by Tad Roberts, Naval Architect, Vancouver BC

[Excerpted from Spring 2025 CYA Classic Yachting]

Last time we looked at some fantail sterns so now let’s move to the forward end of the boat for a look at bows and why they are shaped the way they are.  For the CYA Fleet, there are really four possible bow profiles: the plumb stem, the raked stem, the spoon bow, and the clipper bow.  While the plumb stem is certainly the most common, the other three have been adopted at times by different builders and designers for diverse reasons.

The stem has an obvious primary structural role, holding the forward halves of the hull together and as a strong point should the boat collide with anything. It also plays an aesthetic part in establishing the vessels character: the massive vertical upright of an old tug or the long graceful reverse curves of a Herreshoff clipper bow.  Finally the stem shape has significant impact on resistance and seakeeping performance stemming from the forward waterline and topsides shape.

From the 1800’s through WWII, the plumb (vertical) stem was standard on motoryachts and commercial vessels of all sizes.  It was simple and effective, creating the longest waterline for a given overall length, and the finest entrance angle (lowest resistance).  Stylistically its minimalism offered good balance to the often straight sheer lines and vertical transoms of the period.  While the fine forward topsides were easy to plank, the shape didn’t lift when driven into a wave at any speed greater than about 7 knots.  So designers and builders started to create wider deck shapes with more flair.

As these wider deck lines and greater flair in the topsides (associated with greater speed) became fashionable, the flair meant twisting topside planks to meet the vertical stem, and to ease the poor builder’s job, the raking stem was introduced.  Widely adopted in the 1950’s by builders such as Chris-Craft and designers like Edwin Monk and John L. Hacker, the raking stem was an indication that this was a fast, modern, and powerful vessel.  The downside was shorter waterlines and blunter entrance angles, increasing resistance at low speed and pushing builders to install high-horsepower, short-lived auto based gas engines, to push boats through the bow wave and up to planing speeds (image below).

The spoon bow is also an older shape, with its roots in ancient history.  Up until the 1960’s it was almost universal on sailing yachts and quite common on fishing vessels. The well-known 1897 built BC sailing yacht Dorothy is a great example of an older spoon bow, as is the schooner Bluenose.  William “Billy” Atkin designed many spoon bowed sailing and power boats.  The spoon bow offers relative ease in planking like a raked stem, and gets some buoyancy well forward to gradually lift the bow when meeting a wave (image below).

The heavily stylistic clipper bow is probably the most complex stem shape, and certainly it’s the most elegant when well executed.  With possible roots in sailing ships of the 17 and 1800’s, the shape has been around a long time, but due to its complexity and apparent fussiness, has never been widely adopted.  Good examples are seen on many of William Garden’s powerboats from the 1960’s, and the 1939 Robert Allan motor yacht Fifer.  The clipper has the benefit of being fine down low and wide up at the deck where volume (buoyancy) is wanted.  The main cost is in construction complexity and difficulty to repair should that be required.

So while stem shape goes a long way in setting a vessel’s character, its importance in structural and resistance/sea keeping functions carry equal weight.

by Tad Roberts, naval architect, BC, Canada

The stern does a lot of heavy lifting in a full dis­placement hull, and one of the oldest stern shapes is the fantail. The photo above is of three fantail sterns, all slightly different due to the intended use of these boats. Fantails in classic powerboats are descended from the early fantails used on square-rigged sailing ships. This makes the form one of the oldest styles, while its efficiency with minimum power is undeniable.

A full displacement hull is one intended to slip through the water at relatively low speed, not exceed­ing a speed/length ratio of 1.34. Speed/length ratio is the speed in knots divided by the square root of water­line length in feet. The speed/length ratio of 1.34 is of­ten referred to as “hull speed” because up to this speed the major resistance factor is surface friction, while beyond this speed wave-making becomes the major resistance factor. Full displacement hulls are those designed to operate efficiently up to hull speed, but due to rapid increases in resistance have a very hard time going faster without excessive amounts of power.

A 30’ waterline at 7.34 knots is running at a speed/length ratio of 1.34. A 40’ waterline has a hull speed of 8.47 knots, a 50’ waterline 9.47, and a 60’ waterline 10.38 knots. This shows us how lon­ger hulls get easier to push through the water, and how longer hulls can run at higher speeds with­out creating a giant wake. At hull speed (below the speed/length ratio of 1.34), a full displacement clas­sic yacht will create very little in the way of a wake.

