Page 2 Shavings July 1995

In The Mai l 4

Guide for Shop Volunteers 5 Bob Perkins

Dick Wagner

Lake Union Safari 8 Michael Houtz

How C W B Came To Be 10 Molly Cadranell

Lazy Jack

Changing Places 12 Chas. Dowd

One Step at a Time 14 Colleen Wagner

Results of Member Survey 16 Dick Wagner

A Paddling Time.. .. 18 Leslie Oldham

The Center for Wooden Boats 1010 Valley Street Seattle, WA 98109 (206) 382-2628

Calendar of Upcoming Events

President: Carter Kerr Director: Dick Wagner

Boatwright: Bob Perkins Livery Manager: Horace Ingram

Sailing Coordinator: Vern Velez Office Manager: Roger Coulter

Volunteer Coordinator: Jane Warner

Board of Trustees

Celeste Archambault,Will Blethen,Caren Crandell,Chuck Edwards,Steve Excell,Lin Folsom,Bi l l Keasler, Carter Kerr, Blake Lewis,Scott Rohrer,Ron Snyder,Bob Tapp, Bi l l Van Vlack.

Shavings

This special 19th Annual Wooden Boat Fes­tival issue of Shavings was published by Richard Hazelton, production by Karen Higginson, ad sales by Marilyn Hazelton, with special thanks to 48° North Sailing Magazine. Reproduction of materials con­tained herein without permission of The Center for Wooden Boats is expressly pro­hibited. The Center for Wooden Boats is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.

Printed in Canada

CWB Third Friday Speaker Series Each month C W B finds a speaker of wit and experience to talk about his or her special

knowledge. It is also an opportunity for C W B members to meet one another and the staff. Refreshments served.

August 18,1995 (Friday) Betty Pearce, World Voyager 8:00 p.m. CWB Boathouse

At the age of 56, Betty Pearce retired from the workaday world to begin a singlehanding offshore odyssey that continued for the next 14 years. Sailing a 30-foot fiberglass sloop, her passages covered more than 50,000 miles all over the world. In July, 1993, she was marooned on a tiny coral atoll in the Indian Ocean when her little ship was destroyed in a storm while she was ashore seeking medical aid. Now Betty, who has her Master's license, is back in the U .S . living aboard her new boat, the Morgan 32 Kokopeli, in Lake Union, working as a yacht broker at Seacraft Yacht Sales and sharing the tales of her incredible voyage.

September 29 - October 1 (Friday - Sunday) WOOD (Wooden Open One Design) REGATTA

This is a regional event in the WOOD regatta series begun by WoodenBoat Magazine in 1992. The WOOD Regatta utilizes an equitable means of handicapping the total spectrum of classic wooden racing classes.

The event will be run according to US Sailing-regulations, including entry fee differentials (a Twelve Meter pays more than an El Toro dinghy). There will be awards by classes as well as an overall trophy, sponsored by WoodenBoat and Interlux.

A wine and cheese reception and registration will he held Friday night at C W B . On Saturday there will be morning registration, a skippers' meeting and afternoon races. On Sunday there will be more races, followed by a dinner and announcement of the race results. A continental breakfast will be served both Saturday and Sunday.

Contact C W B for further information: (206) 382-2628.

October 11,1995 (Wednesday) THAD KOZA TALL SHIPS PRESENTATION $15 Fundraising Dinner 6:30pm - 9:30pm C W B Boathouse

A native Rhode Islander, Thad has photographed the "Tall Ships" for over two decades. Educated in the mid-west with degrees from the University of Michigan and Northwestern University, his articles and essays have been published in Cruising World, SEA HISTORY, and Classic Boat magazines.

Major events he has covered have included Operation Sail 1976, '86, and-'92 in New York, Sail Amsterdam 1985 and'90, Sail Hamburg 1989,Eurosaill993,Sail Boston 1992 and 1984, L' Armada de la Liberty, Rouen '94, and the Cutty Sark Tall Ships races of 1987, '89, '91, '93, and '94. In addition, he has sailed on the Pogoria, Zawisza, Alexandria, Bill of Rights, Concordia and Mir, to name a few.

His photographic credits include the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Op Sail '92, Eurosair'93, Sail Toronto 1994 and Windjammer. He now lives on Narragansett Bay with an office in Newport, R.I., and his favorite subject is his 10-year-old son, Alexandre.

Marine Skills Workshops

All year 'round (Classes Every Day in the Summer!) LEARN TO "SAIL NOW!" Fee: $125 per person (includes a one-year CWB membership) 11 and/or 1:30 Saturday and/or Sunday

Students will learn to sail classic boats in one session of classroom work and four (or more) sessions of hands-on instruction in our small boats, no more than three students per instructor. Students will graduate when able to sail a variety of keel, centerboard, sloop and catboats by instinct. You may begin any Saturday, space permitting. Please call.ahead for reservations.

For the student who is only free on weekdays, or prefers to have one-on-one instruction, we continue to offer individual lessons ($20) on weekdays. Call for an appointment.

S U M M E R IN T H E C I T Y (three four-day classes) 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. C W B Boathouse Fee: $100

This summer the Center for Wooden Boats will offer sailing instruction for middle-school aged kids in a week-long course that will also include rowing, paddling and marline spike seamanship skills. The week long sessions will be offered July 24-28, August 7-11, and August 21 -25 from 9 am to 4 pm at a cost of $ 100 per student (scholarships available). Upon successful completion of the program, students will be qualified to rent boats from the C W B fleet. Kids who volunteer at the Center can earn free boat time. What a great way to spend the summer!

