Vol. 28, No. 4 - Traditional Small Craft Association

The 

Ash Breeze 

Journal of the Traditional Small Craft Association, Inc. 

Vol. 28 No. 4 Winter 2008 – $4.00 

In This Issue: 

Two Plank Mast • It Floats • Single Up—Follow Up • Sharpies 

In the Wake of Lewis and Clark 

Big River Shuffle • What the Council Thinks 

101 days, 10,000 miles New York to California 

Building Thoreau’s Boat • From the Boatshop

The Ash Breeze 

The Ash Breeze (ISSN 1554-5016) is the 

quarterly journal of the Traditional Small 

Craft Association, Inc. It is published at 

1557 Cattle Point Road, Friday Harbor, 

WA 98250. 

Communications concerning membership 

or mailings should be addressed to: 

P.O. Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355. 

www.tsca.net 

Volume 28 Number 4 

Editor 

Dan Drath 

drathmarine@rockisland.com 

Copy Editors 

Hobey DeStaebler 

Cricket Evans 

Charles Judson 

Jim Lawson 

Editor for Advertising 

Pete Evans 

Editors Emeriti 

Richard S. Kolin 

Sam & Marty King 

David & Katherine Cockey 

Ralph Notaristefano 

Ken Steinmetz 

John Stratton 

Layout with the assistance of 

The Messing About Foundation 

The Traditional Small Craft Association, 

Inc. is a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational 

organization which works to preserve and 

continue the living traditions, skills, lore, 

and legends surrounding working and 

pleasure watercraft whose origins predate 

the marine gasoline engine. It encourages 

the design, construction, and use of these 

boats, and it embraces contemporary variants 

and adaptations of traditional designs. 

TSCA is an enjoyable yet practical link 

among users, designers, builders, restorers, 

historians, government, and maritime 

institutions. 

Copyright 2007 by The Traditional Small 

Craft Association, Inc. 

Editor’s Column 

Many Council members have contributed 

to this issue; their contributions are 

assembled under the title “What the 

Council Thinks.” I hope this collection 

will generate even more discussion and 

provoke thought in the direction of small 

craft concerns. In addition, the views of 

members at large are always of interest 

and will be published as letters to the 

editor or in another form as appropriate. 

Let me hear from you! 

In the preceding months, publishers 

have sent several new books for review 

in these pages. Recently received titles 

are: The Rangeley and its Region, the 

Famous Boat and Lakes of Western 

Maine by Stephen A. Cole, The Journals 

of Constant Waterman by Matthew 

Goldman and Lapstrake Canoes by 

David L. Nichols. Are there any volunteers 

who would do a book review? 

The Fall 2007 issue of the Ash Breeze 

had a legislative alert for the Recreational 

Boating Act of 2007 (H.R. 2550). 

In the following months, I have heard 

little on the subject so have nothing to 

report. Is there a member who would be 

willing to follow-up on this issue and/or 

to watch the national news for similar legislation 

that may affect us? 

The Small Craft Events page is a little 

thin of chapter activities…the usual situation 

in the fall since chapters plan their 

annual calendars at the first of the year. I 

have used the space to show the wealth of 

classes available at the NCMM, home to 

one of our chapters. Eileen and I visited 

NCMM this October and returned impressed. 

More information about the activities 

at NCMM will appear next time. 

Lastly, this issue will start a series on 

the voyage of Altura II. It is member 

Howard Benedict’s adventure with his 

father sailing thousands of miles. The 

story will be continued from time to time 

as space permits. For those who cannot 

wait, visit our web site and look under 

“Member’s Writings.” 

My best regards to you all, 

Dan Drath 

Front Cover 

Sharpie Betsy D sailing on Lake Union in Seattle. Sharpies are long, narrow 

sailboats with flat bottoms, extremely shallow draft, centerboards and straight, flaring 

sides. They are believed to have originated in the New Haven, CT area, and were 

used for the oystering. These were long boats, about 27 feet or so, crewed by one 

man and rigged as a cat-ketch, with three mast steps; one at the bow, one amidships 

and one in between. In light airs, two masts would be stepped at the bow and 

amidships, but in heavier weather a single mast would be stepped in the middle. 

Larger versions, up to 35 feet, were crewed by two men. 

The Center for Wooden Boats is a place where residents of Seattle and the Pacific 

Northwest can watch sharpies and other traditional craft. The public is invited to 

explore maritime history, by rowing, paddling or sailing a diverse collection of 

classic boats, participating in events from the annual Lake Union Wooden Boat 

Festival to regattas to boat shows, taking a free Sunday afternoon sail, attending a 

maritime skills workshop, volunteering, or simply by walking the docks. See the 

story inside this issue. Photo courtesy the Center for Wooden Boats. 

Address Changes: We instruct the Postal Service to forward the journal to your 

new address, but if it is not forwardable, we are charged the full third-class fee (not 

the less expensive bulkrate fee) for its return, along with the address correction fee. 

To help us reduce postage costs and ensure that you don’t miss an issue, kindly 

send your new address to TSCA Secretary, P. O. Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355. 

2 ______________________________________________________ The Ash Breeze – Winter 2008

Gardner Grants 

“To preserve, continue, and expand the achievements, vision and goals of John Gardner by enriching and disseminating 

our traditional small craft heritage.” In 1999, TSCA created the John Gardner Grant program to support projects for which 

sufficient funding would otherwise be unavailable. Eligible projects are those which research, document, preserve, and 

replicate traditional small craft, associated skills, and those who built and used them. Youth involvement is encouraged. 

Proposals for projects ranging from $200 to $2000 are invited for consideration. Grants are awarded competitively and 

reviewed semiannually by the John Gardner Memorial Fund Committee of TSCA, typically in May and October. The source 

of funding is the John Gardner Memorial Endowment Fund. Funding available for projects is determined annually. 

Eligible applicants include anyone who can demonstrate serious interest in, and knowledge of, traditional small craft. 

Affiliation with a museum or academic organization is not required. Projects must have tangible, enduring results which are 

published, exhibited, or otherwise made available to the interested public. Projects must be reported in the Ash Breeze. 

For program details, applications and additional information visit TSCA on the web at www.tsca.net 

Benefactors 

Life Members 

Samuel E. Johnson Sidney S. Whelan, Jr. Jean Gardner Bob Hicks Paul Reagan 

Generous Patrons 

Howard Benedict Willard A. Bradley Lee Caldwell Richard S. Kolin 

Michael S. Olson Gregg Shadduck Zach Stewart Richard B. Weir Capt C. S. Wetherell Joel Zackin 

Rodney & Julie Agar 

Doug Aikins 

Roger Allen 

Rob Barker 

C. Joseph Barnette 

Ellen & Gary Barrett 

Bruce Beglin 

Charles Benedict 

Gary Blackman 

Robert C. Briscoe 

John Burgess 

Richard A. Butz 

Charles Canniff 

Dick & Jean Anne Christie 

David Cockey 

James & Lloyd Crocket 

Thad Danielson 

Stanley R. Dickstein 

Dusty & Linda Dillion 

Terry & Erika Downes 

Dan & Eileen Drath 

Frank C. Durham 

Albert Eatock 

Michael Ellis 

...and Individual Sponsor Members 

John D. England 

David Epner 

Tom Etherington 

Edna Erven 

Friends of the NC Maritime Museum 

Ben Fuller 

Richard & Susan Geiger 

John M. Gerty 

Gerald W. Gibbs 

Jordan E. Gillman 

Raymond Glover 

Les Gunther 

Mr. & Mrs. R. Bruce Hammatt, Jr. 

John A. Hawkinson 

Peter Healey 

Colin O. Hermans 

Steve Hirsch 

Stuart K. Hopkins 

K. E. Jones 

John M. Karbott 

Carl B. & Ruth W. Kaufmann 

Stephen Kessler 

Thomas E. King 

Arthur B. Lawrence, III 

Chelcie Liu 

Jon Lovell 

The Mariners Museum, 

Newport News, VA 

Pete & Susan Mathews 

Charles H. Meyer, Jr. 

Alfred P. Minnervini 

Howard Mittleman 

John S. Montague 

King Mud & Queen Tule 

Mason C. Myers 

Charles D. Nord 

David J. Pape 

W. Lee & Sibyl A. Pellum 

Stephan Perloff 

Ronald Pilling 

Robert Pitt 

Michael Porter 

Ron Render 

Don Rich 

Richard Schubert 

Paul A. Schwartz 

Karen Seo 

Michael O. Severance 

Austin Shiels 

Gary & Diane Shirley 

Charles D. Siferd 

Walter J. Simmons 

Leslie Smith 

F. Russell Smith, II 

Stephen Smith 

John P. Stratton, III 

Robert E. (Bub) Sullivan 

Jackson P. Sumner 

George Surgent 

Benjamin B. Swan 

John E. Symons 

James Thorington 

Joel Tobias 

Ray E. Tucker 

Peter T. Vermilya 

John & Ellen Weiss 

Stephen M. Weld 

Michael D. Wick 

Chip Wilson 

Robert & Judith Yorke 

J. Myron Young 

The Ash Breeze – Winter 2008_________________________________________________________ 3

PINE ISLAND CAMP 

Founded in 1902, Pine Island is a boy’ 

camp that focuses on worthwhile outdoor 

activities. We have 13 wooden boats in use 

daily. No electricity on our island in 

Belgrade Lakes, Maine. Contact Ben Swan: 

benswan@pine island.org. 

Adirondack Chapter TSCA 

Mary Brown, 18 Hemlock Lane, Saranac 

Lake, New York 12983, 518 891-2709, 

mabrown214@hotmail.com 

Annapolis Chapter TSCA 

Sigrid Trumpy, P.O. Box 2054, Annapolis, 

MD 21404, hollace@crosslink.net 

Barnegat Bay TSCA 

Patricia H. Burke, Director, Toms River 

Seaport Society, PO Box 1111, Toms River, 

NJ 08754, 732-349-9209, 

www.tomsriverseaport.com 

Cleveland Amateur 

Boatbuilding and Boating 

Society (CABBS) 

Hank Vincenti, 7562 Brinmore Rd, 

Sagamore Hills, OH 44067, 330-467-6601, 

quest85@windstream.net 

Connecticut River 

Oar and Paddle Club 

Jon Persson, 17 Industrial Park Road Suite 

5, Centerbrook, CT 06409, 860-767-3303, 

jon.persson@snet.net 

Delaware River TSCA 

Tom Shephard, 482 Almond Rd, Pittsgrove, 

NJ 08318, tsshep41556@aol.com 

Down East Chapter 

John Silverio, 105 Proctor Rd, Lincolnville, 

ME 04849, work 207-763-3885, home 207- 

763-4652, camp: 207-763-4671, 

jsarch@midcoast.com 

Floating the Apple 

Mike Davis, 400 West 43rd St., 32R, New 

York, NY 10036, 212-564-5412, 

floapple@aol.com 

Florida Gulf Coast TSCA 

Roger B. Allen, Florida Maritime Museum, 

PO Box 100, 4415 119th St W, Cortez, FL 

34215, 

941-708-4935 or Cell 941-704-8598, 

Roger.Allen@ManateeClerk.com 

TSCA Chapters 

Join or start a chapter to enjoy the fellowship and skills which can be gained around traditional small craft 

Friends of the North Carolina 

Maritime Museum TSCA 

Brent Creelman, 315 Front Street, Beaufort, 

NC 28516, 252-728-7317, 

maritime@ncmail.com 

John Gardner Chapter 

Russ Smith, Univ of Connecticut, Avery 

Point Campus, 1084 Shennecossett Road, 

Groton, CT 06340, 860-536-1113, 

fruzzy@hotmail.com 

Lone Star Chapter 

Howard Gmelch, The Scow Schooner 

Project, POBox 1509, Anahuac, TX 77514, 

409-267-4402, scowschooner@earthlink.net 

Long Island TSCA 

Myron Young, PO Box 635, Laurel, NY 

11948, 631-298-4512 

Lost Coast Chapter - Mendocino 

Stan Halvorsen, 31051 Gibney Lane, Fort 

Bragg, CA 95437, 707-964-8342, 

Krish@mcn.org 

Michigan Maritime 

Museum Chapter 

Pete Mathews, Secretary, PO Box 100, 

Gobles, MI 49055, 269-628-4396, 

canoenut@bciwildblue.com 

Oregon Coots 

John Kohnen, PO Box 24341, Eugene, OR 

97402, 541-688-2826 

jkohnen@boat-links.com 

North Shore TSCA 

Dave Morrow, 63 Lynnfield Str, Lynn, MA 

01904, 781-598-6163 

Patuxent Small Craft Guild 

William Lake, 11740 Asbury Circle, Apt 

1301, Solomons, MD 20688, 410-394-3382, 

wlake@comcast.net 

Pine Lake Small Craft Assoc. 