And a big part of achieving this minimum wake is a stern shape that allows the water that’s been pushed out by the hull’s bow and midsection to return to where it was with the minimum of fuss. The fantail shape, with its long gently rising buttocks and double-ended wa­terlines, is really one of the best shapes to achieve low resistance at low speed, and its shapely form is always attractive looking. The downside to this shape is diffi­culty of construction (it’s more complex than a flat tran­som), lack of interior volume, and poor pitch damping.

Gyrfalcon was designed by Harold Hanson in 1941 to conduct survey work in the Aleutian Islands. Chief requirements were strength, seaworthiness, and efficiency under power. Note that the “knuck­le” height of her stern is about halfway between that of Blue Peter and Tern, but her deck height is the highest of the three. The knuckle is the intersection of the bottom planking with the upper topsides. Mr. Hanson kept the deck high for increased buoyancy in case of being “pooped” by a big wave while running down-sea. And the high knuckle lengthens the aft overhang, creating a gradual increase in buoyancy as a wave lifts the stern and easing motion in a big sea.

Blue Peter’s fantail is certainly the most elegant of the three, as befits her luxury yacht status. De­signed in 1928 by Ted Geary for coast-wise cruising, seaworthiness was less a concern than outstanding good looks and efficiency under way.

Teal was also designed by Harold C. Hanson, this time in partnership with Leigh Coolidge, and launched in 1927 for Fisheries Patrol work in Alaska. Note how her fantail knuckle and deck line are the lowest of the three boats. This shape is a result of her inshore patrol work assignment, offering good effi­ciency with increased interior volume for storage, and the lower deck height aided access to small boats and low docks.

Classic hull forms are always a mix of technical function, intended use, and aesthetic needs. Decid­ing which of these requirements took precedence is the puzzle.

by Steve Wilen, CYA Pacific Northwest Fleet

A 32-ft raised deck Blanchard boat. Photo courtesy of S.  Wilen; MOHAI, catalog no. 89.89.257.

One summer Saturday morning in the late 1920s George Weyerhaeuser came into the shop and asked me, “Do you have boats here for sale?” I answered, “Yes, of course, we build new boats and we have them for sale,” and I went and got my father because I was still in Roosevelt High School at the time. So Dad and I took him out and showed him the thirty-two-foot standard Blanchard raised deck cruiser we had there, and he looked it over and then said to Dad, “I didn’t bring my checkbook with me. Would one-hundred dollars hold it?” And Dad said, “Well, normally we expect ten percent, but this late in the season there’s very little likelihood of anybody coming around who hasn’t seen the boat already, so I guess I could hold it for a week or two on the strength of a hundred-dollar bill.” So he took the money and told Mr. Weyerhaeuser, “I’ll just put this in an envelope in our safe here,” and that’s the way the deal was closed for that 32-foot, $3,500-5,000 boat.

Later - in the 1930s George Weyerhaeuser’s nine-year old son George was kidnapped in Tacoma, WA, United States. The grandson of prominent lumberman and company founder J. P. Weyerhaeuser, young George was successfully released for ransom and eventually succeeded his father as the chairman of the Weyerhaeuser company.

Well, Mr. Weyerhaeuser came back the following Saturday in a taxi, paid off the balance on the boat and told my dad, “I’m on my way to Minneapolis-St. Paul for a family wedding,” and he didn’t say whose wedding it was, “so I’ll be coming back to Seattle in just two weeks from tomorrow on the Empire Builder, and I’ll come by the shop by taxi and then take the boat home to Tacoma.” So Dad said, “Fine.” But, when it came time for Mr. Weyerhaeuser’s return, Dad had received an invitation to go duck hunting on a cruiser with some of his best, old-time friends, so he said to me, “OK, on the weekend in question you know Mr. Weyerhaeuser is coming to take delivery of his boat.” I acknowledged that. He said, “Well, I want you to go down to the shop on Friday afternoon, wash her all down nice and clean just like you would for Harry Gowman or McDonald Smith. I want you to get the woodbox full, the wood locker full, of good hardwood scraps from the scrap pile, and get a good fire going. You lay it on Friday, and the next morning you start it so the boat is nice and warm when he gets here. And, if he should come alone, you offer to go with him back to Tacoma.” And that’s the way it happened that I got a cruise with George Weyerhaeuser.

By the time Mr. Weyerhaeuser and I got his boat out into Elliott Bay he said to me, “I’m sure glad your dad thought to send you with me, because I didn’t know there were any locks between the fresh water and Puget Sound. In fact, if I had had to leave your place alone I would have turned the wrong way and wound up in Lake Washington.”