The youth summer sailing program will be headed up by long time CWB sailing instructor Dave Soracco. He and a crew of very experienced instructors will share their knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for sailing and seamanship. We know from working

Shavings July 1995 Page 3

with at-risk kids that learning to sail is more than just learning a new sport. Self esteem, team skills and patience figure in as well. It is a great opportunity to spend a summer on the docks and in the boats; it will be a summer they'll never forget. To register, call C W B : (206) 382-2628.

Frequent Weekends ADVANCED SAILING SEMINARS Fee: Variable

Our Advanced Sailing Seminars are scheduled on frequent weekends all summer long. The weekend seminars are overnight, and include navigation and cruising techniques. These classes are open to all graduates of Sail NOW! and sailors with basic skills. Contact the Center for Wooden Boats to sign up for the next available seminar.

July 15,1995 (Saturday) INTRODUCTION TO METALLURGY 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. CWB Boathouse Fee: $25/$30 Instructor: Prof. Paul Ford

; Kinds and properties of alloys. Heat treatment for ferrous and non-ferrous metals. This workshop provides information helpful for. anyone doing forging or casting. It is especially valuable for students interested in the Casting Workshop which follows on July 22 & 23.

July 16-24 (Sunday - Monday) LAPSTRAKE WORKSHOP 8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. CWB Boatshop Fee: $550/$600 Instructor: Eric Hvalsoe

Eric Hvalsoe, a homegrown boatbuilder from Seattle, has proven he can stand up to the best of the Downeast Builders. Eric will lead seven students through the mysteries of lapstrake construction. The boat will be a classic design, perhaps a Whitehall, perhaps a Rangely, maybe a classic yacht tender. We will leave this choice up to Eric and the first students who sign up.

July 22 & 23 (Saturday & Sunday) SAND CASTING AND FOUNDRY TECHNIQUES 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. CWB Boathouse and Northwest Seaport Instructor: Prof. Paul Ford Fee: $40/$50

Basic foundry know-how will be covered in the first session. Students will cast simple forms. The second session will involve more complex casting. Students will also learn how to build a cheap, but effective foundry. Limited to 12 students.

September 23-October 1,1995 (Saturday - Sunday) ERIC DOW 'S CARVEL BOATBUILDING WORKSHOP 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CWB Boatshop Fee: $550/$600 Instructor: Eric Dow

The instructor is a Brooklin, Maine boat builder with extensive experience in building traditional wooden boats and teaching others how to do so. The class will build a carvel planked dinghy of classic design, incorporating all the challenges of traditional boat building but on a manageable scale. The completed boat will be launched on Sunday afternoon, October 1. Basic woodworking skills required (See May 11,1995); class limited . to seven students.

This I all

THE SALISH PEOPLE AND THEIR SKILLS A cruise aboard "Zodiac" Leaves CWB 9:00 a.m. Fee: $325/$375 Instructors: Steve & Dorothy Philipp

Two special treats in one. Live and travel aboard the 127' schooner Zodiac for three days and three nights while studying the history, culture and crafts of the Salish people under the tutelage of Steve and Dorothy Philipp, who have lived among the Salish for more than 60 years. No one can convey the rich lore of Salish work, play and ingenuity better than Steve and Dorothy. You ' l l learn native skills such as making nettle fishing lines and tule mats, cruise and anchor at places of historic and cultural interest, including a special visit to the Suquamish museum, and perhaps even be treated to Steve's mandolin mastery. A l l meals and workshop materials are included. Departing from and returning to C W B : Limited to 20 students.

NOTE: Fees indicate member/non-member costs. A $100 non-refundable deposit is required with registration for all boat building workshops, with the balance payable one week prior to the workshop. Pre — payment in full will insure your place in all other workshops. Classes with fewer than four students will be canceled or postponed.

COURSES WE USUALLY OFFER DURING THE YEAR Basic Woodworking, Block Plane Making, Carvel Plank Boat Building, Canvas Canoe Repair and Restoration, Celestial Navigation, Converting a Traditional Skiff to Sail Half Model, Building, Lapstrake Boat Building, Lofting, Metallurgy, Bronze Casting, Model Ship Making, Oar Making, Rigging, Sailing & Advanced Sailing, Sail Making & Repair, Strip Plank Kayak Building, The Salish People And Their Skills: A cruise aboard Zodiac, Wooden Boat Restoration, Wood Carving.

HAVØRN MARINE SURVEY & SHIPWRIGHT SCHOOL Presents

I Two Marine Survey Seminars T H E A R T OF M A R I N E S U R V E Y I will be held July 24 - 28. The comprehensive seminar will focus primarily on wooden boats, but fiberglass wil l be included. The course will consist of 3 days of classroom study and 2 days of field work. It is designed for people with all levels of experience and will include the following subjects:

• Wood technology and the weathering process in a marine environment • Elements of shipwrighting and construction • Metals, corrosion and electrolysis • Vessel equipment and systems • Fiberglass construction and detail • Touring Port Townsend Boat Haven, Wawona and small craft at the C W B ,

wooden and fiberglass boats of all types and construction, "hands on" hammer testing and probing, discussion of "on-the-spot" findings

• Theories and practices of a marine surveyor, dealing with clients and brokers, etc, the actual on-board survey and the writing of the survey/report

Instructor: Lee H. Ehrheart, Marine Surveyor and Master Shipwright

T H E A R T OF M A R I N E S U R V E Y II will be held Huly 31 - August 4 The seminar will be a comprehensive study of the Code of Federal Regulations, pertaining to marine survey activity; U.S.C.G, regulations; "Standards & Recommended Practices for Small Craft," published by the American Boat & Yacht Council; publications by the National Fire and Protection Association and other relevant standards.

