New Boat 4 Sled

[sleddog]

Is the Wilderness 30 a made in Santa Cruz boat?

Wilderness 30's were a "Made in Santa Cruz" boat, on Mission St.,out on the West Side. I'm guessing 15-20 were built between 1979 and 1990, when the molds were cut up.

Wilderness 30's came in different configurations: masthead, fractional, different keels, inboard engine, outboard. Many were owner finished as a "kit boat." Unfortunately, the Wilderness Company was financially strapped as well as up against a worthy competitor from across town: the Express-27.

 

[sleddog]

Flippy having way too much fun!

 

[sleddog]

Flippy enjoyed getting leied at the Pacific Cup Awards Dinner last evening:


Flippy, a Pacific Cup veteran, got to the bottom of the mai-tais and likely has an obligatory hangover this morning


Back home in Santa Cruz, Wednesday Night racers experienced an orange sunset, thanks to the 33,000 acre Soberanes fire in Big Sur, 40 miles south. Currently 57 homes destroyed, 15% containment.

 

[sleddog]

Here's the broken plastic pipe that caused Commodore Tompkins' FLASHGIRL to partially sink at anchor at Kaneohe during a thunderstorm associated with Tropical Storm Darby.



Things are not what we assumed, nor yet fully explained. In a phone call this afternoon, Commodore said the intensity of the lightning strike bounced Dave Nottage out of bed 1/4 mile from the boat.

Commodore went on to describe the sink drain and its attachment to the undamaged thru-hull. He explained there was no physical connection from the mast to the sink drain. I asked what he thought happened.

Commodore said the mast was definitely hit, and he could see the melted windvane at the mast head. He went on to say that he felt the power of the lightning bolt caused the boat to flex, which caused the plastic pipe to cleanly break near the right angle thruhull.

There was much I wanted to ask. But refrained, as I could hear the work crew (Synthia and Bruce Ladd) emptying the boat, and water sloshing in the background.

One question would be: how did the lightning strike at the masthead exit the boat? Was the mast damaged? (the main halyard apparently still works.)

Another question would be: what is to be learned from this unfortunate situation?

More questions than answers at this point.

 

[Philpott]

More questions than answers at this point.

Flippy is on site. What does Flippy say?

 

[sleddog]

Flippy is on site. What does Flippy say?

Flippy says, "if this sailor dude, a Cape Horner at age 4, is still smiling, so am I. The IPU (International Porpoise Union) will forever watch over Commodore, his boat, and crew."

Good on Commodore. Good on Flippy.

 

[BobJ]

(Sled has 1,000 posts!)

For a bit of vacation we planned to stay at the Highlands Inn this week. However, while packing the car Tuesday morning we received a call from the resort encouraging us to stay away due to the fire (see Sled's photo from this morning). Some quick juggling within our timeshare network resulted in our staying up at the Hyatt Regency in Incline. And this led to the opportunity to see some gorgeous wooden boats at the annual South Tahoe Wooden Boat Classic.

For my People's Choice award vote, I selected the stunning 36' commuter named THUNDERCHICK: Some photos found online. I was initially attracted to this boat because of its blue trim, but then I found out it has a connection to some great local history including some personal nostalgia - it was built at the Stone Boat Yard in Alameda, while that yard was owned by David Olson. More to come.

 

[sleddog]

For my People's Choice award vote, I selected the stunning 36' commuter named THUNDERCHICK: Some photos found online.

I'll match with BABY BOOTLEGGER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3XVUjVkXqI

 

[Dazzler]

More questions than answers at this point.

Wow! Lots of questions...

If Commodore's theory is correct, and I suspect it is well founded, it does give pause to the wisdom of using any form of rigid piping connected to a thru-hull.

Tom P.

 

[BobJ]

(Yes Tom, that looks like my lawn sprinkler piping - not even Marelon!)

Sled, if you're fond of boats like BABY BOOTLEGGER you would have loved this show - the theme this year was "Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a Race" and it featured vintage race boats.

David Olson (of Tiburon) owned the Stone Boat Yard from 2000 until it closed for good in 2004. My understanding is the main reason Mr. Olson bought the yard was to maintain his fleet of seven vintage wooden boats. THUNDERCHICK was built there in 2003. In this show, Mr. Olson entered his 33' "Gentleman's Racer" T-44 WILD HORSES: Photo.

These boats are amazing up close. Besides the perfect finishes, some of them have engines from Lycoming, Allison and Rolls Royce/Merlin. Sound familiar? Some came from WWII fighter planes!
.

 

[Dazzler]

Regarding the Soberanes Fire, I've had good reason to be tracking it very closely: my brother lives in Palo Colorado Canyon and was required to evacuate late Friday night July 22, over a week ago. Their home was in the direct path of the fire. The good news is that their home has not burned. But, the forecast for when they can return is not until full containment: August 31. Unlike many, they had a place to go. Our recently diseased parent's home is in Carmel Highlands and was vacant. Ironically, the Highlands came under an evacuation warning within 24 hour of their arrival. That warning was lifted on Friday. My brother reports that Carmel Highlands is now smoke free.

For anyone planning a vacation to the Monterey Peninsula, the tourist related business are really suffering. All the parks are closed, including Point Lobos, but the Monterey Bay Aquarium is open, and there's still lots to do including whale watching, kayaking on Monterey Bay and Elkhorn Slough, and of course world-class scuba diving.

The fire will not end soon. The forecast is that it may increase in size to 170,000 acres before it's done. There are presently over 5,000 people involved in fighting this fire. This is BIG.

Tom P.

Sunday AM Update: The wind was from the south-east overnight pushing lots of smoke toward Carmel. The fire fighters are saying "expect more smoke today" as they are setting back burns.