As we headed for Tacoma it began to blow pretty rough, and Mr. Weyerhaeuser asked me, “Do you think everything’s all right?” “Yes,” I said, “as long as that engine keeps running there’s nothing to worry about.” Well, he figured we would go down the East Pass, so I asked him, “You’re going to moor at the Tacoma Yacht Club, aren’t you.” “That’s right,” he said. “Well, it’s a little shorter if we go down the West Pass (now known as Colvos Passage),” and that’s the way we went, and it took the best part of the day before we got to the Tacoma Yacht Club and put the boat in his nice, new boathouse.

As soon as we had the boat secured in her boat house Mr. Weyerhaeuser took me up to his aunt’s home, which was a beautiful, English Tudor mansion right on the edge of the bluff, and it later became part of Annie Wright Seminary. It looked right north up the East Pass, with a gorgeous view of the Olympic Mountains, and I’m sure on occasion you could see Mt. Baker. After he had showed me the view he said, “You can see why I wanted the boat, living here.”

Then he said, “Now I’ve got to go up and unpack some of these things, and it may take me a little more than half an hour, but,” he continued, “as soon as I can I’ll come down and we’ll go downtown to the hotel for dinner.” There were plenty of magazines and other things to occupy my time while I waited, and then we had a fine dinner, and he paid for my ticket on the bus to get back to Seattle, and that’s the last we heard from George Weyerhaeuser. Apparently he had a local connection in Tacoma to look after the boat, keep it in shape, and I have no idea how long he kept it. I did become aware later that he purchased a Huckins Fairform Flyer from Florida, and I think he may have had two Huckins boats.

It was probably in the late 1970s that Eunice and I were on the Aura in Canada, heading south, and we stopped in Sidney, BC to do some shopping for items like Empress strawberry jam and things like that that were readily available up there in Canada at that time. When we pulled into the Customs dock I noticed what I was sure was George Weyerhaeuser’s Fairform Flyer, and a lady was sitting in the after seat in the cockpit. So as Eunice and I headed up to town we stopped by the Huckins and I asked the lady if that wasn’t Mr. Weyerhaeuser’s boat, and she said, “Yes, it is,” and so I asked if he was aboard. She said he was, but he was napping, so I said, “Well, maybe he’ll be awake when we come back.”

So forty-five minutes or an hour later, when we headed back to the boat, we stopped by the Weyerhaeuser boat, but the lady said, “Well, he awoke, but he and his wife went uptown shopping, too.” So we didn’t get to meet that day, but I asked the lady, “Well, you just tell him when he comes back that the guy on the sailboat, which you will undoubtedly pass on your way heading for Customs at Roche Harbor, is the guy who took him for his first boat ride on Puget Sound.” So when the Flyer came by we were still in Canadian waters, and Mr. Weyerhaeuser gave us a three-whistle salute and waved cordially. And within a very few years of that day he was gone.

-by Steve Wilen, Excerpted from Classic Yachting, Winter 2024

The Real Cost of Ownership: Classic vs Modern

Richard Randall and Todd Powell, Pacific Northwest Fleet
[Excerpt from CYA Classic Yachting, Summer 2022]

It is often assumed that owning a Classic wooden boat is unreasonably expensive, and that assumption is frequently the topic of conversation with non-wooden boat owners. We heard it so often that we decided to take a hard look at the numbers. Just how much more expensive is owning a classic wooden boat than owning a nearly new fiberglass boat?

The answer to that question depends on the size and condition of the classic boat being considered and the modern boat you choose for comparison. Surprisingly, we found that owning a classic boat in the range of 35- to 45-ft is probably no more expensive than owning a modern fiberglass boat of similar size, and in some cases may be less.

When comparing classic and modern boats, we must first consider a few facts:

• The purchase price of wooden boats, including classics, is low compared to new or nearly new fiberglass boats. Good classics, ranging from 35-45 ft length overall, often sell for between $50,000 and $100,000. That price range has changed little over the last 20 years.
• Well-maintained classic boats don’t depreciate. In most cases, depreciation ended in the distant past. (It’s important to note that they don’t appreciate much either.)
• Because the purchase price is relatively low, classics commonly are purchased with cash, in which case there are no financing charges. The purchase price of many classics is about the same as the cash down-payment required on new or nearly new boats.

For our analysis we compare two boats: The 1929 43-ft Stephens cruiser Compadre, and a 5-year old Ranger Tug 31 we found on the internet. Ranger Tugs are popular cruisers here in the Pacific Northwest; many people obviously can afford them. We chose not to consider a brand-new boat, reasoning that many purchasers would prefer a slightly used boat because someone else had already outfitted it and experienced some depreciation. We compared the annual cost of ownership for both boats averaged over 10 years, and assumed that both boats would be sold at the end of that period, incurring standard brokerage fees of 10% of the sale price. We estimated moorage-costs based on current rates at a large Puget Sound marina, assuming a 50-ft covered slip for Compadre and a 36-ft open slip for the Ranger Tug. Of course, costs will be different in other areas.

