Hooked On Wooden Boats

Today’s podcast is an interview with Marty Loken, founder of the Port Townsend Pocket Yachters and (almost) retired from his Boatshop on Marrowstone Island. The Pocket Yachters like to keep it simple – no officers, dues, bylaws, regulations nor fees to attend the annual Palooza. Last year I attended the first ever Palooza and had a blast. This year I attended the second annual Pocket Yacht Palooza and must say it was amazing – this is a must attend event so mark your calendars for July 19 and 20th 2014! There were 75 pocket yachts (including my canoe Chelan ) from the Puget Sound area, Colorado, northern CA, OR, ID, and British Columbia. And Sam Devlin was there showing off his first ever Lit’l Coot 18ʹ Motorsailer. There appears to be a growing interest in small boats since they are easier and cheaper to maintain and build, quicker to launch, and just plain get used because the boats aren’t complicated! And this is right up my alley as I love small boats and building them is a blast too! ------------------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS  Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s podcast is an interview with Scott Sprague of Bainbridge Island. I met Scott at the 2013 Bainbridge Island Wooden Boat Festival while he was relaxing on the beautiful 42ʹ double ended sloop – Tumblehome – he designed and built. We had a great time talking shop and I learned what a rotating wing spar is :). Scott grew up on Bainbridge Island and from a very tender age he was sailing his parents gaff rigged sloop and wooded schooner around Puget Sound and into Canada. During high school he started designing boats and after graduating, he purchased a fishing boat hull and converted it to a 29ʹ wishbone ketch which he lived aboard for 7 years. Scott was introduced to his dad’s good friend, renowned Northwest boat designer William Garden, as a youth and had the privilege of being mentored by Garden on vessel design. Between 1981 and 1989 Scott designed and built a very unique sloop – Tumblehome. ------------------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS  Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s podcast is an interview with Betsy Davis, Executive Director of The Center for Wooden Boats (CWB) in Seattle, WA. I chatted with Davis while she was sitting on her classic 1914 yacht Glory Be during the 37th annual Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival. We had a great time talking about CWB, the Glory Be, and other fun stuff. Betsy spent her formidable years on Mercer Island and enjoyed getting out on canoes and row boats on Lake Washington. After working in the hi-tech industry, becoming a board member at CWB, and purchasing Glory Be in 1997, Betsy took some time to reflect on the next step in her life journey. That process landed her in the 2 year Marine Carpentry Program at Seattle Central Community College. In January of 2002 while attending the Marine Carpentry Program, fire struck the Seattle Yacht Club where Glory Be was moored and she burned and sank. Three weeks later, her wreckage was pulled out of the water and she miraculously floated just like a boat should. One of Betsy’s Marine Carpentry instructions witnessed that phenomenon, and offered to Davis that if she would pay for the materials, the Marine Carpentry school would restore Glory Be. Over the next 2 years, she was lovingly and painstakingly restored to her former glory, and looks as beautiful today as she did when she was launched in 1914 from the Taylor-Grandy yard on Vashon Island, WA. And in 2003, Betsy became the Executive Director of CWB.