 

[BobJ]

Hopefully the marine layer that made it upriver to Benicia last night is also well inland below Monterey and cooling things down. Best hopes and wishes to your brother, Tom, and to the 5,000+ firefighters working this huge fire.

My dad and I first met Lester Stone aboard his 33'er SCAMP at the Alameda Marina, in about 1970. SCAMP was built in 1967, a sistership to LITTLE PACKET, which had been built in 1959 for Christopher Jenkes, then Commodore of the St. Francis Yacht Club. SCAMP was at least the fourth boat built for Mr. Stone by his own yard. His previous boat, VAYA was built in 1955 and was sailing on the Bay when I was a kid. I also remember seeing ROWENA, a 1964 build from the Stone yard. The list of boats from the Stone yards is extensive and includes six Yankee OD's including FLAME (see earlier in Skip's thread) and four Bird Class boats:

Stone Boat Yard history

All this nostalgia caused me to revisit the current listing for LITTLE PACKET. Yes, you can buy an original Stone-designed and built boat! It's at Berkeley Marina and looks to be in good shape, having been refastened in 2005:

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/195...972735/Berkeley/CA/United-States#.V54gSvkrLIU
.

 

[Dazzler]

Bob,
Through involvement with the Oakand Museum, we have gotten to know Roberta Stone O'Grady, granddaughter of W. F. Stone and niece of Lester F. Stone. Roberta lives in Alameda and is very proud of her family history.

I sailed on ROWENA with her original owner, Don Dalziel. A memorable event was the 1974 CCA New Year's Eve raft up in Clipper Cove with the schooner YANKEE along one side. Don's next boat was NATOMA, one of the last boats built at the Stone Boat Yard.

I have been surprised that LITTLE PACKET has been on the market for so long. She is quite lovely in her own way.

Tom P.

 

[BobJ]

Since the linked list of Stone-built boats includes their documentation numbers, we're able to search the vessel documentation database for them. VAYA and ROWENA are no longer current but NATOMA is. She is owned by Hubert Coalson in NC and shows a Los Angeles hailing port. ROWENA's documentation was last issued in 2004 with a San Francisco hailing port.

All this reminiscing sent me to the shelf for my copy of Diane Beeston's "Of Wind, Fog and Sail." Stone-built boats are well represented in its pages.

It's hard to say why LITTLE PACKET hasn't sold. I'd guess mostly her age and wood construction, but also the Atomic Four and in my case, the little wheel. Sure, if she just had a tiller I'd be all over it!

 

[DaveH]

Serendipity is an odd thing...
10 years ago, when I first moved to Alameda after my 2nd stint in Santa Cruz, Naomi (famously not a "boat person") fell in love with the weathered sign for the recently closed Stone Boat Yard. Just liked the look of it.

So much so that she dragged a professional photographer friend [notably from Santa Cruz] round to Blanding street one evening insisting that it be documented...
the resulting framed print, attached here, has lived at various places in our house ever since.



Thanks for the history!

DH

 

[sleddog]

Thanks for the Stone Boat Yard history.

Here's another piece of history: What semi-famous ocean race starts south of the flagpole of this building in this 1911 photo?

 

[skatzman]

That's a photo of the Corinthian YC, Tiburon. Semi-famous race starts there is the SSS Singlehanded Transpac.

 

[BobJ]

Was the pin end massively favored back then too? It wasn't that day (see the flags).

And what's with this "semi-famous" bit? I'd say hugely famous - even EPIC!

 

[Dazzler]

Since the linked list of Stone-built boats includes their documentation numbers, we're able to search the vessel documentation database for them. ROWENA's documentation was last issued in 2004 with a San Francisco hailing port.

It's hard to say why LITTLE PACKET hasn't sold. I'd guess mostly her age and wood construction, but also the Atomic Four and in my case, the little wheel. Sure, if she just had a tiller I'd be all over it!

Bob,
Not long ago, ROWENA was for sale in Newport, CA. The photos are worth a look.
http://placeaboat.com/ad/1963-philip-rhodes-custom-cutter.

With regard to LITTLE PACKET, you sound interested? It could make a great family boat. All boat prices are negotiable, and you'd have a bit of history. At the right price, you could put in a diesel. And, as for that "little wheel," there are some real advantages to geared steering (not sure if in this case it's rack and pinion of worm gear). You know what it's like to let go of the tiller for even a moment with that squirrelly balanced spade rudder on RAGS? Well, with L'll PACKET's full keel, attached rudder and geared steering, you need not worry about constantly tending the helm. Leave the helm, go walk around and leasurly come back and she will take care of you.

And, as for owning a wooden boat (from someone who has been there) it's way cheaper than a therapist.

Just saying...

Tom P.

 

[Dazzler]

I too, quickly recognized the Corintian YC. it's interesting how much in that photo still exists. I had a (very) brief part-time job there in the spring of my last year of high school. For two afternoons I did general maintenance and cleaning. I distinctly remember the smell of the bar. By the third afternoon, I think I'd worked too fast, because the manager was running out of things for me to do. He sent me to the kitchen where I was introduced to a scrub brush, a box of Spic-N-Span and pots that where almost big enough to climb into. I quickly decided that his was not what I wanted to be doing and told the manager just that. I don't think I was fired; I quit.

I left the CYC and walked down Main Street to mid-block where there was a little sailing school called The Sailing Center of Tiburon with only one boat: an S&S designed Rainbow sloop. I walked in and convinced the owner that he should hire me to teach sailing, and he did. The job lasted through the summer, and at 18 I got paid to sit on the back of the boat and tell adults what to do.

I've told my grown children that it's good to have some jobs to learn what you don't want to do, and that often making a bold change will workout for the best.

Tom P.