Sandy Bryson, Sec., 333 Whitehills Dr, East 

Lansing, MI 48823, 517-351-5976, 

sbryson@msu.edu 

Puget Sound TSCA 

Gary Powell, 15805 140th Ct. SE, Renton, 

WA 98058, 425-255-5067, 

powellg@amazon.com 

Sacramento TSCA 

Todd Bloch, 122 Bemis Street, 

San Francisco, CA 94131, 415-971-2844, 

todd.sb@comast.net 

Scajaquada TSCA 

Charles H. Meyer, 5405 East River, Grand 

Island, NY 14072, 716-773-2515, 

chmsails@aol.com 

SE Michigan 

John Van Slembrouck, Stoney Creek 

Wooden Boat Shop, 1058 East Tienken 

Road, Rochester Hills, MI 48306, 

stoneycreek@stoneycreekboatshop.com 

South Jersey TSCA 

George Loos, 53 Beaver Dam Rd, Cape 

May Courthouse, NJ 08210, 

609-861-0018, georgeowlman@aol.com 

South Street Seaport Museum 

John B. Putnam, 207 Front Street, New 

York, NY 10038, 212-748-8600, Ext. 663 

days, www.southstseaport.org 

TSCA of Wisconsin 

James R. Kowall, c/o Door County 

Maritime Museum, 120 N Madison Ave, 

Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235, 920-743-4631 

Organizing 

Eastern Shore Chapter 

Mike Moore,5220 Wilson Road, Cambridge, 

MD 21613, estsca@mail.com 


Two Plank Mast 

An alternate method 

for a hollow mast 

By Phil Maynard. 

I needed a 12' stayed mast for my last 

project. I realized that stacking a 2x and a 

1x yields 2-1/4" which is a good diameter 

for this length. Cutting a 60 degree V 

groove in the 2x and then gluing on the 

1x would get me a simple hollow mast, 

not as efficient or elegant as an 8 sided 

bird’s mouth, it’s easier to make and close 

in performance for a short mast without 

the trouble of making those eight tapered 

staves, (and it’s in keeping with my 

experimenter’s heart). 

Start by drawing a 2-1/4" circle made 

up from 1-1/2 and 3/4 pieces. A centered 

triangle with 1-1/4" sides will give 3/4" 

staves. I chose to taper the top four feet 

down to 1-3/4" at the tip. Then the tricky 

part: laying out the V cut. 

Pre-taper the 2x blank to facilitate cutting 

the 60 degree groove. Start with the 

12' by 1-1/2" x 2-1/4" stock. Taper the top 

four feet to 1-3/4" width. Pre-tapering 

yields the proper tapered core cut as you 

change the depth. I suggest a trial run on 

whitewood scrap to economize on your 

good Douglas stock. I drew sections at 8, 

9, 10, 11 and 12 feet to double check and 

measure the changing core. Set the fence 

15/32" from the blade. Set the blade to 30 

degrees and 1" depth measured perpendicular 

to the table. This depth is to be 

reduced as it traverses the taper until it is 

5/8" at the top of the mast. Then I marked 

Simple two piece hollow mast, maximum diameter: 2-1/4 inches 

If you want it tapered, first taper the blank in width, then cut out the core. Set the 

blade 1/2" clear of the fence and 30 degrees with 1" depth which is reduced to 5/8" as 

it traverses the taper. Do not over cut the depth, instead slightly undercut, break out 

the core and smooth the apex of the V by hand. Save the core cutout for solid sections 

at each end and anywhere along the length if you want solid section for fastenings. 

Glue these in prior to gluing the 3/4" face on. The glue line has a small 1/8" curve 

over the tapered section to keep the hollow cutout straight. This is due to a different 

layout approach for the 2-1/4" and 1-1/4" sections. Paint the inside with epoxy at glue 

up. As seen from the core’s perspective this is a triangular mast with 3/8" staves. You 

can leave that extra wood on to keep it round or save some weight and finish it somewhat 

triangular. I used a 1-1/2" hole saw on each end to cut a landing for a 3/4" stainless 

steel ring to secure stays and a tenon for the mast step. 

the blank with the distance and number 

of saw depth turns needed along the taper 

as I pushed the piece through the saw. 

More experienced woodworkers could 

have a simpler way of approaching this, 

but this worked for me. Do not over cut 

the depth, instead slightly undercut, breaking 

out the core and smoothing the apex 

of the cutout by hand. Save the core cutout 

as you will want sections filled in again 

at top and bottom and anywhere along the 

length solid sections are desired for fastenings. 

Glue these sections in prior to 

gluing the 3/4" side on. 

Note: The glue line has a small 1/8" 

curve over the tapered section to keep the 

hollow cutout straight. This is due to the 

core layout relative to the 2x and the 1x 

as it changes over the length of the taper. 

Test the springback by clamping at the 

transition and at each end so that, with 

just those clamps, you 

achieve the 1/8" curve. 

This will approximate 

the required curve at 

glue up. 

My finished shape is 

somewhat triangular, 

because the core of the 

apex is only 3/8" to the 

outside. From an engineering 

perspective this 

is a triangular mast 

with 3/8" staves with 

extra wood on to make 

it round. You could 

leave the top round or 

save weight aloft by finishing 

it somewhat triangular. 

Using a 1-1/2" hole 

saw at the top cuts a 

landing for a 3/4" SS 

ring strap that secures 

the stays. At the bottom 

it makes a tenon for the maststep. • 

Boat for Sale 

19' Banks dory built cedar planking on 

oak frames and is in good condition. There 

are four 9' oars also from Nova Scotia. The 

knock-out seats are included. I’m asking 

$1000 for her but will entertain offers. 

Located in Michigan. 

Contact David Green, 269-673-4458 

david.green2@verizon.net • 


Gardner Grant Follow Up 

It Floats 

By Pete Mathews 

Saturday, August 25, 2007 was a big day 

for the Michigan Maritime Museum 

Chapter of TSCA. It was our second onthe-water 

social event of the summer. But, 

more importantly, it marked the launching 

of the brand new Au Sable River Boat, 

the completion of the terms of the Gardner 

Grant that made it possible, and the 

successful completion of our first Chapter 

project. 

In doing this, the project, and the boat, 

provided an impetus to get the chapter off 

the ground, and, it appears, momentum 

to move us on to the next project. Most of 

the chapter members are boat builders and/ 

or repairers in their own right. But we have 

learned that working together on a common 

project, as well as on our own 

projects, is an educational experience for 

all of us. In the “Wow, we did it, what do 

we do next” session immediately after the 

launching, we decided that we would continue 

building Chapter projects. What to 

build will always be the source of a lively 

discussion. Of even greater import is, what 

do we do with these boats after they are 

built, besides fill up someone’s barn with 

lovely little boats. Selling boats by auctioning 

or raffling them generally doesn’t 

bring a fair price for the boat unless the 

right buyer is found. So the plan is to build 

small boats that can be used on the 

Museum’s waterfront by the members of 

Launching of the Au Sable River Boat 

by the Michigan Maritime Chapter. 

President David Ludwig doing the honors. 

First taste of water in the Black River, 

South Haven, MI. She was not leaking! 

both the Museum and the Chapter. We 

would like to pattern this program after 

similar programs at other museums. 

Next on the agenda for the chapter is to 

finish the repair of a 1936 Old Town 15/ 

50 model canoe that has been used at the 

museum for canoe repair classes. Once 

completed it will join the other small boats 

we hope to make available for use on the 

waterfront. We will then start construction 

on another small boat, perhaps not as 

Single Up— 

Follow Up 

An open letter by Harry Broady 

Pete Mathews (in the stern) and David 

Ludwig (taking his leisure in the bow) on 

the maiden voyage of the Au Sable River 

Boat. 

To All: 

Today is Columbus day—The day of my 

decision. 

~The Anchor is down and holding— 

everything is secured ~ 

I am ashore and happily settled with my 

wonderful memories and dreams of so 

many, many happy and exciting moments 

of having been out on the water ~ feeling 

the wind ~ drifting ~ hanging on for dear 

life ~ the excitement of rain ~ sun ~ cold 

~ salty spray ~ and ~ looking up at a starhistoric 

as our reproduction of the Au 

Sable River Boat, but of more use to a 

wider range of people, and, we hope, introduce 

more folks to the pleasures of small 

traditional boats. 

The Au Sable River Boat will now join 

the Museum’s collection as a usable vessel, 

while its progenitor, the original 1912 

Arthur Wakely river boat, remains in the 

museum’s collection as an artifact. 

We at the Michigan Maritime Museum 

Chapter, TSCA, are very grateful to and 

wish to thank: David Cockey, The Gardner 

Grant Committee, the Board of Directors 

and the entire Traditional Small 

Craft Association for making this possible. 

Pete Mathews is the secretary of the 

Michigan Maritime Museum Chapter and 

can be reached at: 

canoenut@bciwildblue.com • 

lit sky, trying to sleep in Nord Vinden. ~ 

Folks, I will be in good hands. 

My sincerest thanks to All for your kind 

thoughts and understanding of a moment 

in a persons life that is very dear to his 

heart. 

~ AND ~ 

REST ASSURED ~ MY WHISTLE 

WILL NEVER DIE OR FADE AWAY 

AND WHEN OCCASION CALLS, WIII 

SOUND LOUD AND CLEAR ~. 

Thank you All. 

Harry Broady 

Puget Sound Chapter • 


Sharpies 

By John M Watkins 

I met my first sharpie when I was twenty. 

My sister Suzanna and I bought it from a 

friend of mine, Pete Neiman, who had built 

it from plans he found in American Small 

Sailing Craft, by Howard Chapelle. She 

was an 18-foot sharpie skiff, flat bottomed, 

hard chined, with a tucked-up stern that 

allowed her to carry heavy loads without 

sinking the transom, and a leg-of-mutton 

sprit rig. 

I stripped her and repainted her. When 

we launched the boat she leaked a bit, but 

we weren’t too bothered by that. I learned 

that she could sail onto a beach even to 

windward. The old-fashioned centerboard, 

showing a triangular section below the water, 

kicked up gradually, and the skeg protected 

the shallow rudder. Because of the 

tidal range in Puget Sound, we usually anchored 

out when we were cruising. Since 

the boat leaked, and had no floor boards, 

we slept on air mattresses. Often, I would 

wake up to find myself almost afloat on 

my air mattress in the morning. I rigged a 

black plastic sheet as a boom tent, which 

provided plenty of privacy. It’s hard to 

think of a better beach cruiser. 

Where did they come from? The oyster 

industry in New Haven, CT. In the 18th 

and early 19th century, oyster fishermen 

had used dugout canoes, which were shallow, 

easily paddled, and easy to make. 

When the bottoms started to wear out from 

being dragged over the oyster beds, they 

would replace the bottoms with planks 

running across the canoe. By the 1840s, 

they were running out of big trees for making 

canoes, so they needed a vessel that 

could be planked. Flatiron skiffs were 

available, but were small and limited in 

carrying capacity. Enlarging them while 

keeping the proportions the same yielded 

awkward boats, but making them longer 

while keeping them narrow worked better. 

Reuel Parker, who wrote The Sharpie 

Book, says the first sharpie was Telegraph, 

built in 1848. At the time, Telegraph would 

have been a high-tech name, like Jet in 

the 1950s or Laser in the 1970s. It was 

symbolic of speed, and something shockingly 

new. 

