More SCAMP news

Remember the notice I posted a month ago about how you can build your own Scamp with John Welsford himself?  This opportunity has gotten even better. Renowned small boat adventurer and Small Craft Academy teacher Howard Rice will also be a senior tutor along with John. Howard will also be available to take participants sailing in the evenings. So not only can you learn to build a Scamp from the designer himself, you can learn some of the tricks and skills of sailing it from Howard. More info here.

A quick look at the Scamp Registry shows that 134 sails have been registered to date. Nearly 20 of them are right here in the Puget Sound area.  Sail #131 belongs to Julie, who just started a blog to document her Scamp build.  Julie says she fell back in love with sailing while vacationing in Maui, and fell in love with Scamp when she returned. She promptly ordered the plans and just started construction. Julie says shes obsessed, misty-eyed and has a bad case of the "buildies".  Welcome to the club, Julie! I know exactly what youre going through!  Check out Julies blog here.

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The Car Show

Every July we have our annual "Books and Backpacks" drive at work. This fundraiser helps provide students with the school supplies they need but cannot afford in these trying times.

But for us, it means its time for our annual car show!  In addition to a cookie, everyone who contributes a donation gets to vote for their favorite sports car. The car with the most votes wins a trophy. Its great fun and we look forward to it every year.

I must confess that, while most of my co-workers are into sports cars, my DNA appears to be missing the sports car gene that they all have.  I get the same thrill going 7 mph that they get at 107 mph.  Consequently, I do not own a sports car.  Still, my co-workers have shown a keen interest during the past two years in the building of Ellie and invited me to display her at this years show.


There were several beautiful Porsches

There were Corvettes, old and new

Jack brought his 1950 Mercury "Louie Louie"

 There were some classics

A Chevelle and a Challenger

And there was Ellie.

Ellie, of course, didnt stand a chance of winning this event.

After all, many of these beautiful automobiles have interiors crafted of the finest leather. Ellies interior is made of salvaged firewood.

Their exteriors have gleaming paint jobs, beautifully hand waxed to a mirror-like finish.  Ellies exterior is covered with hardware store porch and floor enamel.

No need to bring Ellies tiny 2.5hp outboard. It would be no match for the sweet rumble and exciting thunder of any of these powerful sports car engines.

I would wager that some of the owners have as many hours invested in their show cars as I have in building Ellie, and most have invested easily 10 times as much of their hard earned money.

So you can imagine my utter surprise when Jeff, our lead Engineer and car show host, came running out shouting "Joel, you won the car show!"

How is it possible that Ellie could win an event such as this?

It certainly wasnt my doing. My boat building skills are average at best.  Besides, I built Ellie to be sailed, not to be a museum piece, and it shows.

No, there is only one possibility.

There can be but one logical explanation.

There is just Something about Navigator

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Design 2565 100 Steel Racer Cruiser

This preliminary design was developed in 1990. The boat was to be built in steel as this was the clients preference. The most notable thing about the general arrangement is the generous engine room, located at the mast and with full standing headroom. It would be a real luxury to have such an engine room. It looks like it was achieved at the expense of a generous captains cabin.

Principal Dimensions
LOA 100-0"
LWL 80-0"
Beam 25-3"
Draft 12-4"
Sail Area 4,252 sq ft

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Sucia Rendezvous Countdown

I wont bore you with details about itinerary or course because I havent a clue. But a cruise of any kind requires much the same preparation.

Is the boat seaworthy? Saga has been completely re-caulked and painted. Shes a boat of a certain age who holds her years well.

Last season suggested some changes and the first is, lighten your load. Ill be on the water approximately two weeks, no need to take two months worth of food, as happened last year. Perhaps the extra provisions were simply wishful thinking.
Because the truth is, I could spend the rest of my life living from anchorage to anchorage. Two weeks is just not enough.

This year Saga will sport a jib. The theoretical implications might be endless, though I am willing to just see what happens. Though a designer by training, I prefer to learn by educated trial, with intuition as the impetus. There is an element of art in boat building which beguiles the scientific and mathematical.

You might also know that I support recycling and repurposing. There was this old wood box full of junk in the shed that once belonged to a shipwright from the steel yards after the last world war. He was a simple old man who lived close to the earth and saved everything. When he passed, imagine the cornucopia of hardware he left behind. This box probably has a history beyond my years. Never, in  the thirty years Ive had it has the old wood box had a lid, but now it does. (made from leftover scrap).

The green bag holds the head.

 As the more astute will note, the top of the box is the perfect size for my old Salish Sea cruising atlas, which predates the Salish Sea by more than twenty years (1980). New technology has its place, but much of the datum on these charts is close to a hundred years old, so a chart from 1980 is just as helpful as your newest GPS. Please note that the lid is reversible and upside-down it will make a fine dining tray (the mess kit is inside)..






Next to the old/new box is 200 feet of new anchor rode on the spare, collapsible anchor. I had to use this backup anchor last year and the old rode was simply unacceptable.

To the rear of the cockpit is Sagas new sign board. Beautifully done by Brandon Ford.

Youve all heard about the new deadeyes. This photo is included here because its incredible.