Today’s podcast is an interview with George Fisher whom I met at the 2013 Bainbridge Island Wooden Boat Festival while he was relaxing on his sleek 1937 Swedish sailing vessel Hansina. We had a great time talking shop and recorded a really fun interview. When George was 11, his dad came home and announced to the family he had purchased a “30 Square Meter” boat. This was a complete surprise as George’s family had done very little boating and none of the family even knew what a 30 Square Meter boat was. George sailed with his family on the boat on Long Island Sound, and at the age of 14, he took her out by himself without his parents knowledge (or permission). He fell in love with the boat and got out on her as much as possible. For 20 plus years after college, George didn’t do any boating to speak of, but continued to research and collect information about 30 Square Meter boats all over the world. While flying on a business trip in 2005, he spotted a 30 Square Meter boat for sale at Lake Huron. When he came home and told his wife about the Lake Huron boat, she shocked George and said “you should buy it”. George flew to Lake Huron, bought the boat, hauled her home, renamed her “Hansina“, and the rest is history. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s podcast is an interview with Pat Lown who has been at WoodenBoat Publications Inc. since 1993 and is currently the Director of Research. Pat grew up in Kingston, New York near the Hudson River. Her family did not go boating, but as a youth she was introduced to boating when she attended a YMCA day camp where she had a great time paddling and rowing the canoes and rowboats there. Growing up in Kingston, Pat was aware of the Hudson River sloop Clearwater (America’s Environmental Flagship) and the one to two week volunteer stints they offered. Pat volunteered after graduating high school in 1975 and fell in love with the boat and the water. She continued to volunteer frequently that summer and traveled to Stonington, ME in January 1976 to help with the restoration of the Clearwater at Billings Diesel and Marine on Deer Isle. Lown had planned to stay 2 weeks, but was so taken by Maine that she settled there where she lives to this day. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s podcast is an interview with Todd Blankenship and his father Arlie Blankenship. Arlie grew up in Port Townsend, WA fishing with a bamboo pole and hand reel in a 12ʹ wooden boat his dad made. When Todd was a teenager in Hawaii, he and Arlie built an Eight Ball sailing dinghy together and took sailing lessons. From that time on, they were hooked on sailing and owned several boats including a Hobie Cat. At the September 2011 Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend, WA Todd & Arlie laid eyes on the SCAMP #1 boat for the first time. Arlie thought “it was ugly”, but Todd liked the fact that it was a seaworthy and stable boat. They purchased the plans that day and two weeks later ordered the Okoume plywood SCAMP kit from Small Craft Advisor Magazine. They completed “Humu” in August 2012 just in time for the Wooden Boat Festival. And Todd made the sail himself after taking a sailmaking class from Sean Rankins. Todd and Arlie sail Humu (Humu is the State Fish of Hawaii) around Puget Sound every chance they get, and love every minute of the SCAMP experience! ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s podcast is an interview with Matt Murphy. Matt is the editor of Wooden Boat Magazine in Brooklin ME where he has worked since 1992. Matt grew up in Salem, MA “playing in boats during the summers while dreaming about them in the winters”. He cut his mariner teeth sailing one design sloops such as the Rhodes 19, Etchells 22, and Town Class sloop around the Marblehead area of Massachusetts. At the age of 14 he picked up his first Wooden Boat Magazine and became totally hooked on wooden boats. Murphy built his first wooden boat – a 22ʹ King Fisher rowing shell – while in college, then he built a strip planked kayak, a dinghy, and a peapod, and the list continues to grow! In early 1992 Matt responded to an ad in Wooden Boat Magazine for an associate editor , was hired, and has loved his “job” ever since, including traveling around the world to research, write about, and photograph wooden boats. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s podcast contains two interviews from the NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, WA. The first interview is with Steve Stanton. Steve is a retired law enforcement officer from Colorado and is a student this year at the School. Hear Steve share his insights about the School and some of the fun things he is learning. The second interview is with Bruce Blatchley, Contemporary Instructor at the School. Bruce and I talk about the progress of the 62ʹ day sailor “Sliver”, cold molded boat building, the School’s Calkins Bartender boat build, Bruce’s wooden surf board build, and other fun stuff. You can find out more about Bruce’s personal history in the previous interview I did with Bruce – HOWB022. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s podcast contains two interviews from the 2013 Olympia,WA Wooden Boat Fair. The first interview is with Tom Pearson. Tom is a volunteer for the Tugboat Sandman. She was built and designed by Crawford & Reid in Tacoma, WA and launched in 1910. Sandman is 59ʹ 10ʺ x 14ʹ 6ʺ and is planked with old growth Douglas Fir. She was a working tug until 1987 and has spent her entire life in Puget Sound. The second interview is with Michael Fife who is co-owner of the classic Yacht Naida. Naida is a 48ʹ Grebe built in Hollywood in 1935 and believed to have first been owned by Humphrey Bogart. She is a bridge-deck design with elegant tuck-n-roll upholstery, bronze engine controls, and a colorful leaded glass hatch. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s interview is with Jay Smith of Anacortes, WA. Jay studied Clinker boat building in Norway when he was in his 20’s then moved back to the US and has continued building traditional lapstrake boats for the last 30 plus years (for more on Jay’s personal history listen to my previous interview with Jay at HOWB 007). One of the projects Jay is working on is a 56ʹ viking ship which is being being fastened with traditional hand made wooden trunnels. Jay is machining the trunnels from Pacific Yew – a dense, rot resistant, and flexible wood, which was prized for long bow construction in medieval England. In the fall of 2012, Jay traveled to Europe and and met with traditional boatbuilder John Macaulay of the Isle of Harris in Scotland. John has been building all his life, and specializes in lapstrake construction that was influenced by the Vikings beginning in the 8th century. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s interview is with Masaki Tobashi of Kyoto, Japan. Masaki is a student at the NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding (NWSWBB) in Port Hadlock, WA. Masaki enjoyed woodworking when he was very young and was especially attracted to wooden boats. When he was in the 8th grade his mom found the website for the NWSWBB and Tobahashi watched a 16 minute video of master instructor Jeff Hammond magically shaping lapstrake boat parts. Masaki was hooked and set a goal to attend The NWSWBB after high school. Masaki made good on his goal. After high school he worked for one year in Japan to save for one year of school. In the fall of 2012, he moved to Port Hadlock to start school and is loving every minute of it! Masaki has a “huge dream” (for later in life) to set up a Wooden Boat Center in Japan which would include a traditional boats museum, boat shop, and a boatbuilding school. Go for it Masaki!! ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s interview is with Doug Hylan, owner of D.N. Hylan & Associates in Brooklin, Maine. Doug grew up north of Boston with the allure of a small lake in his neighborhood. He was fascinated by boats and at an early age finished building a skiff that his dad and brother had only partially completed. Being on a small budget Doug got creative and made sails out of fabric he found at the local dump. With that small skiff he learned to sail on the local lake (even though he couldn’t swim and there were no life jackets). As an adolescent, Hylan spotted catamaran plans in a Popular Mechanics magazine and built her in the family’s cellar. This boat was a disappointing design for Doug, but he used her anyway and enhanced his boatbuilding skills. After attending college to study bio chemistry while dabbling in hippie homesteading, he moved to Maine and took a job with Jimmy Steele. Jim was a residential contractor who built peapod boats on the side. Doug was intrigued by the peapod design, and Jim allowed him to make the sailing rigs as the orders came in. Next Doug took a job with Joel White (founder of Brooklin Boat Yard) for a couple winters, then became a partner at Benjamin River Marine, where he worked on restoration and construction of wooden vessels. In 1998 he started D.N. Hylan & Associates where he specializes in the construction, restoration, and design of wooden boats. Doug has studied the designs of, and has refurbished boats by the late Herreshoffs (N.G. and his son L. Francis). Doug incorporates Herreshoff principles into the designs of his own boats. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s interview is with Andy Stewart, one of the owners of Emerald Marine Carpentry in Anacortes, WA. Growing up, Andy’s dad was in the foreign service so the family lived overseas and moved frequently. As a youth, Andy enjoyed woodworking and a limited amount of boating with family and friends. He also remembers visiting his Great Great Uncle’s boat shop in Ilwaco WA. In his teen years, Andy landed at Bellevue (WA) high school and then attended the University of WA and Evergreen State College in Olympia WA. During Andy’s 18 years in Olympia, WA, he and his wife owned a T-Bird sailboat, a 36ʹ Yawl (Windsong), and spent a lot of time sailing between south Puget Sound and Canada. He also worked for the Rights of Man Boat Shop in Shelton, WA building large wooden craft under Carl Brownstein. In the late 1990’s Andy and his family moved to Anacortes, WA to get to some “bigger water”. And in 1999 Andy started Emerald Marine Carpentry to focus on his passion for wooden boats. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