Instructors: Lee H. Ehrheart and Dick McGrew, retired U.S.C.G.

Seminars to be held at: THE CENTER FOR WOODEN BOATS, Lake Union, Seattle.

Pre — registration required.

The Center for Wooden Boats is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, June through Labor Day (no boat rentals after 6 p.m.). The rest of the year, hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Monday (no boat rentals after 5 p.m.). There is no admission charge (donations cheerfully and gratefully accepted!).

Members of The Center for Wooden Boats enjoy a variety of privileges, including a 25% discount on livery rates, a 10% discount on all gift shop and discounts of 5% to 20% on workshops and seminars. They also receive our newsletters, Shavings and Sawdust, with advance notice of our Marine Skills Workshops and Events. Annual membership rates are $25 for individuals, $40 for families and $10 for seniors or students.

Livery rates are $8 to $12 an hour for rowing and paddling craft and $10 to $15 an hour for sailboats. (Or become a CWB volunteer and earn an hour of free boat use for every three hours of volunteer work; opportunities for volunteer work abound and all sorts of skills , talents and time are needed). Before using our sailboats, a checkout must be arranged with one of our staff; the checkout takes about 15 minutes and costs $5. They can be arranged by appointment weekdays or anytime after noon on weekends.

For more information please contact:

Havørn Marine Services 3530 Interlake Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98103 • (206) 789-7043

Page 4 Shavings July 1995

Mail

When the Center's good and faith­ful friends can't make it down to the south end of Lake Union, many of them take the time to call or write or, as Steve Hyman did, to hop on the information superhighway to get to CWB. (Steve is chief rigger at the San Francisco Mari­time National Historic Park.)

Date: Sun, 30 Apr 1995 20:49:02 - 0700(PDT) From: "Steven A Hyman" <shyman@crl.com> To: Dick Wagner <cwboats @ eskimo,com> Subject Renewal letter

Dick: I love the addition of email. You have a great address too.

That renewal letter I received today was great, in fact it was so good, so inspiring (so tranquil) a reminder of why I support C W B , that I am increas­ing my contribution this year to the Benefactor level ($150). It should get in tomorrow's snail mail. Anyway, I trust that you will put my hard earned dollars to good use as you have always done.

I ' l l close now. I'm off to San Diego on the early morning flight to survey Star of India (flagship of the. San Diego Maritime Museum fleet). They hope to sail her again this August.

Warm Regards, Steve Hyman

Nils Lucander of Tacoma chose a more conventional form of communica­tion (the typewriter and his unique "Imagination, Invention, Innovation, Implementation" letterhead) to share another one of his endlessly fascinating vignettes of marine lore. Nils is a naval architect and iconoclast on theories of yacht design based on swimming fish.

Dear Dick,

I grew up in Finland where my father owned two boatyards he never operated himself, but leased them. One, the Silver Sound Yard, was located about a quarter-mile from our home and I took top honors on being their biggest nuisance. As the owner's son, they didn't chase me away and I was there most days after school and summertime when not away.

Then the lessor put me to work as an unpaid carpenter's helper and for a small boy that was an honor. I learned a lot and at age 10 I "designed" (?) and then built a three-meter (10-foot) pram­like sailing dinghy with leeboards (I didn't know what a centerboard was until later). Mother provided a sail from an old bedsheet.

The yard built six-meter racing sloops and some motorboats, carvel planked. The spiling was so exact the seams could hardly be seen after sand­ing and varnishing of topsides. Plank­ing was old, well-seasoned Honduras mahogany.

When I got to North America, I ran into the word "caulking" and had, at first, no idea what it was. Later I found out that most yacht builders - at least in Northern Europe - never caulked yachts, just fitted planking very carefully. I also found out that it was common on work and fish boats, not permitted on yachts.

When it comes to lapstrake con­struction, of course, they are done much the same way here and there. In Scandinavia, fastenings were copper rivets. My family owned several boats of both types, carvel and lapstrake.

The best to you, Nils

THANKS

There are so many individuals and businesses that put their time, talents and facilities to work for CWB that it is hard to single out any one of them, but there are a couple who currently are right at the top of our good guys list.

The Center's Columbia River One Design sloop is floating at our docks again, thanks to assistance from Phil Riise, owner of Seaview East Boatyard in Ballard, who donated the haulout, lay-up, tools, materials and time to­ward repair of the Mistee. He also helped coordinate a major donation from Ron Kruger of Kruger and Sons Propellers in Magnolia and also gave a bit of personal attention and advice to the project.

CWB's youth programs coordina­tor Daniel Bohn, who spearheaded the rebuilding project, also got a lot of help from Ballard Machine (formerly Wi l ­son Machine) which did extensive mill work on the new rudder stock and welded the stock and rudder. Broomfields Welding of Ballard do­nated sheet stock for the rudder and Tacoma Screw Products of Ballard pitched in a rudder pin.

It goes without saying that we grate­ful to all the CWB volunteers who provided the bulk of the labor, did all of the woodworking and cleaned up.

Gold stars to all of you!