The cockpit tent we threw together last year was a failure. It leaked. This time there will be a new tent. Possibly a bit of over-kill, this new design is made from 10oz. vinyl coated nylon. The material must have been weighed before coating, because its heavy as a truck tarp. A 20# (total weight) tarp is much more than enough. At any rate, its not done yet but Ill post a picture as soon as it is.




Only a few days left until Sucia Island Rendezvous 2012. Its going to be great.

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Saturday Sunset Co op

Lee over at awholebunchofings.blogspot.com has come up with an interesting idea. He is encouraging paddlers to head out on Saturday evening (or dawn) and photograph the sunset (or sunrise). Paddlers can then send their photos in to him, and hell post the likely splendorous results.

Lee says:
So heres what Im askin:

• Spread the word! feel free to copy paste/ link/feed etc this elsewhere!!
• Saturday head out on the water; all day till sunset or 5 minutes prior.
• Take a pic of the bow of your boat and the sunset
• Come home later that night fire me a email with your pic.
• Sunday log in to [Lees] blog and HOPEFULLY see pics of the same glowing globe setting from other paddlers perspectives across this wonderful world we live on.

I dont think Ill manage to participate, unless I get up really early to go for the sunrise option (sunrise this morning was at 4:45 am). However, I think its a neat idea so maybe a few folks who see it here will agree and participate.

A sunset photo from last summer on Kingsmere Lake.

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Pull and be Damned

The Pull and be Damned messabout in Anacortes was fantastic.

I am a member of several small boating clubs.  The Coots, the TSCA, the Pocket Yachters.  They all have a slightly different focus, ranging from inexpensive and experimental boats to honoring authentic traditional craft.  From production trailerable cruisers to homebuilts. From power to sail.

But this weekend was my first opportunity to spend a weekend with the Old Anacortes Rowing and Sailing Society OARSS.  The beauty of their boats and their seamanship skills left me awestruck. From deftly launching their craft by crane, to sailing in reverse to make a perfect mooring at a dock, camp cruising, clothesline anchoring, traveling anywhere and everywhere by sail and oar only.  They even rescued a stranded aircraft once.  With just a glance at the sea, they knew how the tides and currents would swirl around the myriad islands that day.  I had nothing I could offer as I spent the weekend in humble admiration of their seamanship skills.

It was also a weekend of many other firsts for my son Tim and I.  The first first (ugh) was Ellies launching by crane, deftly done by James McMullen (in the red vest) while I nervously tried to assist and learn anyway I could.

(btw, these are all hi-def videos. Click the [ ] in the lower right corner to make them fullscreen)

Relieved at not making a big splash, I headed over and tied up to Small Boat Dock, where the messabout was to be held.  There was my second first (ugh).  I had to rig Ellie on the water.  It took about twice as long as usual, but was a success.  Fortunately there was flat water and no wind.

One by one the remaining boats arrived.  The messabout officially began at 10:00.  Several boats were available for anyone to borrow.  My third first was testing one of the Gentry skin on frame whitehalls. Here are some videos of the event:

The James led a group aboard Island Star, a 4-oared racing gig.  A replica of the worlds fastest boat in 1824.

After the messabout, most of the group headed over to nearby Saddlebag Island for an overnighter.  Ive never been to Saddlebag.  Another first!

And yet another first. While there, I got to try out my new Kelly Kettle.  The Kelly Kettle is a cookstove that uses sticks, twigs, and dried leaves for fuel.  It will boil water and heat food at the same time, very quickly.  It also fries and has a BBQ grill.  I used it twice and love it already.

The next morning, the sail and oarsmen set out early for a circumnavigation of Guemes Island.  Simeon Baldwin, with his SCAMP Noddy and I decided to spend the day sailing together instead.

 

And the end portion of this video is really pretty.

This also gave me an opportunity to fully test my tiller locking device.  It works perfectly.

We spent many thoroughly enjoyable hours sailing side by side in the warm sunshine and gentle breeze.  After a while we took a break and hiked over to my favorite bar and grill, The Rockfish, for lunch. The sail and oar group returned from their circumnavigation so it was time to head back to the crane.  Once again, The James came to my rescue, expertly extracting Ellie safely from the water.  Here is a video of Noddy taking flight.

There are some really nice photos of the event over on the Woodenboat Forum.
A fantastic weekend.  Simply fantastic.

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Sign Our Guest Book and or Register Your Yacht

We would like to hear from you. Please sign our new guest book, comment, discuss and/or register your Sparkman & Stephens Yacht. From this we will build a database of the yachts and their current locations.

Data will only be used to build our database. Numerous readers have introduced themselves as owners of S&S yachts through either the Comments field for a particular posting or through a direct email to us. We hope this is a simpler way to let us know where the S&S fleet is worldwide.

The database we will construct will be accessible by blog readers and will list yachts by LOA, design number, year, name and location. The database will not include the owners name nor contact information. For example:
Sailboats 40-60ft LOA
45-4", 125, Falcon, Castine, ME
47-9", 1976, Puffin, Thomaston, ME

And yachts that we know have been destroyed such as:
Sailboats 40-60ft LOA
50-3", 1534, Diogenes
55-8", 85, Avanti

Blog readers who wish to sign our guest book are welcome to do so. It is hoped this is a way blog readers can comment and respond to each other in a much easier format than using the Comments field within each blog posting.

All posts will be reviewed prior to going live. Please allow up to 24 hours to see your post. Thank you.

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