Note that we have not included effects of inflation in our analysis, since that adds a greater level of complexity and we are not accountants; however, we believe the end results will not be changed significantly. But is it fair to compare a 43-ft classic with a smaller fiberglass boat? Why not choose a modern boat about the same length? Partly because modern boats are much wider for their length than classics, and thus have proportionally larger interior volume, often with more amenities. It is interesting to consider that choosing a larger fiberglass boat would have skewed the outcome even more in the classic’s favor owing to higher financing, tax, and moorage costs for a larger boat.

First we consider Compadre. She is a 43-ft Stephens Brothers cruiser, currently in excellent condition, and is owned by one of the authors. The purchase price was $75,000 in 2007. She was in good condition when purchased; nevertheless, she has since undergone repairs that are typical of a boat of her age, including 20 pairs of sistered frames, new floor timbers and keel bolts. Some interior cabinetry that was removed by a former owner was restored.

The actual costs of ownership, averaged over the 10- year period from 2007 to 2017, are shown in the tables following.

Now consider the modern boat. Our example is a 2018 model currently offered for $295,000, which we assumed as the purchase price.

We assumed the boat would be financed as follows: Down payment $75,000 (the purchase price of Compadre); loan amount $220,000; annual interest rate 4.12%; loan term 20 years (rate current at time of writing). We also assumed there would be no repair costs for this modern boat during the 10-year ownership period.

It is important to note that our cost predictions are based on information from the internet and other public sources, along with our experience as longtime boat owners. We have no first-hand knowledge about Ranger Tugs; we are simply using this one as an example, and our cost numbers undoubtedly would be different with other boat makes and models.

While the tables show that the long-term cost of owning these boats would be roughly the same, the costs are concentrated in different areas as illustrated by the pie-charts following.

For the classic boat, covered moorage is the largest single cost of ownership, followed by repairs/restoration and insurance.

For the Ranger Tug, financing is the largest cost, followed by moorage, depreciation and sales taxes. Depreciation for boats is hard to estimate, but after some online research we used what we believe is a modest 1.5% annual rate. In conclusion it appears that the costs of owning a typical 43-ft classic cruiser and a nearly new fiberglass boat are about the same; however, the expenses are centered in different areas. This suggests that many owners of modern boats could easily be owners of classic vessels if the choice were strictly financial. So why aren’t they?

By George Eggerton, Canadian Fleet

Sometime a few years ago, I was down in the engine room bilge of my boat, Mysterion, struggling to resecure a bilge pump at the right height. It had come loose and had to be attached at a level that coordinated with the main bilge pump and would be easily accessible, not requiring a snorkel to locate if there were problems in future. It was hard work, in a tight space, lots of smudge all-round. And my legs weren’t as young as they used to be 79 years ago. As usual the job took more time than anticipated and, as I worked deeper and deeper into a narrowing space and as jumpy stainless steel screws kept falling into the bilge water in distressing numbers, I began to wonder if I might be stuck vertically in the shrinking space without a preplanned exit backout and without access to my cellphone, which also had a distressing habit of falling into the bilge water. Could I defy gravity and wiggle myself back to safety? How long could one survive if jammed head-first in a bilge? Should I have gone on the diet suggested by my wife many times? Suddenly I heard a gentle noise above me, a head with thick white hair peeked through the wheelhouse door, asking if I was ok. As it turned out I was ok, was able to extract myself, and the bilge pump allowed itself to be corrected and has worked well ever since. But I was grateful for the query as to my wellbeing. And I decided to go on a diet.

This was my first meeting with Bill Rhone. Subsequent meetings were under much happier circumstances. Bill has become a recognized and welcome presence at many of the marinas in Vancouver and throughout British Columbia where classic yachts and historic boats are moored.

Recently, I received a brown paper envelope addressed to the owner of Mysterion. In the envelope were two beautiful sketches of my boat. (See the illustrations.) In thanking Bill for these fine pictures, I invited him for lunch on the boat, and a chance for him to view the insides. He eagerly responded positively, and we soon shared a clam chowder, spiced up with candied maple-smoked salmon while immersed in conversation, where we lost all sense of time as we discussed our interests and experiences.