It introduced a boat with sharp lines and 

a rig not often seen before then, the legof-mutton 

sail set on an unstayed mast, 

with a sprit boom. The tapered mast could 

bend, spilling the wind in gusts. The sprit 

boom could be light, because it had minimal 

bending forces on it. It was selfvanging, 

and because sheeting the sail in 

did not have to also pull it down, sheeting 

forces were less. A hull that weighed a 

couple thousand pounds could carry several 

thousand pounds of payload. Construction 

was simple enough that many 

fishermen could build their own boats. The 

type spread up and down the coast, often 

supplanting local types less suited to their 

owners’ needs. In 1881, Ralph Munroe 

had a sharpie built in New York to his 

specifications and sailed it down the coast 

to Florida. The boat could operate safely 

in the open sea, run breaking waves on 

the river bars and distribute telegraph 

messages and packages to people living 

in the shallow estuaries. That one boat 

could meet all these challenges was considered 

remarkable. The Colleen Wagner 

is a replica of the type of sharpie Munroe 

favored for this work, narrower on the 

bottom, wider at the deck, higher-sided 

than the oyster boats and double ended, a 

feature that helped in a following sea. 

Many boats have too much buoyancy in a 

following sea, burying their bows and 

making the boats inclined to broach, and 

Munroe may 

have had this in 

mind when he 

chose this shape. 

What makes 

sharpies extremely 

useful 

for the Center 

for Wooden 

Boats is that in 

addition to their 

historical significance, 

they 

can carry a large 

group of people 

and are maneuverable 

enough 

to land under 

sail on our 

crowded docks. 

Sailing sharpies 

is different 

enough from 

sailing modern sloops that we have found 

that taking someone out one day on the 

boats then considering them checked out 

doesn’t work. In an emergency, people 

who haven’t spent enough time in the 

boats slip back into the practices that work 

on sloops. Therefore, we require people 

to go out several times before they can 

check out on the boats. 

It is those differences that make the 

boats so much fun to sail. On most sharpies, 

the rudder fine-tunes your steering, 

but the bulk of the steering is done with 

the sails. Low-aspect balanced rudders are 

not as effective as many other types, but 

they are necessary for the jobs sharpies 

were intended to do. The two-sail rig found 

on most sharpies, with sails almost the 

same size, are not extremely efficient to 

windward, but they are efficient for steering 

the boat. You can tack these boats with 

no way on, you can turn them in their own 

length and sometimes you can slide them 

sideways into a mooring spot. If you steer 

them with the sails, you can do so from 

anywhere on the boat. I’ve had spontaneous 

applause from the passengers on occasion 

after a demonstration of the boats’ 

maneuvering capabilities. You have to 

think more about what you are doing when 

you sail these boats, but they will reward 

you for it. • 

Thames River, New London, CT. Enough to give the small craft 

boater pause. The river is 1/4 mile wide at this point. 

Shown here is the 138,000-ton, 1,020-foot cruise ship Explorer 

of the Seas, the largest vessel ever to have been in New London 

harbor; fortunately, the channel and turning basin were dredged 

for large submarines, so the 29-foot draft was not a major concern. 

The 208-foot windage edges out the mast height of larger tall ships 

which have visited in past years. Note the kayaks at the lower left. 

Photo by our roving reporter and past Ash Breeze Editor, John 

Stratton. 


In the Wake of 

Lewis and Clark 

By Pete Evans 

Seven members of the Sacramento 

TSCA recently sought to follow in the 

wake of Lewis and Clark through the 

Gorge of the mighty Columbia River. They 

did not succeed. Wind, current, waves, and 

rain softened their resolve and the flesh 

pots of Cascade Locks and Hood River 

undid them. It was a noble experiment, in 

the true Jeffersonian tradition, but the ultimate 

conclusion was, “If Lewis and Clark 

could do it—well, let ‘em.” 

Originally there were eight members in 

the party—John and Lynn DeLapp, Don 

Rich and Sheryl Speck, Pete and Cricket 

Evans, Bill Doll and Jim Lawson—but on 

the morning of departure, a phone call 

from home informed Pete and Cricket that 

their dog, Black Bart, had been injured in 

an automobile accident. Cricket took the 

next plane home from Portland and the 

trip started under a bit of a cloud. (At the 

time of this writing, Black Bart is recovering 

well.) 

The plan was to launch at the port of 

Camas-Washougal and go some 70 miles 

upriver to The Dalles. The decision to go 

upriver was based on information that 

currents in the Columbia were generally 

not more than 2-3 knots and the prevailing 

summer wind was upriver and strong. 

It was thought that three rowing craft with 

auxiliary sail (and one with an outboard) 

plus Jim Lawson’s motor launch, Sunny 

Day, should do the job. We would be sailing 

most of the way. No sweat! 

But as that fine Scot, Robert Burns, once 

noted, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ 

men/Gang aft a-gley.” Or in the American 

vernacular, “S— happens!” Anyway, 

the first two days were OK. True, the 

upriver wind was not as strong as predicted 

and the down river current was a bit stronger 

than anticipated, but all parties made 

the 7.5 miles from Camas to Rooster Rock 

on day one and the 13 miles from Rooster 

Rock to Beacon Rock on day two without 

incident or undue hardship. At both campsites 

there was good food, good music (two 

guitars, one fiddle, and an accordion), and 

good spirits, although some slurs were cast 

on a wine list featuring Two-buck Chuck. 

And on the afternoon of day two we arrived 

at Beacon Rock State Park early 

enough for five of us to climb to the top of 

the Rock (853 ft. high) for one of the most 

spectacular views in the Columbia River 

Gorge. (The trail itself was equally spectacular. 

Constructed in 1919, it literally 

hangs from the sheer, vertical walls of the 

Rock and works upward in a series of 

about 100 closely spaced switchbacks.) So 

ended day two. 

On day three, though, the going got 

tough, and the tough started to have second 

thoughts. The docks and campsite at 

Beacon Rock, some three miles downriver 

from the Bonneville Dam, are located on 

a relatively small channel that diverts 

water around an island on the Washington 

side of the Columbia. The current 

through this channel turned out to be considerably 

more than 2-3 knots, more like 

5-6! Even with a good following breeze, 

the boats could hardly move. Don and 

Sheryl quickly dropped sail, tied on to the 

DeLapp’s boat (which had a 2 horse 

Honda) and made it to the Bonneville lock 

slowly but without mishap. Pete Evans was 

a bit slow in dropping sail, with consequences 

that were decidedly lubberly: 

when he dropped the tiller lines in order 

to tend to halyards and sprit, the boat 

swung ‘round in the current, lines 

whipped and tangled (when they weren’t 

underfoot), oars slithered about, sails 

snapped in the wind—there was some profanity—all 

of which occurred while the 

dory drifted down on a couple of fishermen 

in an outboard who were either enjoying 

the scene or thinking they might 

have to help. Whatever their purpose, they 

were definitely in the way until they decided 

to get out of the way by turning their 

engine up full throttle and roaring by about 

ten feet from the dory, thereby setting up 

a wake that kicked an oar over the side 

where it rapidly disappeared downstream. 

Meanwhile, back on the Sunny Day, Bill 

Doll and Jim Lawson were standing by, 

waiting to take the dory under tow. In spite 

of all, the tow was eventually effected, the 

oar retrieved, and the two boats headed 

out of the back channel into the main 

stream of the Columbia. Even with a following 

wind and the Sunny Day’s engine 

reved up full, the tow crept out of the “protected” 

back water at about one mph over 

the bottom. Once into the big river, the 

current did dissipate somewhat and the 

two boats proceeded at maybe 2-3 mph 

until they arrived at the holding dock below 

the lock at Bonneville Dam. Passing 

through the lock—free of wind and river 

current—was impressive but comparatively 

peaceful. 

It was three and a half more miles on 

the Columbia River from Bonneville Dam 

to our destination for the night, the town 

of Cascade Locks. The afternoon wind was 

up, short, steep swells were cresting at 

close intervals and whitecaps covered the 

river from shore to shore. When cut loose 

from the DeLapp’s tow, Don and Sheryl 

temporarily lost an oar and started drifting 

downstream toward the Bonneville 

spillway. When cut loose from Sunny Day, 

Pete Evans went through some more wild 

gyrations while setting the dory’s jib. But 

in time, the oar was retrieved, the jib set, 

everyone more or less adjusted to the new 

situation, and four small boats labored 

slowly upriver under darkening skies. 

Thus day three ended at the town of 

Cascade Locks, which, fortunately, provided 

a sheltered marina and a motel for 

the night. Fortunately, for when we awoke 

in the morning, it was raining and rain 

was predicted for another 24 hours! The 

plan for day four scheduled 11.5 miles on 

the river followed by a night of camping 

out at Viento State Park (the only camp 

site that had not been seen when planning 

the trip earlier in the year). The decision, 

therefore, was easily reached at breakfast 

to forgo the anticipated pleasures of such 

a day—and night out—and to portage to 

the next motel, at the town of Hood River. 

The portage required getting back to 

Camas to pick up our cars and trailers. 

First, we walked across the somewhat ostentatiously 

named “Bridge of the Gods” 

from Cascade Locks to the Washington 

side of the river. Then, after a brief wait at 

the side of the road, we caught the local 

stage for a 30 mile ride back to Camas— 

for a price of 50 cents a head! The only 

other passengers were two elderly gentlemen 

who lived in a trailer camp along the 

way. Apparently regular customers, they 

appeared to be “rowing with only one oar 

in the water,” but they were certainly 

happy for all that and provided good com- 


pany on this grey and drizzly morning. 

Furthermore, after dropping them off, the 

driver of the stage cheerfully modified his 

route to take us right to our cars at Camas. 

Such hospitality! A quick lunch and 

we were on our way back to Cascade Locks 

for the big portage. As might be expected, 

John DeLapp was ahead of everyone else. 

He, and Bill Doll and Jim Lawson managed 

to haul out and get their boats secured 

on their trailers before the 

monsoon—no, the typhoon!—hit. The 

others were not so lucky. The sky opened, 

the wind struck, and the rain assumed the 

horizontal. Pete vouched he hadn’t been 

so wet since the time he capsized in San 

Francisco Bay. In spite of the soaking, 

though, he decided to stop at Viento State 

Park while on the way to Hood River, just 

to see what we had missed by electing to 

portage. Whether it was the gods of the 

above mentioned bridge or some other 

gods, surely somebody was looking out for 

us, because Viento State Park would have 

been a disaster—no shelter, no place to 

bring the boats ashore, and a venturi for 

Gorge winds (which might explain how 

the park got its name, Viento). Anyway, 

the motel at Hood River was a welcome 

sight, and the day was well capped with a 

fine dinner at the Full Sail Brewery—obviously 

the only sail worth hoisting on 

such a day. 

Breakfast on day five was a quiet affair. 

The mighty Columbia flowed, strong and 

dark, just beyond the restaurant’s big plate 

glass window. The weather was overcast, 

threatening but not—at the moment— 

raining. If we stuck to our plan, we would 

relaunch the boats, proceed 11 more miles 

up the river, camp out for the night at 

Meyer State Park, and then have one more 

day on the river to complete our journey 

to The Dalles. What to do?! The mood was 

glum. Small talk focused on the dinner 

last night, the quality of the breakfast this 

morning, the sight of a tug pushing a big 

log raft downriver, the prediction of more 

rain and heavy wind, everything but what 

was on the minds of all of us—whether or 

not to spend two more days and a night 

on the river. Obviously everyone was waiting 

for a decision from our nominally fearless 

leader—yeah, that’s right, Pete Evans, 

the one who had come up with the idea 

for this trip. Pete put down his coffee, 

cleared his throat, hesitated for a moment, 

head down, to achieve the proper dramatic 

effect, then looked up and said, “Let’s get 

the hell out of here.” Consensus was immediate. 

Spirits lifted. We paid our bill, 

shook hands formally all ‘round, went to 

our rooms, packed up, and in about half 

an hour were on our way back to California. 