Guide For Center For Wooden Boats Volunteers

Shavings July 1995 Page 5

by Bob Perkins [Ed. Note: Visitors to The Center

for Wooden Boats see a lot of people bustling around, working on boats or in the livery, giving sailing instruction, running the reception desk, cleaning up the grounds or doing a host of other chores. It is likely that all of those people are volunteers.

Volunteers are the heart and soul of CWB. They keep things operating and they are the guides and demonstrators who introduce visitors to what this liv­ing museum is all about.

To be a volunteer, one has only to be here. The staff will give you the big picture and then you can fill your plate from the buffet of our many programs with whatever you like. All volunteers do so because their heart tells them to. Because volunteers are so essential, CWB provides planned and spontane­ous thank-you parties, as well as allow­ing an hour's free use of the livery boats for every three hours of volunteer work.

Bob's General Philosophy: To quote Douglas Adams, "It can

surely be no accident that no language on Earth has yet produced the phrase 'As lovely as an airport.'" Boats, on the other hand, are incredibly lovely things. What we do is connect people with boats, in that order. The boats (as great as they are) serve the people (who are greater). My goals are to help people have a great time while they work on our boats, to help people learn what they want to learn and to help them feel good about the work that they do. So, let me know how I can help you do that, feel free to try new things and don't be afraid to make a mistake. Also, remember that not everyone appreciates unsolicited advice as much as you do, i.e. everyone has the same right to make mistakes. On the other hand, we are a museum and part of our mission is to demonstrate the "right" way to do things so please try to be gracious if someone suggests another way.

Learning new skills: The more stuff you know how to do, the more valuable

a volunteer you'll be. Please don't hesi­tate to ask if there's something you want to learn to do. We can either hook you up with someone who knows how to do it or we can call you when that thing is happening. If you want to learn to spile a plank, for instance (and who wouldn't?), we can let you know when we'll be doing that for real, or if you just want the basic idea catch someone who knows how when they're taking a break. Desire to demonstrate knowledge is a common vice around here!

Finding jobs to do: Bob is here Mon¬day through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. If you're looking for something to do in the shop, see him. On weekends, there will be a 'To Do" list posted by the tool closet. If you're new to the shop, ask before you do some project. That boat you just sunk might have been scheduled for sinking next week.

Occasionally, there will be sched­uled classes in the shop. When they happen, our use of the shop will be limited and there may be less to do. If you want to check before coming down, feel free to call.

And speaking of jobs, be aware that lots of stuff happens at CWB, not just boat repair. Be sensitive to preventing other people from doing their work. Hanging out at the reception desk is a good way to get in the way, for instance.

Using tools: Rule #1: DON'T use anything you're not familiar and com­fortable with! Approach any tool with a healthy respect for what it might do to you. If you want to learn how to use any tool, hand or power, ask one of the know-it-alls who lurk around here. You'll get all the advice you could ever hope for!

Rule # 2: You must, simply MUST put tools back after you use them! If you're not sure where it goes, at least put it back where you found it. Also, be

aware that many of the volunteers bring their own tools. Be sure to ask first!

Edge tools work much better when they're very sharp—they're actually less dangerous that way, too. If you don't know how to sharpen chisels, planes, etc. ask someone to show you how.

Cleaning up: NO ONE likes to clean up. So, clean up your own mess! If you're not willing to clean up, don't work here. Stay on top of your mess and clean as you go along, if possible—it keeps the work area safe for others. A good rule is to stop working about 15 minutes before you have to leave so you'll have time to clean up. If everyone cleans up their own stuff, plus one thing somebody else forgot to clean up, we'll never have a problem.

The biggest problems seem to be putting stuff away and cleaning paint brushes. Cleaning a brush is the final act of a successful paint job. Without it, you fail the test. Again, if you're not willing to clean the brush, don't start painting.

We try to be good neighbors of the lake. Be very wary of getting stuff in the water. Not only is it good environmental behavior, we can be fined if we're found allowing our mess to get in the water.

Dealing with visitors: We are a museum, which means we encourage, nay, strongly desire, to wit, cannot sur­vive without visitors. Be pleasant! Be outgoing! Do your best to answer ques­tions, be ready to describe what you're doing, make sure your hair is neatly combed. The shop is one of the most high-profile things that happens at CWB. You just might be the thing that is most memorable to one of our guests—for good or i l l . Be careful to invite folks in. This is important because as friendships develop here we sometimes give the appearance of being a club—one of the more common complaints we hear. Its unintentional, of course, but a bad im­pression can really hurt our business,

hence, our memberships and support, hence, how many bronze fastenings we can afford to buy.

Recording your hours: Please be sure to log your hours in the volunteer notebook near the reception desk. It helps us demonstrate that people are, in fact, volunteering and it helps you keep track of how many hours of boat time we owe you.

Acquiring materials: We try to keep on hand whatever materials a job re­quires. Since we have a small budget, however, we have to keep a fairly tight control on who gets what and when. A request sheet for shop supplies is hung by the tool closet door. Feel free to use it. If you need something quickly, ask Bob or if he's not around check with one of the other staff.. We have discount accounts at several stores and ID cards that will allow you to get our discount. Be thoughtful about your spending, though, and please check carefully first to make sure we don't have what you need. If you want to buy something for the shop out of your own pocket, great. If you want to get reimbursed please check with someone on staff before you buy it. Don't expect to get reimbursed for something if you didn't check first! To get a reimbursement, you need to fill out a form that's available in the office. We must keep track of where the money goes.