Figure 11 Mysterion, Heritage Harbour

I grew up in Winnipeg, with a love for rivers and lakes, notably Lake Winnipeg and the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. My best friend lived right on the Assiniboine, at the bottom of my street. What a magnet for learning about river life, especially during the floods of 1948 and 1950, when schools were closed, and education turned to more interesting paths. Our families had to evacuate, mine to Rabbit Lake, near Kenora Ontario, where I found I was a born-obsessive fisherman. I also of learned that fishing and boats went together, but I caught my first fish, a Northern Pike, or Jackfish as we called them, off the end of the peer at Rabbit Lake, after approximately 5000 castings. I was eight years old, but I was persistent.

After university studies in History, I took my first appointment at Memorial University in Newfoundland, in 1969, and spent two happy years there where my office had a view over the turbulent North Atlantic Ocean, and where winter blizzards sometimes left snowdrifts on my office floor. The sea was ever-present and yearly iceberg flows jolted spring warming back to winter chills. Then, in 1972, I was invited to join the History Department at the University of British Columbia, where I now had a view on the Pacific Ocean as it joined up with the mountains and the city. I soon bought a large inflatable boat for local rock cod fishing and a lot of pumping.

After some forty years of teaching more than 4000 students, research and publishing that had little to do with boats (except for the Royal Navy in the Great War), I retired from UBC in 2008, and thought it was now time to take up fishing again. So I went on-line to look for a small boat suitable for local fishing. As it turned out, my eye accidentally wandered to classic yachts for sale, at unbelievable prices after the financial crash of 2008 and the New Orleans hurricane disaster. Thank goodness for financial crashes sometimes. I looked at on-line sales of fantastically beautiful classic yachts, going for unbelievable prices, not knowing that boat is an atavistic and true acronym for ‘bring on another thousand.’ Naïve and seduced, I soon became the owner of Mysterion, built in Vancouver, launched in 1927, later moored in Blaine and La Conner, Washington, full of history, believing all my experience in amateur restoring of heritage houses could easily be transferred to restoring boats. Twelve years later, the many thousands of dollars poured into the boat, but with no regrets, were in my memory as Bill and I enjoyed our chowder on Mysterion, with restoration still an on-going process, without end, financial and otherwise.

Figure 12 Mysterion moored at Heritage Harbour, Vancouver. By permission, Per Furst

Bill grew up in California and took advantage of support from the American military to study architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1952. His deferred draft meant that he was required to put in some 21 months of military service. Being a university student in 1950 meant that he avoided being sent to fight in the Korean War. After graduation and service as a Junior Officer in the US Army, he undertook post-graduate studies in London, England. Then, in 1956 he migrated to Vancouver and with a professional partner, Rand Iredale, set up the firm Rhone and Iredale Architects in 1960. Over the next decades, this firm would flourish, when there was a powerful market for innovative architecture. Indeed, Vancouver is marked by the iconic architectural legacy of Rhone and Iredale buildings, including the Science Buildings at Simon Fraser University, the Westcoast Transmission Building, the Crown Life Building downtown, and the False Creek Housing Cooperative.

After a very distinguished architectural career, Bill was able to pursue another passion – sketching boats set in the harbors and marinas of British Columbia. Of course, sketching went hand in hand with architectural design, but when asked how long he had been sketching, the answer is most of his life. All it took to begin was a pencil and a sketch pad. But his son, a software specialist, years ago introduced him to what could be done more effectively on an iPad. Here the interest and focus could remain the same, mainly classic boats at moorage in beautiful harbours. But in various perspectives of daylight, weather, and scale, the iPad offered improvements of speed, background variations, erasure and resketching, together with easy portability and sharing.

Figure 13 Mysterion, Heritage Harbour

In late 2020 and into 2021, the Vancouver Maritime Museum mounted an exhibition of Bill Rhone’s artwork, dozens of favorite sketches of boats set in local seaside locations. Despite the covid pandemic, the beauty of this exhibitions brought pleasure to many visitors, some recognizing their own boats as an added bonus. To share a view of Bill’s iPad gallery is to see many hundreds of sketches, each with a distinctive view and setting.

It is interesting to compare photographs of boats with Bill’s sketches. Each have their attractions: photos capture the realism, the colours, the changes overtime with restorations, and equally the weathering and deterioration which also occurs, alas. Bill’s sketches strike me as having a distinct sense of dynamism, movement, abstract lines which grip the viewer’s imagination. And happily, the image is fixed in time, defying deterioration.

Why does Bill do this? Not for any commercial result. As he says, it’s just for fun. Few artists have had so much fun, judging from the results. Readers can see for themselves from the several sketches we include with this article.

