joking.
I’m not.
From sail to power
Our current boat, Emma Rose,
Jeff Kelety with Deborah and their children who have grown up
is a 1971 Grand Banks 32.
around wooden boats.
Emma Rose is a seaworthy and
comfortable trawler with a stout
mahogany hull and perhaps charged diesel engine to learn wooden boat. And like any car,
equally important, a blessedly about, as well as networked ma- its engine requires regular main-
warm and reliable diesel heater. rine electronics, the diesel tenance including changing the
You see, on the way back from heater, a refrigerator, solar pan- oil, coolant, filters and the like.
BC’s North Coast two years els, an inflatable tender and, oh
yes, miles and miles of var- It’s not work
ago, Deb and I were sailing our
previous boat, a 1938 Atkin nished teak trim and a var- Does all this sound like a lot of
Eric cutter, in the rain and the nished teak deck. work? Well, as with any signifi-
fog and the cold of Canada’s All of this is in addition to its cant endeavor, it certainly re-
Alert Bay. It was then that Deb, 17,000-pound displacement quires a commanding amount of
drenched from sitting for hours mahogany hull, plywood house time. But to me it doesn’t seem at
out in the exposed cockpit of and fly-bridge. all like work.
our Atkin asked, “Don’t you It feels to me as an enormously
It sounds like a lot, but in reality
think it’s time to reef?” By that gratifying learning experience,
it’s just a number of discreet sys-
she meant get a warmer boat or one that results in the soul-en-
tems and components that you at-
get a new first mate. riching enjoyment of a classic
tend to one piece at a time. Of
We purchased Emma Rose on the course there was a significant wooden boat. And a classic boat,
way back home from Alert Bay. learning curve over our simple I should add, that even as I write
cutter, but I found all of it a this has taken us all the way to
Emma Rose is our first power Southeast Alaska to cruise
unique challenge.
boat and a whole new world for through a mystical world of
me. While there are no longer The care and feeding of Emma glaciers, whales, enchanting fish-
sails, boom, mast and halyards Rose naturally includes all the ing towns and marvelous people.
with which to contend, there is varnish, top-sides paint work and Put back in the main cabin, the newly varnished floor pieces gleam in the
now a 150-horsepower turbo- bottom maintenance of any What could be better? Emma Rose.
Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port Townsend 11❚ What the Port manages An intimate marina surrounded by historic
buildings, with 50 slips and 800 feet of linear dock.
Point Hudson Also an RV park with 48 spots. Home of the annual
Marina Wooden Boat Festival, a haul out, marine trades,
biologists, several restaurants, and a foot-passenger
ferry to the San Juans.
Port
Townsend
Center of the marine trades in Port Townsend and the
region’s largest marina, home to 475 vessels. Fuel, showers,
Boat restroom, pumpout. Over 400 skilled marine trades workers
⑳ Haven employed by 60 businesses. Acres of upland storage used
both by the pros and do-it-yourselfers. Three lifts carry boats
up to 300 tons. Dual boat ramps.
116 Port staff can help with billing questions, and
Tri- Port with public engagement in the public decision-
making by the elected Port of Port Townsend
Area Administration
⑳ Commission.
www.portofpt.com
Discovery
Bay
⑲ Jefferson Co. The new 3,000-foot runway is open, together with
on-call Customs, full aircraft services, fuel, the
Port International renowned PT Aero Museum, and the Spruce Goose
Ludlow Airport Cafe. Some 80 aircraft are home-based here.
104
The Port operates four rural boat launches. They are
at Discovery Bay (Gardiner Beach Road), Port Hadlock
Boat (Lower Hadlock Road), Mats Mats Bay near Port
Launches Ludlow (Verner Avenue) and Quilcene (Linger Longer
Road). There are also dual launches at the Port
Townsend Boat Haven.
Quilcene The Herb Beck Marina in Quilcene offers 50 slips,
Quilcene accommodates liveaboards and offers services such
as pump out, showers and restrooms. Dry storage is
Marina available. Nearby is Coast Seafoods, operating on
③ 307
Port land.
305 Look for the Fall-Winter Newsletter
in November 2021
Published by the Port of Port Townsend, Eron Berg, Executive Director
Content: Olympic Peninsula Communications
Layout & Design: ROHgraphics.com
Brinnon Printing: Port Townsend Leader
12 Summer/Fall 2021 Newsletter from the Port of Port TownsendYou can also read