Okay, so Lewis and Clark did make it 

all the way back to Missouri or wherever 

they were going. They had bigger boats 

and a lot more guys. Whether they had 

enough sense to come in out of the rain, I 

don’t suppose they had much choice in the 

matter. There were no distractions like the 

Full Sail Brewery, a soft bed at the Hood 

River Inn, etc. Shooting Grizzly bears 

maybe. I don’t really think they were any 

tougher, those guys. Let’s face it. Times 

were different then, and if Lewis and Clark 

really wanted to do it, well, let ‘em. • 

Kent Welcker’s 

Boat 

By John Weiss 

I met Kent Welcker at Boat Haven marina 

in Port Townsend to launch and sail 

his new dory Lively to the Port Townsend 

Wooden Boat Festival. My first reaction 

on arrival was “WOW! What a beautiful 

boat!” Kent really does fine finish and 

detail work! My next reaction as we set 

sail at the end of the breakwater was 

“WOW! What a FAST boat!” With the 8- 

12 knot breeze, Lively was stable, balanced, 

and fast. 

Captain Kent had to put on his jacket 

because he wasn’t doing any work—the 

tiller tamer kept her on course for several 

minutes at a time, and the dual mainsheet 

setup was self-tending through tacks! 

Indeed, Oughtred + Welcker = Beauty 

+ Speed 

We spent almost five hours (not including 

a brief stop at the Boat Festival for 

lunch) sailing in perfect sailing weather 

with 100+ sailing vessels from Optimist 

prams to the Lady Washington, including 

rig types I hadn’t seen (or noticed) before. 

Kent had a bit of a problem staying with 

the fleet during the 3 PM “parade,” because 

we kept leaving them behind! 

At the end of the day we sailed alongside 

Grace B, a relatively long whaleboat 

rigged as a spritsail cat-ketch, with about 

eight people aboard. We kept up with them 

on the upwind beat, maintaining about 

four knot at 70 degree to the wind, and 

quickly accelerating to 5.5 knot on a reach. 

As we rowed to the dock after striking 

sails, one of them commented, “I think you 

violated some waterline length rules out 

there!” 

What a GREAT day on the water! 

About the Author 

John is our webmaster, Chapter Coordinator, 

Membership Chairman frequent 

and tireless contributor to TSCA. He may 

be reached at: 

jrweiss98155@comcast.net • 

Kent Welcker’s boat. Iain Oughtred’s design, John Dory. 


Editor’s note: Early in 

September, all of the Council 

members and recent presidents 

were invited to contribute to an 

Ash Breeze piece, “What the 

Council Thinks.” The 

contributions that I received 

appear in the following columns 

in the order they were received. 

TSCA at the 

WoodenBoat Show 

in Mystic 

By Chauncy Rucker 

TSCA was represented this July at the 

WoodenBoat Show in Mystic, Connecticut. 

In our booth we added eight new 

TSCA members, sold $281 in wares, 

handed out lots of TSCA brochures, and 

talked small boats with many, many visitors. 

Several TSCA members were involved 

in making the booth a success. John Weiss 

sent us two burgees, Flat Hammock Press 

came through with copies of the Ash 

Breeze. Tom Shephard delivered a great 

array of wares for the show. Myron Young 

helped manage the booth and Andy Strode 

did much of the heavy lifting and spent 

quite a bit of time in the booth. In addition, 

several John Gardner TSCA members 

put in a day or more in the booth. 

The show this year was so successful 

that WoodenBoat plans to hold their 2008 

show in Mystic. It will present another 

good opportunity for people to learn more 

about the Traditional Small Craft Association. 

Chauncy Rucker is a member of the 

John Gardner Chapter. 

Observations on 

Marshall Beach 

By Clifford Cain 

For those unfamiliar with the annual 

trip schedule for the Sacramento Chapter 

of TSCA, one trip that is always scheduled 

for September is the Row and 

Campout at Marshall Beach on Tomales 

Bay. This involves showing up with your 

boat on the mainland side of the Bay, 

launching, loading up with enough camping 

gear to get you through the weekend, 

rowing a few miles to the beach, setting 

up camp and through it all, knowing that 

on Sunday morning, it all must be done 

over again in reverse. The whole process 

is sufficiently arduous to satisfy that masochistic 

streak that must run deep in the 

TSCA psyche. 

Some start the weekend as early as 

Thursday and some continue on through 

Monday. How long has this event been 

going on? At least since 1994 when 

Marian and I became TSCA members but 

it predated our joining by some years. Is it 

a great event? Absolutely!! Camaraderie 

with old friends you have missed. A vast 

fleet of wooden boats (about 30 this year) 

to study, discuss and praise. Morning 

walks and afternoon sails and rows. A 

Saturday evening gourmet dinner featuring 

a huge pot of Bouillabaisse and an 

evening or two spent round the campfire 

singing to our remarkably talented musician 

members. And tucked away amid all 

the fun and frolic, we manage to spend a 

few serious moments on our annual membership 

meeting for the election of officers 

and similar topics of great gravity. 

But what I really wanted to talk about 

was the barely perceptible but very real 

technological creep in camp gear. One 

more bit of evidence that evolution invariably 

takes us from the simple to the complex. 

Back in the late 90s when Marian and I 

made our first trips, we could throw our 

gear into our 14 foot wherry and once on 

the beach, set up our crawl in tent, unfurl 

our skinny little Therma-rest mattresses, 

roll out the sleeping bags and we were in 

business. A few concessions to the car 

camping mode; an ice chest and the ubiquitous 

folding camp chair pretty well made 

camp. And of course, the ice chest top was 

the table where we cooked on a white gas 

primus. 

Well—how things have changed. All for 

the better I must admit; more fun, more 

comfort. The morning coffee pot has 

grown larger and now sits on a three 

burner propane stove of gleaming stainless 

steel. The early morning riser can now 

stroll from tent to tent, refilling as he goes. 

National Council 

Members 

2005-2008 

Bill Covert 

Delaware River Chapter 

Richard Geiger 

Sacramento Chapter 

Chauncy Rucker 

John Gardner Chapter 

2006-2009 

Clifford Cain 


David Cockey 

Southeast Michigan Chapter 

Chuck Meyer 

Scajaquada Chapter 

2007-2010 

Bob Pitt 

Gulf Coast Chapter 

Todd Bloch 


Jim Swallow 

Lost Coast Chapter 

And if just plain coffee isn’t good enough, 

he can stroll to the tent with the camp stove 

espresso machine and try his luck there. 

As fast as the hi-tech sporting goods 

designers think up new stuff, Marshall 

Beach is right behind, sporting the latest 

in folding tables, roll up table tops, and 

even an “out of a bag” folding hammock. 

Stand up inside tents are more the norm 

than the exception and the one-inch 

Therma-rest has given way to the eight 

and nine inch thick blow up mattress 

which unfortunately has the longevity of 

at least one camping trip. 

Believe me, I’m not complaining. I like 

all this camp comfort and so do my aged 

joints. We don’t sleep on a Therma-rest 

any more either. It’s just that; well, what 

can I possibly bring to next year’s Marshall 

Beach that will turn a few heads. Right 

now I’m torn between a solar operated 

permeable-membrane water maker (we 

have to bring our fresh water with us) or a 

bicycle powered margarita mixer. Don’t 

tell anyone. I want it to be a surprise. 

Clifford and Marian Cain are members 

of the Sacramento Chapter. 

continued at the right 


Primary Purpose 

of TSCA 

By Jim Swallow 

To get some inspiration for writing this 

article, I went to the vice president of our 

local TSCA chapter, Dusty Dillon. He really 

hit the nail on the head. He reminded 

me that if we wonder what the TSCA 

should be “doing” or in what direction it 

should be headed, we need look no farther 

than John Gardener and his philosophy. 

This is what we are trying to do here 

at the Lost Coast Chapter, and is what I 

observe the organization at large is doing. 

John Gardner’s greatest legacy is to keep 

alive the history of boats and their builders 

and, especially, to provide encouragement 

and support to those who would build 

them. Although he focused on “traditional” 

boatbuilding techniques (defined 

by him as the designs and methods that 

existed at the end of the nineteenth century), 

he did not intend to restrict himself 

or others to one type of boat or 

boatbuilding technique. In fact, he clearly 

recognized and stated in his writings that 

newer techniques and materials are part 

of the boatbuilding craft. “Innovation is 

traditional,” he said. We are, therefore, 

advised to be supportive of purely the historic 

through the avant garde. He encourages 

us to be a clearing house of sound 

advice, encouragement, as well as being 

guides to hard-to-find gear. He admonished 

us to be mindful of protecting our 

health in the boat shop. 

Finally, Gardner recognized that rowing 

and sailing as a fisherman’s way of 

life is forever given up to the engine. Rowing 

and sailing are recreational pursuits 

very much worthy of the traditional small 

craft. He bemoaned the fact that people 

have forgotten how to row and how to sail. 

Certainly, the Traditional Small Craft Association 

must, as one of its primary efforts, 

encourage and organize plenty of 

opportunities for members and the public 

at large to engage in the wholesome activities 

of rowing and sailing. This, of 

course, includes promoting safety and being 

a positive contributor to governmental 

agencies that regulate water craft and 

safety. Since the medium of communication 

and promotion in the early 21st century 

is the Internet, we need to use it liberally 

and creatively. 

Gardner is credited with revitalizing the 

building and use of small watercraft in 

North America. It is the primary purpose 

of the TSCA to carry on and to expand 

this effort. 

Jim Swallow is a member of the Lost 

Coast Chapter. 

What I Think 

By John Weiss 

I “retired” from the Council for the second 

time last June, but Dan invited me to 

throw in my two cents as well. 

At chapter messabouts and meetings, I 

have often been asked, by old members as 

well as new, “What does TSCA National 

do for us?” The question is sometimes followed 

by, “Do they do anything besides 

publish a magazine?” I have to admit, I 

would have been hard pressed to give a 

good answer prior to my tenure on the 

Council, because much of what they do is 

in the background, unseen by the general 

membership. However, I usually break the 

answer down into three parts: the Gardner 

Grant program, Legislative Advocacy, 

and providing venues and visibility for 

small-boat aficionados, active and future. 

The Gardner Grant Program is not 

solely a Council function, but is administered 

by a national committee appointed 

by the Council. The program provides 

grant money to a variety of individuals and 

organizations to further our goals of preserving 

the history of small boats and to 

foster the continuation of the craft. Anyone 

can apply for a grant, TSCA member 

or not, and all we ask in return is a 

progress report or two, suitable for publication 

in the Ash Breeze, so we can all 

benefit from their endeavors. 

Legislative Advocacy was the original 

basis for the association. Legislative “boating 

safety” proposals in the 1970s would 

have effectively banned virtually all of the 

boats we build, use, and admire. TSCA 

was effective then in staving off those proposals. 

Today, our tax-exempt status prevents 

us from being an “in your face” lobby 

group, but the national organization serves 

to alert our chapters and membership of 

potentially adverse legislative proposals on 

local and national fronts. The John Gardner 

and CROPC chapters led the opposition 

against several proposed laws in 

Connecticut several years ago. Our “Cooperating 

Group” agreement with 

BoatU.S. has given us access to more national 

legislative information, and we have 

spread the word of many national and local 

issues regarding boating and our waterways. 

We continue to search for a 

volunteer to coordinate our legislative alert 

program, so please contact the President 

or any Council member if you are interested 

in doing so. 

I suppose I am a ready example of 

TSCA’s 3rd function—providing venues 

and visibility for small hand-powered 

boats. Ten years ago, I was an avid sailor, 

but I absolutely HATED rowing (I had 

tried to row too many ill-suited boats in 

my life) and “knew” that building boats 

was only for people who were extremely 

talented and went to expensive trade 

schools. Then Bob Tapp contacted me via 

an Internet sailing newsgroup and invited 

me to the organizing meeting for the 

TSCA Puget Sound Chapter. After a while, 

I became a bit irritated by the fact that I 

was the only one in the (then small but 

growing) group who had not built at least 

one boat. With everyone’s encouragement, 

along with the ever-present good-natured 

ribbing, I took on the challenge and finally 

bought a kit and built a kayak. Then, 

after being elected to the Council and attending 

a couple John Gardner Small Craft 

Workshops at Mystic, I was introduced to 

several excellent, beautiful rowing boats. 