Figure 14 S.S. Master, Vancouver’s Last Wooden Steam-Powered Tugboat, Being Restored for its 100th Birthday, 2022

The above article is excerpted from the Canadian Fleet Newsletter, January 2022

By Capt. Jay Niederhauser, former Pacific Northwest Fleet Commodore
From Classic Yachting – Winter 2022

Capt Jay Niederhauser is a retired Puget Sound Pilot and tug captain with Foss Maritime. He owned and operated Savona, a 40-foot Ed Monk bridge-deck sedan for 23 years, and was Commodore of the PNW Fleet of the Classic Yacht Association in 1981. He still is an active sailor cruising on Puget Sound and to Alaska in the summer on Westerly, a 37-foot cruiser.

IN THE BEGINNING, there were beautiful classic yachts, inspired by designers and owners, built by skilled craftsmen, and operated by owners for whom boating enjoyment was a chosen lifestyle. (It still is for many of us.)

EARLY ON, while navigating the primordial seas, there was little fear of collision. Of greater concern, rocks and sandbars were the problems. Later, when beautiful classic yachts and other vessels became plentiful, the possibility of collision with other vessels became of greater problem. Safe navigation became dependent on keeping a good lookout, seeing other vessels that might obstruct your course, and assessing through periodic observation the possibility of collision. It was during these early times that international navigation rules came into existence to govern the actions of navigators to produce a safe cruising outcome. We should have all learned these “Rules of the Road” to ensure our safe cruising.

THEN THERE WAS RADAR, designed to help navigators see other vessels. But there were, and are, challenges in seeing beautiful classic yachts with radar. First, many boats have a relatively low profile, and second, they are constructed of materials that do not reflect radar beams. From many years of experience manning radars on commercial vessels, I can tell you that low-profile boats and small sailboats can be very challenging to see on the radar. It takes an experienced hand on the radar adjustments (tuning, gain and sea clutter) to consistently detect and then properly assess what maneuvering actions may be necessary.

Note on radar. Traditional pulse radars use high-powered magnetrons to generate microwave signals with very short pulses of applied voltage. New solid-state X-band radar technology utilizes FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) techniques. These systems provide target detection superior to pulse radars while transmitting at far lower energy levels and provide target detection from 20 ft to 48 nm or more. Newer systems even include a Doppler effect allowing you to discern moving targets and their direction.

RADAR REFLECTORS CAME NEXT. These devices help radars to see beautiful classic yachts (and sailboats). These provide an order of magnitude improvement in radar detection; however, this aid has been slow to be adopted probably because defectors are an ugly appliance and not consistent with original intent of our vessels’ designers. And yet, in Canada, there is a regulatory requirement that boats less than 65-foot LOA be fixed with a radar reflector. From my view, any low profile wooden vessel less than 65-foot should be equipped with one.

Note on radar reflectors. There are passive and active reflectors. Traditional reflectors are passive and their effectiveness is proportional to their size. They should be sufficiently large to reflect radar waves (2.5” or 4” wave heights) and their effectiveness is increased by size; thus, larger is better. Active reflectors sense incoming radar signals and transmit a return signal.

Canadian Shipping Act 2001. (excerpt) Rule 40 Radar Reflectors (a)....a vessel that is less than 20 metres in length or is constructed primarily of non-metallic materials shall, if practicable, be equipped with a radar reflector or other means to enable the vessel’s detection by other vessels navigating by radar at 3 GHz or 9 GHz.

AIS (Automated Identification System) electronics have now arrived. These enable all AIS-equipped navigators to see all nearby boats equipped with an AIS transponder/transmitter. This information can be used to provide excellent information that greatly assists in making collision avoidance assessments. The concept of AIS provided information to a navigator is a vast improvement in situational awareness and navigation safety. The expense of acquiring and installing a Class B AIS is generally less than one boating unit and is generally sufficient for inland and coastal navigation.

Even though there are inherent limitations in AIS information such as frequency of reported position, and the inaccuracy of course over ground (COG) vectors in the vicinity of strong tidal currents (it’s important for all AIS users to know about these), the improvement in being seen and helping to make correct and safe navigation decisions is remarkable.

So, if you have a beautiful classic yacht, and you don’t have a radar reflector, please install one. It is still needed for radar equipped vessels that do not have AIS to be able to see you. And if you have navigation software that can incorporate AIS data, it is a relatively easy step to avail yourself of technology that will greatly improve the safety of boating with your family and friends, and enjoyment of your beautiful classic yacht.

Excerpt from Fall 2021 SC Fleet Newsletter:

In sailor folklore, mermaids represent both good fortune and disaster. As sailors spent months, sometimes years travelling across vast oceans, it's not surprising that beliefs and superstitions of figures controlling the unpredictable weather appeared in nautical stories over the centuries.