Homeless folks: From time to time homeless people hang out at our pavil­ion or on the lawn. While we definitely don't encourage this, we try to be toler­ant. However, if you notice someone engaging in annoying or threatening behavior (including panhandling) please tell a staff person immediately. The po­lice are very willing to deal with it and we cannot allow visitors to be discour­aged from coming.

Enough guidelines! Just remember to have fun, work safely and be friendly. We simply can't survive without dedi­cated volunteers. Thanks so much for wanting to be a part of what goes on at the Center Wooden Boats!

Page 6 Shavings July 1995

It began with a phone call from Honolulu in the summer of '94. "This is Ev Fox of the Hawaii Maritime Center. We're planning to have Hokule'a tour the West Coast next summer. Can you give us a moorage when we're in Seattle?" There was no hesitation in saying "Oh sure!". I know about Hokule'a. Who involved with maritime history wouldn't? A vessel wrapped in 10,000 years of myths chants and ritu­als, it will always be remembered as the first performance-accurate replica of the Polynesian voyaging canoes. Since 1975, Hokule'a has been rediscovering the old means of navigation without charts or compass and the old Polynesian navigation routes. Its profile with two crab claw sails has become an icon of Polynesian navigation.

What should I do about this visit? How should we greet the vessel? How should we interpret it to the community? Are there any Hawaiians around? Do they know or care about Hokule'al Wi l l public dignitaries come to see the ves­sel? Wi l l anyone come? Did I say "Oh sure!" once too often?

In early November, help came riding in on a Toyota from Tacoma. Pila Laronal called me and said he heard a rumor about Hokule'a coming to C W B . Pila is a Hawaiian, broadcasting Hawaiian cul­ture and affairs on "Island Radio" K B R O and K K M O - A M in Tacoma, and also edits "Hale Pai", a bi-monthly Pacific Island newspaper distributed on the West Coast. Pila showed up with his sidekick, Ray Jackson, and we began a very po­lite, cautious dance. It was obvious from

the first moment of our encounter that Pila and Ray placed Hokule'a on a higher plateau than motherhood. One of my nagging questions was answered: there are Hawaiians here and their hearts were filled with gladness about Hokule'a. I let them lead the dance because these two guys had a serious case of un­requited cultural love. A l l I had was a waterfront site in culturally neutral ter­ritory.

Pila and Ray came back the next time with an organizational chart and the meeting after that (in late Novem­ber) determined the pattern of the plan­ning. Pila was the chairman, a memo­randum of understanding between the Seattle Hokule'a Steering Committee and the Hawaii Maritime Center was signed. Contacts were made with Native

Americans of Puget Sound, First Nation people of British Columbia and the Hawaiian community of Puget Sound. A tentative budget was begun. Cultural advisors of Hawaii, Pacific Islands and Indigenous Nations were identified, as well as the committees on fund-raising and promotion, ceremony and protocol, education, entertainment, museums, concessions and security. In early Janu­ary, I, being the museum guy, sent out a memo to regional historic museums about the Hokule'a event.

By mid-January, the Steering Com­mittee had renamed itself "Wayfinders of the Pacific". The ceremonial part became a larger dimension for the Hawaiians and Native Americans. These ceremonies have existed from time im­memorial. Native people, preparing for the arrival of the Hawaiian vessels, were now learning them for the first time. Thinking was in terms of a time when all people were indigenous people. This was not studying traditional culture. It was living traditional culture.

In late February, the news arrived that Hawai'iloa, a double hull tradi­tional voyaging canoe built in 1985, would also tour the West Coast - head­ing north, but arriving in Seattle a week after Hokule'a. Wayfinders was puz­zling out how to sustain the energy for two welcoming ceremonies, hosting and interpreting these historic working rep­licas to the public for two weeks. Then word came the two canoes would arrive and leave together and the clouds of panic drifted away and the grinding rou­tine of the planning process continued.

Fast forward past the countless meet­ings, memos, fund-raising, promotion, ceremonial practice sessions to the glorious welcoming dinner at Daybreak Star, the cultural hub of the United Indians of A l l Tribes. A smorgasbord of the Steering Committee, Northwest Tribes, Northwest Hawaiians. Crew of the vessels and a smattering of political and heritage dignitaries attended. It was a spiritual saturation event. A l l the gritty, grimy stuff that is the bedrock of any big event was done. Whatever would happen the next day at the arrival ceremony at Golden Gardens Park was in the hands of the gods. Now we were enjoying ourselves. Congratulatory speeches flowed like Niagara Falls. If Nobel Prizes and Medals of Honor were available, the whole lot would have been sold out in minutes.

The morning of the Arrival began overcast and cold. At 9:45 a.m., the clouds parted and the Hokule'a and Hawai'iloa were seen sailing in from the west, accompanied by a flotilla of Native American canoes. By 10 a.m., as scheduled, the Hawaiian vessels had moored off the beach at Golden Gardens.

Nine thousand people, the majority of them Native Americans and Hawai­ians, had gathered on shore. Possibly the biggest gathering of each ever in. the Northwest. The canoes announced their arrival by blowing of the Pu (shell). In response, close to a thousand more were

Shavings July 1995 Page 7

blown on shore. The First Nations in canoes announced themselves first and they were called in by their people. Then the Hawaiians were called in and brought to shore in the First Nations' canoes. The chants, songs, dances and gift-giving began and continued until dusk.