In particular, Andy Wolfe’s St. Lawrence 

River Skiff and Steve Kaulback’s 

Adirondack Guideboat transformed my 

hatred of rowing into a real passion for 

rowing and rowing boats. 

Would the world survive without 

TSCA? Certainly. Would traditional small 

craft survive without the national organization? 

Probably. However, I believe we 

keep alive the traditions and passions for 

enough people that we make a real difference 

in the quality and the longevity of 

the craft. 

John Weiss is a former TSCA President, 

Council Member, and is currently Secretary 

of the Puget Sound Chapter. 

continued on the next page 


Chapter Outreach 

By Todd Bloch 

I’m thinking it might be interesting for 

members to hear about some of the interaction 

the Sacramento Chapter is having 

with other boat type organizations around 

the San Francisco Bay area—maybe there 

are other chapters doing the same? 

For the second year, we have joined with 

the Master Mariners Benevolent Association 

for a sail-in at China Camp State Park; 

and this year they invited us to their annual 

Wooden Boat Show. Both of these 

gatherings have been great opportunities 

to showcase the big boats with the small 

boats; which, interestingly, doesn’t seem 

to happen too often here. (Ed note: The 

mission of MMBA is to “foster participation 

in yachting and the preservation of 

well designed, properly constructed and 

well maintained classic and traditional 

wooden sailing craft on San Francisco 

Bay...”) 

We were also approached by the Marin 

County Fair and asked to participate in 

their event this year, which had a marine/ 

aquatic theme. Unfortunately, I don’t think 

we were able to muster many boats for this 

one. 

We are discussing other possible joint 

events with the Spaulding Center in 

Sausalito, which apparently wants to set 

up an operation similar to the Center for 

Wooden Boats. They might host us for a 

row-in, which would allow them to demonstrate 

to the community what their program 

could become and hopefully build 

some support. 

What I find interesting about these relationships 

is that they create an opportunity 

for outreach—a chance to directly 

show small boating to the public. Personally, 

I’d like to see more of that from our 

organization. 

Todd Bloch is a member of the Sacramento 

Chapter. 

Why did I Join? 

By Bill Covert 

I was fortunate to find the Delaware 

River TSCA. A member left a note on my 

door about a boat in my driveway. I found 

a group of boat people who meet monthly 

at a 100+ year old canoe cub on the Delaware 

River. The critical mass of organized 

individuals come up with interesting activities 

for each meeting to attract a good 

turnout each month, with some people 

traveling long distances. 

Meeting with other members attending 

the Mystic, St. Michaels and other out of 

town boat events enhances the event and 

make them an annual must do. 

I believe that these activities are what 

attract most people to the TSCA. Almost 

everyone appreciates and supports the political, 

historical, research and reporting 

aspects of the National TSCA but it is the 

boating adventures attracts and keeps them 

interested. National TSCA provides those 

other important functions that most of us 

appreciate but are not actively involved in. 

Many Local, National Members and 

especially Council Members contribute a 

great deal to the benefit of small boating 

and the goals of the TSCA. These active 

people are under appreciated and would 

contribute without the direction of the 

TSCA. The TSCA provides the forum, the 

information and direction for the rest of 

us, to be aware, participate, and contribute 

to if only by paying dues and reading 

the Ash Breeze. 

Bill Covert is a member of the Delaware 

River Chapter. • 

Spaulding Wooden 

Boat Center 

Submitted by Lee Caldwell 

An unique opportunity has been created 

in the San Francisco Bay Area to preserve 

an important part of the local maritime 

heritage. Myron Spaulding died in 2000 

at the age of 94. As a sailor, yacht designer 

and boat builder for almost 50 years on 

the Sausalito waterfront, he became a legend 

in his own time. Myron’s widow, the 

late Gladys Spaulding, left in trust his 

boatworks, together with all of his plans, 

tools, equipment and memorabilia. Her 

instructions formed a non-profit charitable 

organization that became known as the 

Spaulding Wooden Boat Center. 

The SWBC’s mandate is to preserve the 

site as a working and living museum; to 

restore and return to the Bay waters historic 

and significant wooden vessels; and 

to teach other traditional wooden boat 

building skills. 

Goals and Objectives 

PRESERVATION: Described by the 

noted newspaperman and author Carl 

Nolte as a “cathedral of wooden boats,” 

the boatworks was built by Myron 

Spaulding in the early 1950s on the historic 

Sausalito waterfront. It is being preserved 

in its original style and character 

while continuing in full operation under 

professional management to serve the 

needs of the yachting community. 

RESTORATION: In early 2004, SWBC 

rescued the historic 32 foot sloop Freda, 

the oldest active recreational sailing vessel 

on the west coast. 

continued at the right 

I discussed “why TSCA” with members 

of the Delaware River Chapter and others 

at St. Michaels Small Craft Festival. 

Spaulding Wooden Boat Center, Foot of Gate Five Road, Sausalito, CA 94965 


News from the John Gardner Chapter 

Avery Point Boathouse 

Submitted by Bill Armitage 

The chapter and our boathouse have 

stayed fairly busy. The past year’s projects 

included a stretched 21' guideboat Last 

Chance—construction is documented on 

our website. http://www.tsca.net/ 

johngardner/lastchance.htm A hollow 

mast for a strip build catboat was assembled 

by George Spragg. Chuck Nado 

took the better part of a year to refurbish 

his Swampscott dory which is now ready 

for paint. 

Last Chance was designed by John 

Gardiner of Vancouver http:// 

members.shaw.ca/boatworks/index.html 

based upon discussions via the Internet. 

The goal was to produce a fast fixed seat 

double of stitch and tape construction for 

the local open water races. Russ Smith 

and I finished the Blackburn Challenge 

in under 4 hours in her. Phil Behney and 

Phil Behney’s interpretation of our 

chapter developed "Avery Point Dory". 

Phil increased the beam a bit and added 

more rake to the transom. 

Top boat is a puzzle with the double centerboards. It was donated to the 

Chapter from someone who received it from the family of the original builder. 

Perhaps a reader knows. The bottom boat is a Swampscott dory. 

One of the Avery Point dories built with 

Gardner Grant Funds at Clark Lane 

Middle School in Waterford. 

I finished first in the Lighthouse to Lighthouse 

race in Westport CT. 

Members made improvements to the 

UConn Avery Point Boathouse which we 

lease from the university. The building 

now has all new windows and door. In 

addition, the members spent a day last 

spring cleaning flotsam from the beaches 

of Pine Island. We have a new website 

designed by member John Hacunda http:/ 

/www.tsca.net/johngardner/index.htm • 

Continued from the left 

EDUCATION: SWBC has entered into 

an agreement with the highly acclaimed 

International Yacht Restoration School 

based in Newport RI. 

IYRS will open a fully accredited trade 

school at the SWBC in the fall of 2007, 

offering a 2-year program in classic boat 

restoration, building and maintenance; 

and continuing education courses for marine 

industry professionals. This partnership 

will help prepare students for jobs in 

the maritime trades and fill the need for 

professionally trained craftsmen throughout 

the Bay Area. 

For more information contact Spaulding 

Wooden Boat Center, Foot of Gate Five 

Road, Sausalito, CA 94965, 415-332- 

3179, www.spauldingcenter.org • 


Editor’s note: This saga is both 

traditional and, using the broad 

defintion, small craft. It was 

written by long time TSCA 

supporter, member #139, and will 

be presented in parts. Readers 

can find the complete version on 

our web site under “Member’s 

writings.” 

101 days, 10,000 

miles New York to 

California 

A voyage from the East to 

the West coasts of the United 

States aboard the schooner 

Altura II— summer of 1941 

By Howard Benedict 

Introduction to the Saga 

Father wrote: “REASON FOR WRIT- 

ING BOOK So many excellent 

books have already been written on small 

boat voyages, that one more may be the 

‘straw that broke the camel’s back.’ There 

seems, however, some justification, other 

than mere egotism, for adding our humble 

bit to the almost too numerous volumes 

of information already published on this 

subject. ” 

Much of the available literature boils 

down to more or less glorified travelogs 

of out of the way places which cannot be 

reached by steamer or freighter; and after 

post-voyage analyses of the vast number 

of stories previously read concerning actual 

ocean wave journeys, it has been our 

reaction that many authors have been wont 

to either minimize the difficulties encountered, 

or pat themselves on the back by 

over emphasizing their troubles. Most often 

the effort has been to make a rousing 

good story out of the material at hand— 

and entertainingly so, indeed, we hasten 

to add. 

It is at once apparent that the condition 

of the world in this year of 1941 makes a 

world cruise for pleasure impossible. So 

many friends, acquaintances, and even 

some total strangers expressed a desire to 

join our crew, that to have made a place 

for them all it would have been necessary 

Altura II, an auxiliary schooner 48' 6" LOA, 11' 8" B and 5' 11" D. Designed by 

Eldridge and McInnis, Inc., and built by Frank Lawson at Dorchester, MA in 1930. 

to charter the (first) Queen Mary and take 

our Altura II along as a dinghy. No doubt 

the greater number of these volunteers 

were only half-serious in their actual consideration 

of such an undertaking. But 

nevertheless, the interest expressed, together 

with the precluded impossibility of 

a world cruise just now, would suggest that 

probably many others would take kindly 

to the facts and details of our recent experiences 

on the briny deep. 

It is planned, then, to make this a sort 

of informal manual that will be instructive 

as well as entertaining. We will try to 

tell what happened on land and sea without 

jazzing it up just to make a hair raising 

tale out of it. 

The first task which the prospective 

Master of the sailing vessel encounters is 

the need for much information, all of 

which is widely spread around, and difficult 

to assemble. For this reason we feel it 

may be worthwhile to tell how we obtained 

this information and just what it included. 

From the very beginning, when the idea 

was first conceived, until we reached 

homeport in San Francisco, California, it 

was necessary to consult with a great number 

of people and to enlist the aid of innumerable 

bureaus, officials, and the like. 

We will not try to enumerate the many 

sources of information at this particular 

point, but sincere appreciation is felt for 

the valuable assistance rendered by good 

friends, acquaintances, various shop and 

yardmen, the Hydrographic Office—not to 

mention the shelves and shelves of books 

to which we referred. 

Father never got around to writing his 

version of the voyage. The bombing of 


Pearl Harbor in December of ’41 changed 

all of our lives and this preface was found 

amongst his papers after his death. 

“DEDICATED to Marion who asked me 

to write this. She was my watch mate during 

the voyage. 

The Crew: 

H. Courtney Benedict, Professor of 

Chemistry, Chico State College, owner of 

the schooner Altura II, on which the voyage 

took place. 

Arvil Parker, photographer, rancher of 

Durham, California. Watch mate with 

Courtney. 

Howard Benedict, 16 year old son, chief 

cook and bottle washer. 

Marion Benedict, 13 year old daughter, 

spent hours alone on watch. Her watch 

mate was the cook. 

My Thanks: 

To Patty Stratton, for proofreading, 

grammar corrections and encouragement. 

To Cati Llorca for guiding me through 

the computer minefields. 

To Blanche Benedict, Courtney’s wife, 

who had supplied inestimable help behind 

the scenes, and had to drive back to California 

alone from Virginia. She lent support 

to the whole enterprise. 

To Charles Benedict for introducing me 

to Google Earth Images 

The Boat: 

An auxiliary schooner 48' 6" length over 

all, 11' 8" beam and 5' 11" draft. Designed 

by Eldridge and McInnis, Inc., and built 

by Frank Lawson at Dorchester, MA in 

1930. She disappeared off the California 

coast in the late 1960s. 

The Photographs: 

There were two principal photographers 

during this voyage, Arvil Parker and 

Courtney Benedict. Howard Benedict must 

have tripped the shutter on a few. Arvil 

supplied all the images to the Mercury 

Register until we left Dunn’s boatyard. 

After we left the boatyard I think the balance 

of the images can be attributed to 

Courtney.” 