The mermaid's conflicting personalities as both a beautiful and seductive maiden and a monstrous sea creature that dragged sailors to their deaths is a fitting representation for the wild, violent yet fascinating nature of the sea itself.

Mermaids often appear as figureheads on the front of nautical vessels. The figurehead, which was popular between the 16th and 20th centuries is a carved wooden decoration located on the bow of ships. While many different decorations have been used, mermaids proved popular with the sailors as they were believed to appease the sea, ensuring good weather and finding a safe way back to land.

  

By Margie and Jim Paynton, PNW Fleet [Excerpted from Fall 2021 Classic Yachting]

A history of the Pacific Northwest Fleet’s Bell Harbor event needs to begin in 1983 with its predecessor, the Port Ludlow show. It was called “Port Ludlow by Land and Sea”, with non-competitive participation by the Classic Yacht Association, the Classic Car Club of America, Rolls Royce Club, and the Antique and Classic Boat Society. Free moorage for two nights was provided, public viewing was included as was an outdoor barbecue, initiated by Classic Yacht Association member Ramp Harvey. The Port Ludlow by Land and Sea event continued for 13 years, through 1996 under the leadership of various Classic Yacht Association members, including Monty Holmes, who was able to attract antique air and float planes, adding “Air” to the “Land and Sea” event. In early 1997 challenges arose indicating that after fourteen years at Port Ludlow changes needed to be made. Fleet members wanted a new location for an event that would allow us to show our wonderful wooden vessels to the public and provide a regular meeting for our members.

At the Seattle Boat Show in January of 1997, we met Jody Burke, Facilities Manager for the new Bell Street Marina at Pier 66 on the Seattle waterfront. We told Jody that the local Classic Yacht Association fleet was looking for a location to showcase their wooden, pre-World War II vessels. Jody became quite excited about the possibility of such an event. The Marina’s state shoreline access agreement included guaranteed public access, and a boat show could satisfy that policy. By the time our conversation concluded, a plan had been hatched for a show of classic boats at the Bell Street Pier in Seattle that very summer to celebrate the Marina’s first anniversary!

Since the Port Ludlow event had typically taken place in June, Father’s Day weekend was chosen as the date for the classic boat show. The weekend would include things that had taken place at Port Ludlow, including a boat parade, a communal dinner for the boat owners, and an invitation for public viewing. Like its predecessor, the event would not be judged, but would include a “People’s Choice” award for the visitors to vote on their favorite classic.

The committee contacted various media outlets for publicity, resulting in coverage by The Seattle Times, a television helicopter, evening newscasts, local boating magazines, and interviews on KVI’s weekly marine radio program. These activities resulted in large crowds coming to the Marina.

Excerpted from SC Fleet Classic Times, Summer 2021

"Wooden Ships", a song written and composed by David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Paul Kantner, was recorded by both Crosby, Stills & Nash and by Jefferson Airplane. Both groups performed the song during their performances at Woodstock in 1969.

The song was written and composed in 1968 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, aboard David Crosby’s boat Mayan. The melody and harmonies of “Wooden Ships” are beautiful and people often include the song in “yacht rock” compilations to enjoy listening to while on the water. However, if you listen carefully to the lyrics, the song actually imagines the quest for survival in a postapocalyptic world. It evokes the enduring human spirit that motivates the living to remain positive and rebuild from the ashes of a destroyed civilization. Wooden Ships As wooden ships are devoid of metal that would become radioactive, the songwriters imagine them carrying the survivors away from the ravaged shores. . . . . Another good reason to keep our wooden ships “on the water very free”. David Crosby reminds us that in times of “hassles, confusion, and pain . . . the boat helps, because the boat has great beauty and constancy and meaning. It has grace and comradeship. And all of those things get to your head.” 

David Crosby at the helm of Mayan.

The Mayan, a 59-foot John Alden–designed wooden schooner, came to the capable hands of Wayne Ettel at the Boatswayne Shipyard for its most recent restoration. - photos by Wayne Ettel

Wayne Ettel and his crew of wood specialists assessed and rebuilt Mayan with replacement of the brass fasteners with silicon bronze, the centerboard trunk, 70% of the frames, and 100% of the planking. Once she was put back into the water, the shoddy work of a former restoration was no longer acceptable and the decks, bulwarks, and covering boards were also replaced. Wayne said, “She outlived her builder and now she will outlive us. She is stronger and more seaworthy than she was when she was new.” Although leery at first, Wayne came to know and respect David Crosby as a true man of the sea.

Rock ‘n’ roll icon and seaman David Crosby @ Wilmington 

By Rick Etsell, N.A.