This was a ceremonial occasion to be savored for as long as there is time. Two rich maritime cultures met on a Pacific Northwest beach. It could have been a thousand years ago. Those who participated, who witnessed it were en­veloped in an historic drama that was precious and unique.

There will be many other arrivals for Hokule'a and Hawai'iloa before the summer's end. Each wil l be special. But none will be like this one.

Dick Wagner is The Center for Wooden Boat's Founding Director, He believes in preserving the heritage by preserving the skills. He plans to stow away on a Polynesian voyaging canoe and see how they find their way across the vast lonely Pacific.

Page 8 Shavings July 1995

OK, I've been a Center for Wooden Boats member for a year and wil l admit under oath - right hand on Bible and left hand raised - that I simply drive to the Center, say hello to Vern and Mike, sail for a couple of hours, get back in my car and drive home. And I'm poorer for it.

But recently I've been going on 45-minute safaris around the lake and I'm beginning to appreciate exotic Lake Union and its friendly, colorful natives. For example, I recently explored Lake Union from the landward side and was able to visit three fun museums - all of

by Michael Houtz

them located within a stone's throw of the Center for Wooden Boats.

The first is, of course, the three-masted sailing schooner, Wawona. Even I have known about her ever since I came to Seattle seven years ago. I mean, how could anyone drive I-5 and yet miss Wawona? But I haven't walked her deck in six years. So I grabbed a handout from near the gangplank and took an un-guided walking tour of her, practicing my yodel in her cavernous hold.

But, since I hadn't visited Wawona in so many years, I didn't know about Northwest Seaport's display of six dories (located next to Wawona). The dory is a thoroughly American boat. Its ancestors fished off Newfoundland in the 16th century - more than 100 years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. This display is for the thinking sailor. The dory was designed in an era of muscle power to be a nimble, easily-rowed boat. I got down on my hands and

knees in the gravel, trying to spot what made the dory design such an ocean­going thoroughbred. Sadly, they just looked like boats to me.

Nor did I know about a red and black half-scale model of the typical rigging of a 1760 British sloop. It stands next to the dories and it looks like a cross between playground equipment and a movie set. I clambered aboard the model and stood under the rigging, then looked straight up so I saw only the rigging pressed against the clouds - no tele­phone or buildings to sully the view -

Shavings July 1995 Page 9

and for a moment I heard the faint echo­ing ring of clashing cutlasses. I'm not going to wait six years to visit Wawona again.

My second museum "find" also con­vinced me that I need to visit an eye doctor. I'm embarrassed to admit that I had never before noticed the 125' three-deck, 99-ton, red, white, black and green steamer Virginia V(that's Virginia 5 to those who missed Latin class). She's the sole survivor of Puget Sound's Mos­quito Fleet. Built in 1922, she carried passengers between Seattle and Tacoma between the two World Wars - when the fare was 35 cents. _

Her hull is huge, rising two stories straight up out of the water, and gives her a plastic-boat-in-a-bathtub look. But her pedigree is pure workhorse. Upon boarding, the first thing I spotted was her brass and steel steam engine. It tow­ers up through two decks; perched atop it is a flared brass eagle, a nice touch of turn-of-the-century elegance and a re­minder that the engine was under con­struction when Queen Victoria ruled Britannia.

While I stood admiring Virginia V's engine. I heard the unmistakable sounds of ratchet wrench sockets being me­thodically tossed into a toolbox. The clinks and clanks came from the bilge, behind a .silver firebox as big as an automobile. The unseen ratchet-tosser shouted a friendly hello and stepped into view, a bearded bear in scrubbed gray overalls. He introduced himself as Jerry Ross and invited me down into the en­gine room for a tour. "Watch the low ceiling," he said a moment too late.

Jerry's huge oil-coated hands glis­tened as he pointed out various parts of the huge well-lubed engine. He helps maintain (as an unpaid volunteer) the spaghetti snarl of pipes, pumps and heat exchangers that connect firebox, steam engine and rudder.

Later, as we flipped through snap­shots of his vacation (a visit to a steam-powered Liberty ship moored in San Francisco), he told me he was working toward his certificate as Virginia V's chief engineer. "Most of the guys who know this powerplant are 80 years old," he said. Here was a guy who clearly loved steam. He probably has a sauna in his home.

Afterwards, I walked up a broad ladder to the horseshoe-shaped wheel-house. It has a charming Victorian inte­rior, all wood panels and gleaming brass talker tubes. A rope connected the chest-high wooden wheel to the rudder, 70 feet aft - no newfangled hydraulics here. But Virginia V still works for a living so, poking out among the soft colors and brass and wood, there gleamed a brushed aluminum radar console and a brace of radios, all looking as up-to-date as the space shuttle.

To visit Virginia V, just follow the shoreline east from C W B , around past Benjamin's restaurant and past the tiny park (home to a wooden jungle gym controlled by a thuggish gang of honking geese).

My final stop was at the Puget Sound Maritime Museum, a cozy storefront located among the restaurants and retail shops at Chandler's Cove, just steps ashore from the Virginia V.

The museum is stuffed with nauti­cal flotsam and jetsam from Puget Sound's seagoing heritage. Glass dis­play cases contain precisely-detailed models of clippers and steamers, includ­ing the first steamship on the West Coast, the Stiver, built in 1831 when Andrew Jackson was president. The Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, which op­erates the museum, also owns the famed Williamson Marine Photography Col­lection of more than 50,000 beautifully preserved black-and-white negatives and

prints. Examples of the best of the col­lection cover the museum's walls, high-quality pictures of ships, docks and people of the Northwest, long-dead people in ill-fitting clothes who set out upon the sea.