I thought it would be fun to interview a few students at the NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, WA to get their perspective of Getting In The Wooden Boat Game. This week’s student interview is with Randy Roberts of Colorado. Randy is a retired Air Force officer where he worked as a navigator and as an intelligence officer for nearly 30 years. After retiring, Randy decided to use the education benefits provided him under the Post 9/11 GI Bill. He also wanted to work with his hands, and loves sailing – all of which led him to the boat school at Port Hadlock. Randy and his wife sold their home in Colorado to move to Puget Sound to attend the boat school starting in October 2012. Prior to attending the school Randy had no woodworking experience and by his own account, he has already learned a ton of skills which will be useful in many facets of his own life. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Todays featured spot is an interview with Captain Joshua Berger of the schooner Adventuress of Sound Experience. Sound Experience is the caretaker of the 1913 BB Crowninshield designed 2 masted gaff rigged topsail 101ʹ schooner. Joshua grew up in New York sailing on Manhassett Bay with his father. He competitively raced Bluejays, 420’s, 505’s, and Lasers during college and high school. As a youth he sailed on the Clearwater – a Pete Seeger replica of a Hudson River sloop – and became intrigued by science-based environmental education aboard a sailing ship. After several sailings to the West Indies and working on charter boats – including an Alden Schooner – Joshua moved to the west coast and attended the Evergreen State College studying experiential education while living on a 1930’s John Thomas Taylor designed ’28 ketch. Soon after he captained the Clearwater and eventually became one of the Captains of Adventuress. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Todays featured spot is Part 2 of an interview with Chris Wallace and Jeff Carson. Chris and Jeff live aboard their vintage 65ʹ wooden double ender Kwaietek, and both work on the schooner Zodiac. Today’s podcast is focused on the Zodiac. Zodiac is a 160ʹ (sparred length) two masted gaff topsail wooden schooner designed by William H. Hand Jr. She was built by Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard and launched in 1924 at East Boothbay, Maine. Originally she was built for the heirs to the Johnson & Johnson family, then became a bar pilot boat in San Francisco, retiring in 1972. In the mid 1970’s, the Vessel Zodiac Corporation was formed and she was restored over a 13 year period. She is now home ported in Bellingham, WA and available for charter trips in the Puget Sound and Gulf Islands of Canada. In 2010, Zodiac was dismasted while cruising in Puget Sound. Fortunately there were only a couple minor injuries and a new tree was found to replace the broken mast (128ʹ length). Chris and Jeff give more details of this event during the interview.