Chapter One 

This a true story that had its beginnings 

at the end of the 1939 San Francisco Bay 

sailing season. My father’s wishful thinking 

about how nice it would be to have a 

sailboat big enough to do some offshore 

cruising brought about a big change in our 

sailing lives. We had enjoyed sailing 

aboard Meadowlark, a Bird Class sloop, 

for five years, but the small sloop had not 

been designed or built with offshore cruising 

in mind, never mind that she did what 

she was asked to do very well, including a 

coastwise sail to Tomales Bay,later repeated 

on Bird boats Mavis and Robin for 

several summers. 

Birdboat Meadowlark on Tomales Bay. 

I think he wanted to see what was available 

in cruising sailboats on the East 

Coast—not that I remember being privy 

to his dreams of that time. He proceeded 

to buy a new car, a Studebaker Commander, 

to be picked up at the factory in 

South Bend, Indiana in 1940. I was to go 

along and help him drive it back to California 

after he had visited relatives and 

done a survey of what kinds, sizes, rigs 

could be purchased in the east and sailed 

through the Panama Canal to San Francisco. 

The first cruise? 

In those days automobile engines were 

broken in by not exceeding certain speeds 

for a specified number of miles. This 

should have made his estimates of the 

amount of time to get from one place to 

another close, but no, he used California 

road speeds and distances to do his mental 

calculations so we were often late arriving 

at the destinations! Thus I never 

got to know his father’s siblings or his 

cousins; I was packed off to bed after a 

meal. 

Late July 1940 

After the visits were over we proceeded 

to wander along the Atlantic ocean front 

checking out yachting places. When we 

had driven as far north as Marblehead, Father 

thought it was time for us to work 

our way south. His southern destination 

was Richmond, Virginia, where a former 

student of his lived, and from there we 

would go home. On our way south we 

stopped at the American Yacht Club of 

Rye, NY. and queries were made about any 

sailboats for sale in the 40' range. It was 

practically BINGO! The yardman told us 

about a 48' schooner that was for sale and 

would we like to see her. Of course! He 

took us out in the club’s motor launch and 

let us board the Altura II. 

She was perfect; the accommodations 

below had a passageway to starboard of 

the center going forward from the ladder, 

available from the cockpit. There was a 

separate “state room” for the KAPITAN, 

to port, and just forward of that was the 

galley. Opposite the galley was the 

DAMER, an enclosed head. The passageway 

ended in the FESTSAL, as noted on 

a plate mounted on the forward end of the 

cabin trunk. There were bunks port and 

starboard with a dining table between 

them. Under the foredeck there were two 

more bunks. The galley was completely 

enclosed with a small sliding door for serving 

the diners (can’t have the paid hand 

mixing with the owner and his guests!). 

The paid hand had a bunk in the engine 

room which was entered from the 

“navigation” space opposite the 

KAPITAN’s cabin by crawling over the 

cover to another head or through the deck 

hatch into the engine room. There was NO 

standing room!The asking price was 

$6000. 

I felt it had the best layout for a long 

sea voyage. The rig was acceptable as well; 

the jib hoisted on the fore stay, so it could 

be handled on deck. The foresail had a 

gaff and could be furled on the cabin top. 

The Marconi main did have a long boom 

that hung over the transom by about 3 feet. 

Therefore, there were running backstays 

but we were used to them on Meadowlark. 

All in all, in my mind, she was a boat to 

die for. “Well, thank you very much. I’ll 

have to think about buying her.” 

We drove on to Richmond to visit the 


former student of Father’s, who made us 

welcome in his home. His wife liked German 

Shepherd dogs and the current pet 

was called Pawaukee. She showed us 

around Richmond and may even have 

shown us places to store a boat in the water. 

Vacation time was coming to an end 

and we still had a long drive ahead of us. 

We expressed our thanks and turned the 

car toward California. Father was taking 

the first trick at the wheel. I became aware 

that the car was going slower and slower. 

Father found a wide shoulder and pulled 

off the road. Then came a father-to-son 

exchange about owning a boat as big as 

the Altura II, all the work it would take to 

keep her up; I would have to do my part, 

etc. I knew from the work that Meadowlark 

required that we were going to have 

triple the work of the smaller boat. I 

thought I could handle my part so Father 

drove far enough back to Richmond to find 

the highway headed north—destination 

New York City and owner of the Altura 

II. 

Once we had returned to New York City 

from our pause outside Richmond we arranged 

to meet the owner of the Altura II. 

I recall one meeting we had with him on 

his new yacht, the Altura III. He showed 

us the interior of his new boat. At 56' she 

was larger than the Altura II and a lot more 

yachty inside. There were velour curtains 

with cushions covered in the same fabric. 

She made the Altura II look spartan in 

comparison but I suspect that Two could 

sail circles around Three, which appeared 

to me to be more for entertaining than for 

cruising or racing. 

We went to the New York office of 

T.H.A.Tiedeman, head of a firm of lawyers 

and the owner of the Altura II. It may 

have been on the 34th floor of Rockerfeller 

Center. We entered a space which contained 

a receptionist, her desk, and a communication 

center. She punched some 

numbers into the telephone after ascertaining 

our business. After a brief conversation, 

a guide appeared and we followed 

her past doors of offices to another secretary, 

who ushered us into the office of Mr. 

Tiedeman, whose very large desk was 

dwarfed by the size of the space. 

Father and Teideman talked at great 

length about the Altura II, her price and 

conditions of her sale. Mr. Tiedeman was 

not going to budge from his 

price. Father told him he 

thought that she needed a new 

suit of sails and that they 

should be included in the sale. 

Mr. Tiedeman demurred but 

since the balance of the sale 

seemed to hinge on the new 

sails he finally agreed. He immediately 

had his secretary 

call his sailmaker and after 

his conversation with the 

sailmaker told Father what a 

new suit of sails would cost 

him. He agreed to deduct that 

amount from his asking price 

and Father had bought himself 

a boat for $5,660. 

Father had already talked to 

Mother by telephone and she 

had reluctantly agreed to wire 

him the money to purchase 

the Altura II. The money 

would come from his inheritance, 

which was OK, but what 

stuck in her craw was the fact 

that an earlier house purchase 

had used her total inheritance 

as a down payment and that 

amount of money had not 

been returned to her in the 12 

intervening years after that 

house was sold! 

Tiedeman must have told 

Father he could use the yacht 

club facilities as his guest. 

There would be no charge. 

Time was beginning to run 

short so Father wasted no 

time in becoming familiar 

with his new toy and sea trials 

began. After an initial sail 

with Tiedeman’s boat keeper, 

we took daily sails out onto 

the Sound. He had lots of 

cousins living in the East and 

they were passengers during 

some of the trial sails. 

He planned to sail the boat 

south to Richmond, VA and 

leave her there for the winter. 

He found crew amongst 

his friends and relatives. 

to be continued... 

The 185-foot Atlantic, under sail, on Long Island 

Sound, as seen and photographed from the Altura II 

in 1940. She set the Trans-Atlantic speed record in 

1905, having been built in 1903. Her record stood 

until 2005! She served as a USCG training ship from 

1941 to 1947. She needed all those sails for cruising 

on these waters where it seemed to me the breezes 

were very light. 

The first sail aboard the Altura II gave us a quiet 

picture of “Handling the boat under sail.” We, also, 

were interested oglers of the Atlantic, as you have 

seen through Father’s photos. 


Big River Shuffle 

An Anonymous Rower Demonstrates 

How to Transfer to Another Boat and Keep Dry 

Photos and Captions by Jim Swallow 

Step 1: After a near disastrous boat transfer like this, 

rowers decide to show us how it is done. 

Step 2: This is a particularly precarious moment— 

one foot in one boat and one foot in the other. A lady 

rower needs to be able to depend that those several 

strong men’s hands will remain on the gunnels. 

Step 3: Here, things get very tricky. One almost 

violates one of a lady’s most important rules: One must 

never let one’s head drop below one’s derrier! But if it 

keeps one from falling in the water, and especially if 

no one seems to be looking, do it quickly! 

Step 4: Graceful, and dainty, coordination between 

hips, hands and knees is imperative. 

Step 5: One sits, lightly as a feather. One DOES NOT 

just plop. 

Acknowledgements 

Big River Shuffle appears thanks to the Lost 

Coast, TSCA Newsletter, September 2007, Kris 

Halvorsen, Editor. The Lost Coast Chapter is 

located in Mendocino, CA. 

From the Boatshop and Sharpies appear 

through the courtesy of Shavings, published 

by the Center for Wooden Boats. • 


CABBS Boat 

Building Project 

A Tribute to Don Bailey 

By Hank Vincenti 

Since the untimely death of our dear 

friend Don Bailey, in July 2007, your 

Board of Governors has sought a fitting 

tribute to his memory. As it sometimes 

happens in this world of human uncertainty, 

the answers we seek are handed to 

us and we only need to recognize and act 

upon them. I believe this is such a case. 

Marlene Bailey has donated all the materials, 

parts and plans for the Green Island 

15 sailboat that Don had started. 

Paula and I have picked up all the material 

and I proposed that CABBS complete 

the boat as a club project, sell it and have 

the proceeds go to a charity in memory of 

Don. Marlene was delighted with this idea 

and was sure this would have pleased Don. 

What better way to honor and remember 

our friend. 

The Green Island 15 sailboat is a design 

from Headland Boats of Australia. 

Check out www.headlandboats.com for 

photos. It is a flat bottom and sides design 

of panel on frames, screw and glue 

construction. Sort of like a CABBS Optimist 

dinghy on steroids. 

The finished hull is 15'-6" long, 5'-6" 

wide, and 2'-8" high. Don had purchased 

the Okoume ply, mahogany dimensional 

lumber and the epoxy for the boat. The 

bottom 4' x 16' panel has been scarfed and 

glued, the two side panels are cut to shape, 

butt blocked and glued and the chine logs 

are attached. The five frames and the stem 

section are assembled. There are 5 full 

ply panels and one partial in appropriate 

thickness to complete the boat. 

The spar materials, fasteners, fittings, 

rigging, sails and other items will need to 

be purchased. Again the answer has been 

handed to us in the form of a $500 check 

from the Wendy Park Foundation to 

CABBS in appreciation for our efforts in 

initiating and supporting their WHISTLE 

Youth Sailboat Program for inner city children. 

I don’t need any more convincing; this 

is a project that should be done. 

Our only need is a location to build the 

boat. So lets put our collective thoughts 

together and I am sure we will have an 

answer. Please contact me with your suggestions 

and comments. 

Hank Vincenti 

7562 Brinmore Rd 

Sagamore Hills, OH 44067 

330-467-6601 

quest85@windstream.net • 

Building 

Thoreau’s Boat 

A New Exhibition at the 

Concord Museum 

August 31, 2007 through 

January 6, 2008 

Concord, MA 

Building Thoreau’s Boat, an upcoming 

exhibition at the Concord Museum, has 

as its centerpiece the reconstruction of a 

boat like the one Henry Thoreau and his 

brother John built and then rowed and 

sailed in a trip they took from Concord, 

Massachusetts to New Hampshire in 1839. 

It was this trip, in this boat, that resulted 

in Henry Thoreau’s first book, A Week on 

the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, a 

seminal work of American literature. The 

exhibition will explore the brothers’ nowfamous 

trip, the history of dories in New 

England, and most importantly, the process 

of recreating and building an historic 

boat. 

Launched on August 31, 1839, 

Musketaquid (after the Algonquian name 

for the Concord River) was built by twentytwo 

year old Henry Thoreau (1817-1862) 

and his older brother John over the course 

of a week earlier that spring. The two-week 

boating and camping vacation by the two 

school teachers seems a commonplace 

now, but was a novelty for the time. The 

trip might have engendered no more than 

a few entries in Thoreau’s journal if not 

for the death of his brother less than three 

years later. Thoreau moved to Walden 

Pond to write his first book as a memorial 

to his brother, using their journey as the 

framework to tie together Thoreau’s 

thoughts on history, literature, melons, 

New England, mythology, politics, fishing, 

and many more topics. While at 

Walden, Thoreau, one of the most read, 

beloved and influential of American writers, 

also drafted his most famous book, 

Walden, and his most famous essay, Civil 

Disobedience. 