An old brass foghorn leaned against a corner. I blew on it and considered myself lucky that a bull moose didn't come galloping through the door. I quickly put it down and moved on. Sit­ting on the floor against a counter was an authentic sea chest with ornate rope handles; a few feet away was an old candle-lit brass binnacle on a wooden stanchion. And across the way was an ornately chased silver ewer, a memento from the early days of Black Ball ferry

system. Hard-to-find books about North­west ships, children's science kits and more modern-day items such as com­memorative coffee mugs rounded out the museum display.

We're all busy nowadays, but time spent to visit - or re-visit Wawona, Vir­ginia V and the Puget Sound Maritime Museum will be time well spent. They all are within two minutes of The Center for Wooden Boats, wil l provide hours of pleasure and serve as a great warm-up for your own explorations of Lake Union.

Michael Houtz is a CWB member, a graduate of our Sail NOW! course and someone who likes to write about good things happening in his community.

Page 10 Shavings July 1995

How The Center For Wooden Boats Came To Be

It was back in 1957 that a friend, bowing to architect Dick Wagner's in­tense desire to work with wooden boats, presented him with a dilapidated wooden kayak. While browsing through the boat building section of the Seattle Public Library for instructions on recanvasing the kayak, Wagner noticed that all of the books dated back to the 1890's. This convinced him that wooden boat build­ing was a fast-fading art and that there was little information published about the techniques of the trade.

And thus, working on and collect­ing small wooden boats became a pas­sion for Dick and his wife, Colleen.

The Wagners established their traditional boat rental business in 1968 at their houseboat located on the west side of Lake Union. Their home was built in 1909 and originally was used as a summer home at Leschi Park. Their houseboat, Seattle's oldest floating resi­dence, was moved to Lake Union in 1940. Their operation became a gather­ing place for people with a keen interest in history, boats and woodworking. Since their kitchen door faced the fleet, many visitors learned the location of the coffeepot and the cookie jar.

And as the kitchen crowd grew, so did the fleet — and the time needed to take care of customers and repairs. The Wagners couldn't turn away visitors who came to talk, so they decided to channel them into evening meetings to share information. They asked about 20 of the most outspoken to the first meet­ing, held on the third Friday of February, 1976. More than 40 showed up. The spirit of the meeting was high, espe-

by Molly Cadranell

tially when the group was told of the long-nurtured fantasy of a small craft museum where people could actually operate the boats and use the tools.

The group pitched in to turn fantasy into fact, making the third Friday of every month their meeting day for discussions, guest speakers and social­izing.

Since there was no model to follow, Dick and Colleen followed their own path. They felt the purpose of their collection was education and the most effective means of education would be direct experience. So the direction the museum took was a hands-on approach where the exhibits were put in the water and the public encouraged to use them.

In the spring of 1977, John Gardner, curator of small craft at the Mystic Sea­port Museum and a noted authority on traditional boats came to the Northwest to speak at a conference at Evergreen College. The enthusiastic group from Lake Union shanghaied this heritage boat fancier and they invited him to speak to the group at the next Third Friday series meeting. It ended up being a pep talk about putting ideas into action and, as a result, the group decided to jump in and plan a public event. And thus, the first Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival was born. As part of the natal process, the museum got a name—The Center for Wooden Boats — and a real

set of by-laws, a board of directors, and executive committee — everything except a site.

By late 1978, there were many pro­grams running simultaneously: speak­ers, regattas, traditional boatshop semi­nars, the Wooden Boat Festival, news­letters, boat restoration, book publish­ing, archives and more. Wagner remem-_ bers those hectic days well. "We were sticking to our original vision as a spe­cial haven for traditional boats to be used, as a shop to teach boatbuilding skills." With a vision statement in hand, four different sites—all public property — around Lake Union were examined as possible homes for the future Center for Wooden Boats.

The spot chosen was on Waterway #4 at the south end of the lake. In 1980, armed with endorsements from com­munity organizations, adjoining prop­erty owners, city officials and individu­als, as well as 2,000 petition signatures, and with final drawings in hand, The Center for Wooden Boats applied for the building permit, only to be stymied by the bureaucratic process.

Thirty-six months later, ground was broken and building began for the Center that exists today.

The upland portion is a public park and sports a traditionally designed Gate­way Pavilion, allowing the public to enjoy the park and surrounding plantings

(including trees, with an emphasis on those that are traditionally used for boats). The Boatshop is a working ex­hibit-here the public can observe, learn, help build and maintain the Center's fleet. The shop is housed in a replica of a turn-of-the-century floating boat livery originally located at the north end of the lake. Floating docks provide moor­age for the livery of more than 100 small sailing and rowing craft, most of which can be rented by the hour. The Boat­house is another floating structure, pro­viding the lecture room, administrative office, archives/library and gift shop.

Al l of this is home for a wide spec­trum of activities, all centered around the Center's eclectic collection, which includes traditional craft and some sur­prises such as the Center's own yard tug, Cap'n. Pete. On any given day, more that half of the Center's 165-boat fleet. will be floating at the docks between the Boatshop and the Boathouse.

The visitors on the dock may be a group of schoolchildren here to learn history, science, math, vocabulary, team­work and leadership the old-fashioned way, the seafaring way.