Todays featured spot is an interview with Chris Wallace and Jeff Carson. Chris and Jeff live aboard their vintage 65ʹ wooden double ender – Kwaietek. Kwaietek is an ex British Columbia, Canada Forest Service boat that is built stout and beautiful. Chris is also the Port Captain for the wooden schooner Zodiac. Jeff was born in California, the son of a career Navy man. The family moved frequently and eventually his dad retired in West Virginia where Jeff attended High School and then college at Western Virginia University. Jeff studied and graduated with a degree in Design and Technical Theater and went on to travel with theater companies building complex sets for their plays. Eventually Carson ended up working at the Seattle Repertory Theater building sets. During this stint, he met wife Chris Wallace. Chris hailed from Corvallis, OR and her father was a well know professional set designer for theater. Chris learned the old school techniques from her father for painting theater sets and went on to study costume design and art history in college. Chris eventually moved to Seattle and joined the production side of the Seattle Repertory Theater. Chris first learned to sail on the 160ʹ wooden schooner Zodiac, and earned her 200 ton Captains license. She is now the Port Captain for the Zodiac. Jeff and Chris first lived on a 36ʹ sloop in Seattle and eventually bought a ’40 ketch. Then in 2010 they purchased Kwaietek, which they live aboard with their youngest daughter Juliet. Kwaietek was built in 1923 and used by the BC Forest Service to take survey and inventory crews and top brass to the forests along the west coast of British Columbia. She is plank on frame constructed with a 100 hp Gardner diesel which has powered the boat since 1936. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

Today’s featured segment is an interview with Scott Jones of the NW Maritime Center in Port Townsend, WA. I recorded the interview during SCAMP Camp #3, which is put on by the NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, WA. Scott and I had a great time talking about the SCAMP boat and Camp, other projects at the NW Maritime Center and upcoming cool wooden boat events. Plus he gave me a few boatbuilding tips. Scott is an easy going guy who loves his job and really excels at what he does. Keep up the great work Scott! To listen to the interview I did with Scott last year about his personal and boating history, check out Episode 049. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

This Episode of HOWB is an interview with Howard Rice of small boat adventure fame, and founder of SmallCraftAcademy.com. We met up a couple weeks ago during SCAMP Camp #3 at the NW Maritime Center in Port Townsend, WA . The SCAMP Camp is run by the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building (Port Hadlock, WA) and employs Howard Rice as one of the lead instructors. The Camp is an awesome 2 week event where you complete approximately 50% of the SCAMP boat. I always enjoy speaking with Howard as he is a very articulate, knowledgeable and enthusiastic seaman who has, and continues to do amazing and fun stuff with small boats and to promote the benefits of small vessels to folks worldwide. During the interview we had a great time talking about the SCAMP boat, the SCAMP Camp (next one is in August in Port Townsend) and the new adventures of SmallCraftAcademy.com. The Academy is getting into online boat training and building classes among other things, in a new and cool way. So check it out at their website and listen to the interview with Howard for all the details. Also, if you have not listened to the interview I did with Howard last year about his personal adventures and a portion of his life history, check out Episode 039. And if you want to hear an interview with the SCAMP designer – John Welsford – check out Episode 048. And last but not least, the brainchild of the SCAMP – Josh Colvin – at Episode 040.

Today’s featured segment is an interview with Korie and Tupper Griffith and their son Owen, of Port Townsend, WA. The Griffiths have a rich history of sailing and wooden boats. Tupper grew up in Eugene, OR and learned to surf in CA while visiting relatives. After high school, he moved to San Diego, CA and became heavily involved in surfing. He also started cutting his teeth at sailing as crew on the 1928 Alden Schooner Kelpie . Next was a stint in the USCG at Tillamook Bay, OR where he served as crewman on ’44 motor life boats. In 2003, Tupper was invited to crew on the Schooner Martha by his sister Holly (wife to Captain Robert d’Arcy of the schooner Martha). Shortly thereafter he moved to Port Townsend and met his now wife, Korie, who was Captain of the Adventuress. Korie was raised in Wisconsin and did very little boating as a kid. However she dreamed of moving to the coast and experiencing the ocean someday. During her college days, she spent one summer in the Florida Keys working at a Boy Scout adventure training (thru boats) camp. And then later, went back for a full year of work at the Camp – and loved it! Next it was on to grad school in chemical oceanography during which time she learned about the Tall Ship programs. In Long Beach, CA, Korie became involved with the Spirit of Dana Point schooner directing educational programs and experienced her first blue water cruise. While earning her Captains license, her sailing destinations included the east coast, the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas. In 2003 she Met Wayne Chimenti (Captain of Adventuress) at Long Beach who called on her to be a relief mate for Adventuress. Then in 2006, Chimenti brought Griffith on to replace his as one of the Captains of Adventuress. ------------------------------------ You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures. Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.