What was Thoreau’s boat like? Beyond 

Henry’s description of it as a fifteen-foot 

dory and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s comment 

that it took some practice to handle, not 

much is known. Dories—flat-bottomed 

boats with sides and bottom planked 

lengthwise—are a class of vessel once 

ubiquitous in New England’s coastal and 

inland waters but have now mostly disappeared. 

The information on small boats 

of the period that does exist is enough to 

have convinced accomplished boatbuilder 

David Snediker that Musketaquid could 

be recreated. In June 2007, Snediker of 

Taylor & Snediker, specialists in building 

and restoring small craft, will reconstruct 

the dory in his boatbuilding yard in 

Pawcatuck, Connecticut. 

Trained under the leading authority on 

dories, John Gardner, David Snediker 

brings to the project an enthusiasm and 

passion for his craft and a working knowledge 

of the unparalleled collection of small 

boats of nearby Mystic Seaport Museum. 

The process of building the boat will be 

documented by photographer Eric Roth, 

and his photographs along with the plans, 

tools and raw materials used in the 

boatbuilding process will be exhibited in 

the Concord Museum’s galleries. In addition, 

Building Thoreau’s Boat will display 

the Piscataqua River wherry from 

Mystic Seaport Museum’s collection, models 

and historic images of dories, examples 

of Thoreau’s craftsmanship from the Concord 

Museum Thoreau collection and a 

first edition of A Week on the Concord and 

Merrimack Rivers. 

Sure to appeal to all those with passions 

for traditional small craft, working 

with wood, and the natural world of rivers, 

the exhibition opens to the public on 

August 31, 2007, the 168th anniversary 

of the day the Musketaquid was launched, 

and will be on view through January 6, 

2008. The exhibition is generously supported 

by Oracle, with additional support 

from Edward W. Kane and Martha J. 

Wallace; Media Sponsor is WoodenBoat 

Magazine. • 


From the Boatshop 

By Heron Scott 

Asked, “What was your least favorite 

thing about boatbuilding,” the teen-agers 

that Courtney Bartlett (CWB staff) and I 

spent two weeks building an El Toro with 

unanimously responded, “sanding.” Yes, 

that horrible task that seems to never end, 

goes hand in hand with boatbuilding and 

boat maintenance and on any given day 

you can find lots of it going on down at 

The Center for Wooden Boats. Whether 

it’s sanding masts for that final coat of 

varnish or taking down the topsides of a 

Blanchard Junior on the dry dock, it’s an 

activity you can be assured of finding on 

our docks. But while the effort is demanding 

and tedious the reward of accomplishment 

is that much sweeter for the toil and 

sweat involved in getting there. This fact 

was evident in the faces of our El Toro 

building students on the last day of the 

class as we donned life jackets, emptied 

our pockets, and one by one climbed into 

our new creation dubbed the Midnight 

Special for its glossy black exterior. Sailing, 

swimming, and general chaos ensued; 

a fitting end to all that sanding. 

We’ve had several other noteworthy 

launchings since the Festival. One I’m 

particularly proud of is the Plover, our 

lovely sprit sailed cat boat. The Plover was 

pulled out last winter due to an incredible 

amount of leaking. Upon investigation we 

found the seams to be un-caulkable (it’s a 

word now) and had to replace three planks, 

do a nifty router repair to the seams, and 

rebuild parts of the interior. Oh yeah, we 

had to make a new mast as well. Did I 

mention it broke? The Plover was one of 

these projects that languished behind the 

shop, sporadically worked on by volunteers 

and staff, but never given the full 

attention it truly deserved. Last week it 

did and we finally launched the boat and 

she is ready for livery service after a couple 

days of swelling and a few shake down 

cruises by the Boatshop. I highly recommend 

her. 

Also check out the newly painted 

Peopod in rowboat livery and the Luck 

Seven, the dark blue Blanchard Junior that 

just came off the dry dock. 

As far as what you can expect to see us 

work on until the next Shavings comes out, 

we hope to keep a steady rotation of 

Blanchard Juniors coming off and on the 

dry dock. The idea is to do quick turn 

around on the majority of them until we 

get to the Pamela which will need a new 

deck, some framing, and who knows what 

else. Also, the Sid skiff will be out for a 

little while getting some stem repairs as 

well as a major face lift; don’t worry, no 

paint or varnish will touch her, just Boat 

Sauce. 

As always if you’re interested in helping 

out with any of these projects, contact 

me at hscott@cwb.org or stop by the shop. 

We always welcome the help and we can 

always use more people handy with sandpaper. 

• 

To be a Commuter 

Again 

Your Editor rides to the Deer 

Harbor Boat Festival 

The Deer Harbor Boat Festival is a low 

key three day event taking place between 

the Victoria Classic Boat Show and the 

Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival the 

following weekend. Participants move 

from one to the other with a three day 

pause in lovely Deer Harbor on Orcas Island. 

When Les Gunther telephoned to ask 

if I would ride over for the day on Althea, 

I jumped at the chance. 

Althea is a beautifully restored 1929 38' 

Chris-Craft Custom Commuter owned by 

Les Gunther of Friday Harbor. She recently 

Sponsor member Les Gunther (Duck 

Soup Inn), at the wheel of Althea. 

underwent an intensive restoration at 

Jensen Boat Works in Seattle. The bottom 

was replaced from the chines down including 

keel, framing and planking. Additionally, 

the original interior layout and 

appearance were restored. Powered by a 

Mercruiser 502, she cruises at 20 knots, 

with a top speed of 30 knots. The boat 

looked brand new in every detail. 

We left Friday Harbor with a low drone 

from the powerful engine, cruising at 18 

knots across the flat water. There was no 

perceptible vibration. The boat felt rock 

solid. Out in the San Juan Channel, Les 

edged the engine up to 4000 rpm and we 

just screamed. Two lookouts were posted 

to watch for logs. • 

1929 Chris-Craft Commuter. Bunks for napping not sleeping, a galley 

for making coffee and serving drinks, and awesome speed. 


Gunwale Guards 

An email conversation from the 

TSCA Group at Yahoo 

Hello all at TSCA Group at Yahoo: 

After two years of cussing every time 

my tender bumped up against the hull and 

left a memento in the topside paint, I’ve 

finally sucked it up and installed the horribly 

expensive white canvas over foam 

gunwale guard from bow to transom on 

my shellback dinghy. Now the question 

is, how to cover the ugly ends and make it 

look neatly finished. 

I’ve seen pictures in the past of small 

patches of leather screwed on to cover the 

unsightly mess, but it turns out it’s not as 

easy as it would seem to pull off without 

wrinkles. 

Can any of you post a photo of how 

you’ve done it, seen it done, or recommend 

a link to where I might find one? 

Thanks, 

Mark Carver, hotrubum@yahoo.com 

Hello Mark: 

I have devised an inexpensive, although 

makeshift alternative to a gunwale guard 

which I am using on my 15' rowing skiff. 

She’s serving as a tender to my 16' sailing 

sharpie since my budget (and my significant 

other) are prohibiting me from building 

a pram. I used a “pool noodle” (which 

is a spongy foam cylinder about 3" wide 

by 4' long) and sliced it long ways half 

way through and fitted it over the rail on 

the side where I approach the moored boat. 

There is enough tension on the “C” shape 

to hold it in place. I remove it when not in 

use. 

I am also using pool noodles as rollers 

to push the skiff over the stoney beach to 

the waters edge. 

Ginny Gerardi, East Hampton,NY 

Hello Mark: 

Please note pool noodles do absorb water 

in a bit of time and that they cannot 

take weight more than a moment. My boat 

sits on a deck cradle that has leather covered 

pool noodles and they are almost completely 

flat now. A better foam is out there 

and a visit to the plastics store who know 

their stuff should help, cover that foam 

with free condemned fire hose available 

from your fire department. 

Mike Hanyi 

Hello Mark: 

This is a great question. At least I identify 

with it having faced this problem with 

a tender I built for Ranger 7. I bought a 

sheet of copper, thin enough and soft 

enough to be cut and fitted. I compressed 

the, I think it’s called Gunwale Guard, and 

peened the sheeting as a transition to taper 

the ends down to flush. I secured the copper 

with very small round head brass 

screws. It’s not perfect but does give a kind 

of traditional, kind of finish look. I have 

the skiff here at the house doing some repainting 

and could try and photo what I 

did and post it if that will help describe 

it? 

Stan Snapp 

Hello All: 

Thanks all for the 

thoughtful answers. 

Regrettable, I didn’t 

have time to pull a rabbit 

out of the hat before 

leaving for the race, but 

was greatly relieved to 

see most of the other 

similarly equipped 

dinks had left the ends 

of the gunnel guard raw 

as well. I did see one 

with a neatly trimmed 

leather patch over the 

ends, but was unable to 

Stan Snapp sends this photo of his gunwale guard approach. get a close enough look 

to understand the geometry of the leather. 

While the pool noodles are probably fine 

for temporary use, a dinghy being towed 

through rough water and breezes would 

definitely need something more permanently 

attached. I had thought about using 

old 1" 3-strand nylon anchor rode to 

save money, but in the end found the difficulty 

of attaching it in a graceful manner 

to be too big a chore. For once it seems 

I had more money than time on my hands. 

Stop the presses! Did I really say that? 

The sheet copper sounds like a possibility, 

I’d love to see a picture of the finished 

product. At least now the pressure’s 

off and I can take my time doing it right. 

Thanks again for your help. 

Mark • 

Oregon Chapter 

Revived 

The Oregon chapter is revived thanks 

to members of the Western Oregon 

Messabout association, referred to as 

Coots. Revival of the Chapter has been 

approval by the Council and has brought 

five new members to the national TSCA. 

About Coots 

The Western Oregon Messabout Association 

is a loosely connected support 

group for folks who are overly fond of odd 

little boats, mostly homemade. “One more 

boat at a time,” could be our motto. We 

try to get together to do something boaty 

at least once a month; messabouts in the 

warm months and field trips and other dry 

land get-togethers in the winter. We pitch 

in and help with each other when needed. 

Boat turnings are popular events. We built 

some boats for the youth rowing club in 

Depoe Bay, may do the same to help start 

a similar club in Toledo, OR, and we’re 

trying to get funds to build a boat for 

handicapped kids in central Oregon. But 

we mostly just try to have fun and not take 

ourselves too seriously. What the Coots 

already does fits in well with the TSCA, 

so some of us Coots who aren’t too put off 

by the fees and rules that go along with 

membership in the TSCA have decided to 

start an Oregon Coots chapter. We look 

forward to our association with the TSCA. 

• 



November 3: Delta Meadows Row, 

Lynn Delapp 

November 24: Wet Turkey Row, Jim 

Lawson 

January 1, 2008: Hair of the Dog, 

Tomales Bay, Lee Caldwell 

January 5: Annual Planning Meeting, 

Aeolian YC, Pete Evans 

For more information: 

dlagios@smace.org 

www.tsca.net/Sacramento 

Center for Wooden Boats 

Third Friday Speaker Series Every 

3rd Friday, 7 PM: CWB Boathouse 

November 3: Workshop in Knots and 

Hitches 

November 17: Workshop in Rope 

Fenders 

Center for Wooden Boats 

1010 Valley Street 

Seattle, WA 98109-4468 

Tel: 206-382-2628 

Fax: 206-382-2699 

Email: cwb@cwb.org 

Défi International 

des Jeunes Marins 

July 24-31, 2008: Quebec, PQ, 

Canada 

International Challenge of Seamanship, 

and gathering of Bantry Bay 

gigs 

This Rendezvous will be held in the 

framework of the celebrations 

surrounding the 400th anniversary of 

the city, founded by Samuel de 

Champlain in 1608. 