Steam Yacht El Primero, c. 1910 El Primero

Built in San Francisco in 1893, El Primero was the first steam yacht built on the West Coast. At 120’, and very luxurious, she was a mega-yacht of the era when she arrived on Puget Sound in 1906. She had a 5000-mile range, steam heat, an ice machine and accommodations for 30 including 8 crew. In 1911 she changed hands when her owner, prominent Tacoma civic leader Chester Thorne, lost her in a card game to S. A. Perkins, Tacoma capitalist, newspaper publisher, philanthropist, and Commodore of the Tacoma Yacht Club.

Aquilo

Steam Yacht Aquilo, at SYC Dock 4 Aquilo was built in Boston in 1901. In 1910 she sailed 17,000 miles around the Horn to San Francisco, before ending up on Puget Sound and British Columbia under a variety of owners. She was also quite luxurious, and boasted a crew of 15. Both steam yachts had triple expansion engines, El Primero’s at 8 x 12 x 20” with a 12” stroke, and Aquilo’s 11 x 17 x 27” with an 18” stroke. Both hulls were built of riveted steel. The Big Race In 1919 Aquilo was owned by H.F. Alexander, president of the Pacific Steamship Company. Alexander was also a TYC member, and he and Perkins were well acquainted. One night while Perkins was dining aboard Aquilo, one of Mr. Alexander’s guests wagered $1000 that Aquilo was a faster ship than El Primero. Then, according to an article in Pacific Motor Boat Magazine (Dec 1919): The EL PRIMERO skipper laughed and declared he did not want to rob anyone but someday he would show them what his craft could do. Now be it said that the EL PRIMERO was going to cruise to Hoods Canal [sic] and the AQUILO to Victoria. The word was passed among the crew and when the EL PRIMERO came out of the Canal she found the AQUILO waiting for her with the result the AQUILO sped by the PRIMERO and then the PRIMERO took after her. There is an engineer by the name of Miles Coffman running the PRIMERO and it is said he has raced boats in old days and he did not forget to pat the PRIMERO on the back on this occasion. From Foulweather Bluff to West Point the craft raced and in that distance, the EL PRIMERO had overtaken the larger boat and cut a complete circle about her. The skipper of the EL PRIMERO modestly claims that his ship is the fastest steam yacht on the coast and that while he usually runs his boat at economical cruising speed, she can get out and step 18 m.p.h. when necessary. The 1919 race between El Primero, l, and Aquilo, r. [Photo-shopped by R.E.] Aquilo’s Fate Alexander sold Aquilo in 1934, and she kicked around the Sound for many years. Eventually, in 1962, an eccentric physics professor named John Campbell bought her to reside aboard while teaching at the University of Washington. (Campbell’s 1999 obituary is quite an entertaining story: John Campbell; Eclectic Teacher, Writer, Inventor and Composer - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)) At the time, my grandfather, Professor Bryan T. McMinn, was a thermodynamics specialist in the UW Mechanical Engineering Department. (He was also the owner of the well-known Lake Union Dreamboat Orba.) Campbell consulted with him regularly on maintenance and improvements to the steam power plant aboard Aquilo, which was then moored at South Lake Union, near the City’s steam power generation facility, where my grandfather also was a consultant. I was a young teenager then but I remember my grandfather telling me about his “nutty professor” friend who owned and lived aboard the steam yacht Aquilo. His big idea was to create giant billboards on Aquilo, and cruise up and down Southern California beaches for advertising revenue. The rest of that story comes from The Seattle Times, 7 September 1966: The yacht AQUILO, which had been plagued with trouble for nearly two weeks, caught fire, and sank about 2 miles off the N. California coast, near Fort Bragg, 6 Sept. 1966. The four men aboard were rescued without injury by a Coast Guard cutter which responded to an S O S from the 150-footer. The CG said it had assisted the AQUILO three times in recent weeks. The first time was 25 August, when she was taking on water at her moorage in Lake Union, Seattle. On 4 Sept the vessel reported she was disabled 10 miles west of Rogue River, OR, and a CG lifeboat was dispatched. However, the AQUILO said the steering difficulties had been repaired and she would continue on her own. Later that day the CG was asked to escort the vessel into Crescent City, CA because the operator was not familiar with the waters of that area. Save A Classic! Surprisingly, El Primero is still afloat, and she is currently in Astoria, Oregon, and listed for sale. There have been a number of restoration attempts in recent years, but there is still much to be done.  How great it would be if she could be put back in near-original arrangement and show up at Classic Yacht Rendezvous around here! Check out her listing at https://www.apolloduck.com/boat/motor-boats-classic/651448   Such amazing histories! Let’s hope El Primero finds a new caretaker who can set her up for another 100 years!