For more information, download the 

847 KB PDF or contact Flavie Major 

at flavie_major@hotmail.com 

Small Craft Events 

Lost Coast 

November 24: Annual meeting, Worlds 

End boathouse 

December 15: Lake Cleone row, 11 

AM launch 

North Carolina 

Maritime Museum 

Harvey W Smith 

Watercraft Center 

NCMM will be offering classes 

throughout 2008 in a variety of small 

craft skills. Typical listings are: 

One-Week Boatbuilding Class: 

Offered three times. 

Each student builds a traditional flatbottomed 

skiff or a small roundbottomed 

boat over a one-week 

period. Class participants will build 

their own flat-bottomed skiff or small 

round-bottomed boat, either carvel or 

lapstrake planked, up to 15 feet in 

length, with an expert’s guidance. 

Flat-Bottomed Carpentry: 

Offered four times. 

Traditional techniques, developed to 

solve woodworking problems unique 

to vernacular boatbuilding, are taught 

in this hands-on workshop. Participants 

work as a team to construct a 

twelve to fourteen-foot version of a 

traditional “rack of eye” flat-bottomed 

skiff. In the process they learn how to 

set up the boat, spite and bend planks, 

plane bevels, erect framing, and 

explore fastening options and the 

characteristics of traditional 

boatbuilding woods. (12 hours) 

Round-Bottomed Carpentry: 

Offered five times. 

This class teaches skills essential for 

building round-bottomed boats. 

Students learn to derive shapes of 

frames and planks, plank both carve) 

and lapstrake hulls, and understand 

traditional construction techniques. 

They also examine and experience the 

properties of various boatbuilding 

materials, the advantages and 

limitations of different construction 

styles, and the properties of the range 

of fasteners and adhesives for boat 

construction. (12 hours) 

Lofting 

Lofting is the process of taking that 

information and using it to produce 

full-sized drawings for patterns from 

which a boat can be built. Students 

loft a boat following a sequence of 

steps which is reusable for any boat to 

be lofted in the future and gain a 

working knowledge of the terminology 

and the process. (12 hours) 

Oar Making 

This class examines the basic principles 

of oar design and construction 

and explores the many varieties of 

oars suitable for use in small boats. 

Spar Making 

Students study the materials and 

hardware used for spars and learn a 

variety of techniques for laying out 

and constructing both solid and 

hollow wooden spars in this hands-on 

class. 

Sail Making 

Students learn about the layout, 

lofting and building of sails. Repairing 

and re-cutting sails is covered as 

is machine sewing and handwork 

technique used by sailmakers. 

Knotting and Splicing 

Rigging and operating your boat in a 

safe seamanlike manner requires 

practical knowledge of the proper use 

of a variety of knots and splices. 

For more information contact: 

NCMM, 315 Front Street 

Beaufort, NC 28516, 252-728-7317 or 

maritime@ncmail.net • 


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Samuel 

Johnson 

BOATBUILDER 

624 W. Ewing Street 

Seattle, WA 98119 

206-375-3907 

drathmarine 

Email: sjboats@gmail.com 

http://drathmarine.com 

1557 Cattle Point Road 

Friday Harbor, WA 98250 

Mole got it right... 

ALBERT’S WOODEN BOATS INC. 

• Double ended lapstrake 

• Marine ply potted in Epoxy 

• Rowboats – 15' & fast 17' 

• Electric Launches – 15' & 18' 

A. Eatock, 211 Bonnell Rd. 

Bracebridge, ONT. CANADA P1L 1W9 

705-645-7494 alsboats@sympatico.ca 

Museum Quality 

Wherries, Canoes and Cabin Cruisers 

54442 Pinetree Lane, North Fork, CA 93643 

559-877-8879 trapskiffjim@sti.net 

Richard Kolin 

Custom wooden traditional small craft 

designed and built 

Boatbuilding and maritime skills instruction 

Oars and marine carving 

360-659-5591 

kolin1@gte.net 

4107-77th Place NW 

Marysville, WA 98271 

22 We thank our Sponsor Members for their support and urge all members to consider using their services.

SPECIALIZING IN 

SMALL-CRAFT 

SAILS 

www.dabblersails.com 

dab@crosslink.net 

Ph/fax 804-580-8723 

PO Box 235, Wicomico Church, VA 22579 

Stuart K. Hopkins, Sole Prop 

BOATS PLANS BOOKS TOOLS 

Specializing in traditional small craft since 1970. 

Duck Trap Woodworking 

www.duck-trap.com 

Fine Traditional Rowing 

& Sailing Craft 

NORTH 

RIVER 

BOATWORKS 

RESTORATIONS 

741 Hampton Ave. 

Schenectady, NY 12309 

518-377-9882 

PISCATAQUA WHERRY 

14' Length, 47" Beam, 150 Pounds. This rugged, sturdy rowing 

boat is ideal for young adults, men or women, either for pleasure, 

sport or good health. The Wherry is steady and well balanced 

with a deep full length keel so that it rows with surprising ease. 

Box 631, Kennebunkport, ME 04046, 207-967-4298 

www.bayofmaineboats.com 

GACO oarlock snaps onto the oar for 

semi permanent capture. Made from 

hardened 316 stainless and UV proof 

polypropylene. Kind to oars, it is 

carefully angled shape cuts out friction 

and wear. Cost: $35 for two oarlocks, 

two sockets and sleeves from 

Jamestown Distributors. 

ROB BARKER 

Wooden Boat Building 

and Repair 

615 MOYERS LANE 

EASTON, PA 18042 

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MIKE WICK 

BASEMENT BOATYARD 

134 E Main Str 

Moorestown, NJ 08057 

856-222-1216 

Email: petedempsey@worldnet.att.net 

Duck Soup Inn 

50 Duck Soup Lane 

Friday Harbor, WA 98250 

360-378-4878 

Fine Dining for Sailors 

Les Gunther 

This space is available 

to a Sponsor level member. 

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LARS NIELSEN 361-8547C 

656-0848/1-800-667-2275 P 

250-656-9663 F 

P.O.Box 2250, Sidney 

BC Canada V8L 3S8 

lars@westwindhardwood.com 

R. K. Payne Boats 

http://homepage.mac.com/ 

rkpayneboats 

The Design Wor 

orks 

PO Box 8372, Silver Spring MD 20907 

301-589-9391 or toll free 877- 637-7464 

www.messingabout.com 

Rex & Kathie Payne 

3494 SR 135 North 

Nashville, IN 

47448 

Ph 812-988-0427 

24 We thank our Sponsor Members for their support and urge all members to consider using their services.

S 

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EZ-Row, Inc 

Forward Facing Rowing 

System,with Sliding Seat 

Comes Complete 

Nothing else to buy 

EZ-ROW INC. 

www.ez-row.com 

877-620-1921 

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We thank our Sponsor Members for their support and urge all members to consider using their services. 25

Now in Our 

25th Year! 

40 Pages — 24 Issues/Year 

$8 Trial Subscription (6 Issues) — $32 Subscription (24 Issues) 

Seaworthy Small Ships 

Dept A, POBox 2863 

Prince Frederick, MD 20678 

800-533-9030 

Catalog Available $1.00 

www.seaworthysmallships.com 

Damaged Journal? 

If your Ash Breeze is missing pages or gets beaten up in the mail, let 

the editor know. Email: drathmarine@rockisland.com 

Tom Walz Machinery Co., Inc 

One Roundabout Lane 

Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107 


Copy Deadline, 

Format, and Ads 

Deadlines 

v29#1, Spring 2009, January 1 

Articles 

The Ash Breeze is a member-supported 

publication. Members are welcome to contribute. 

We encourage you to send material 

electronically. Text may be sent in the 

body of an email message or, alternatively, 

as MSWord attachments. Send photos by 

US mail or as email attachments in jpg or 

tif format. Typewritten material or material 

submitted on computer disk will be 

accepted too. Please give captions for photographs 

(naming people and places) and 

photo credits. Email to: 

drathmarine@rockisland.com 

Advertising Rates 

Effective March 1, 2006 

Yearly rates, 4 issues/year 

Sponsor - No Ad $50 

Sponsor with ad - 1/8 page $60 

Corporate Sponsor - 1/4 page $125 

Corporate Sponsor - 1/2 page $250 

Corporate Sponsor - 1 page $350 

Corporate Sponsors with 1 page ads 

will be named as sponsors of a TSCA 

related event and will be mentioned in 

the ad for that event. 

Members’ Exchange 

50 words or less. Free to members except 

$10 if photo is included. 

Back Issues 

Original or duplicated back issues are 

available for $4 each plus postage. 

Contact Flat Hammock Press for ordering 

details. 

Volume Year Issue 

Newsletter 1975-77 1,2,3,4 

1 1978 1,2,3,4 

2 1979 1 

3 1979,0,1 1-9 

4 1982 1,2,3,4 

5 1983 1,2,3,4 

6 1984 1,2,4 

7 1985 1,2,3,4 

8 1986 1,2,3,4 

9 1987 1,2,3,4 

10 1988 1,2,3,4 

11 1989 1,2,3,4 

12 1990 1,2,3,4 

13 1991 1,2,3,4 

14 1992 1,2,3,4 

15 1993 1,2,3,4 

16 1994 1,2,3,4 

17 1995 1,2,3,4 

18 1996 1,2,3,4 

19 1997 1,2,3,4 

20 1998/99 1,2,3 

21 1999/00 1,2,3,4 

22 2001 1,2,3 

23 2002 1,2,3 

24 2003 1,2,3,4 

25 2004 1,2,3,4 

26 2005 1,2,3,4 

27 2006 1,2,3,4 

28 2007 1,2,3 

Flat Hammock Press 

5 Church Street, Mystic, CT 06355 

860-572-2722 

steve@flathammockpress.com 

TSCA WARES 

Caps 

Pre-washed 100% cotton, slate blue with 

TSCA logo in yellow and white. Adjustable 

leather strap and snap/buckle. $15. 

($14 to members if purchased at TSCA 

meets.) 

T-shirts 

100% cotton, light gray with the TSCA 

logo. $15.00 postpaid for sizes M, L, and 

XL and $16.00 for XXL. 

Patches 

3 inches in diameter featuring our logo 

with a white sail and a golden spar and 

oar on a light-blue background. Black 

lettering and a dark-blue border. $3.00 

Please send a SASE with your order. 

Decals 

Mylar-surfaced weatherproof decals 

similar to the patches except the border 

is black. Self-sticking back. $1. Please 

send a SASE with your order. 

Burgees 

12" x 18" pennant with royal blue field 

and TSCA logo sewn in white and gold. 

Finest construction. $30 postpaid. 

Visit the TSCA web site for ordering 

information. 

www.tsca.net/wares.html 

TSCA MEMBERSHIP FORM 

I wish to: Join Renew Change my address 

Individual/Family ($20 annually) 

Patron ($100 annually) 

Sponsor ($50 annually) 

Canadian with Airmail Mailing ($25 annually) 

Sponsor with 1/8 page ad ($60 annually) 

Other foreign with Airmail Mailing ($30 annually) 

Enclosed is my check for $____________________________________ made payable to TSCA. 

Chapter member? Yes No (circle) Which Chapter? _________________________________ 

Name ________________________________________________________________________ 

Address ________________________________________________________________________ 

Town ______________________________State_______ Zip Code________________________ 

Email _____________________________________________________________________________ 

Mail to: Secretary, Traditional Small Craft Association, Inc., P. O. Box 350, Mystic, CT 06355. 

Note: Individual and Family Memberships qualify for one vote and one copy of each TSCA mailing. Family Memberships 

qualify all members of the immediate family to participate in all other TSCA activities.

Boats at anchor in the early morning mist. Marshall Beach, Tomales Bay, CA. Marshall Beach is the site of the Sacramento 

Chapter’s annual meeting and camp-out. See the story, Observations on Marshall Beach inside this issue. Todd Bloch photo. 

The Traditional Small 

Craft Association 

The Ash Breeze 

PO Box 350 

Mystic, CT 06355 

Non-Profit Org. 

US Postage 

PAID 

Providence, RI 

Permit No. 1899 

Address Service Requested 

Time to Renew? Help us save postage by photocopying the membership form 

on the inside back cover and renewing before we send you a renewal request.

Vol. 28, No. 4 - Traditional Small Craft Association

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