Travelers from across the country -and around the world - arrive with well-worn press clippings from boating maga­zines and the general press, eager to ply their skills on a classic 1939 Herreshoff sloop or row a 21' gig. People are en­couraged to learn while doing, to play with an exhibit - or even build one. Individual and group sailing instruction is offered, as are workshops and semi­nars ranging from boat building to metal casting, from knot tying to sail making.

Summer visitors can take free boat rides on weekends while those who come on a wintry afternoon may want to curl up with a book in the library.

The Third Friday series continues to flourish, though the topics range further afield these days.

Wooden boats are made with skilled hands, with great care and knowledge, and each one has the soul of the builder — and the builder before him. Every little piece has to be thought out and it is the mind, heart and soul of thousands of years of boatbuilders that creates a fin­ished product.

Among the spirited watercraft at the Center for Wooden Boats (some of which can be rented and others of which are too delicate or under repair to allow rental usage) are a Danish Faroe Island boat, a turn-of-the-century Alaska Sailing Gillnetter, a 1913 Monterey Clipper, a 1906 steam launch, Native American dugout canoes and a Bangladesh rice boat.

The majority of the Center's current 165-boat fleet are small sailing and row­ing boats. Canoes, kayaks and small powerboats round out the fleet. What first draws most people to the Center is the availability of these boats for rent.

Tugging at their lines, the Center's fleet is a microcosm of American small craft design: three Beetle Cats, a 30'

Blanchard Senior Knockabout, a Herreshoff sloop, a Bristol Bay pram, a Chesapeake Bay Sharpie and an 18' Concordia sloop moor along the docks around the boathouse, while a 30' Yan­kee One Design sloop, Whitebear skiffs, a Swampscot Dory and a 35' New Haven Sharpie jut their bows to the inviting waters of Lake Union.

A l l this is made possible by an army of dedicated volunteers, who are always restoring one boat or another, giving visitors a look at the traditional methods and skills necessary to float a piece of the past.

Come on down and enjoy all this! The Center for Wooden Boats is located at the south end of Seattle's Lake Union (lOlO Valley St.). The hours arenoon to 6p.m. daily except Tuesday. There'sno admission charge. Boat rental rates range from $8 to $ 12 an hour for rowboats and $10 to $15 an hour for sailboats. Mem­bers of the Center for Wooden Boats get a 25% discount.

Molly Cadranell is an experienced racing sailor, an active volunteer at The Center for Wooden Boats and Seattle Yacht Club and a former partner in a public relations firm. She is involved with issues of land use, water quality and boatyard and marina management.

"Livery" Many ask why we use the word "livery" to identify our boat rental

operation. We chose this word because we want people to associate the use of our historically significant boats with an historic environment. According to Webster, "livery" is a Middle English word, taken from the French "livree" (to deliver) from the Latin "liberae" (to free). It first became associated with servants' uniforms and then with places charging for horses or offering vehicles or boats for rent

As far as the preceding goes, the etymology of livery is correct. But not complete. We have found earlier sources of livery.

Daniel Webster was a fine fellow and did his very best to provide all that is known about the English language, but C W B ' s ever-alert network of researchers on the history of small craft have come across what is likely to be the first use of the term "livery" in reference to boats.

It is in Aramaic (an archaic form of Hebrew), scratched into a piece of Lebanon cedar and miraculously preserved in a reed bog on the banks of the Red Sea for more than 5,000 years. The translation is:

"My people have arrived at the shores of this great sea, anxiously looking forward, to returning to our beloved homeland after a long exile. There is a place that rents boats here, but it is Tuesday and it is closed. The owner, Ray, couldn't help us because he was shorthanded but offered to let us use the boats free any other time because he supports our cause. Having no other choice, we resorted to using higher spiritual powers to allow us to cross this sea. But we will always remember the kind efforts here - and long live Ray."

Shavings July 1995 Page 11

Shavings July 1995

Changing Places Awakening to the possibilities of very small, small craft

For nearly two decades, I was one of the guys on the dock.

There's a guy on the dock in all weathers, at all hours. In the grey Se­attle drizzle, the guy on the dock stands unmoving, watching gillnetters, purse seiners, pleasure cruisers, tugboats, freighters, or sailboats, all with the same consuming intensity. In the summer, the guy on the dock trades his peacoat and watch cap for a swordfishing hat with a long peak and continues his care­ful scrutiny of every boat in view. Fe­male sail trimmers or supercargo be­come flattered, flustered, or irritated un­der his unremitting gaze, depending on their temperaments, but they don't real­ize he doesn't even see them. He's looking at the boat.

The guy on the dock doesn't own a boat. He discovered boats reading John Masefield or Robert Louis Stevenson or C.S. Forester. Or his parents knew some­one who lived on a lake and had a runabout. He might have been inocu­lated with boats in the Sea Scouts.

Every guy on the dock is an amal­gam of contradictory elements, both Platonist and romantic. Each harbors the vision of a perfect boat, built up from years of silent watching. They do not sin against the 10th Commandment because they covet nothing short of their ideal. They are like the aging bachelors whose one true love has never come for them.

by Chas.Dowd They are all Dante, pledged forever to their vision of Beatrice.

They deal with their boatlessness in many different ways. Some study mari­time history, collecting nautical charts and old logbooks to create their own voyages of discovery. Others build model boats, from the simple to the elaborate. I shared a dockhead with one of these who told me that he let his infant son's hair grow so long that people started asking what his daughter's name was. Then, without warning his wife, he took the tot to a barber who with four determined passes of the clippers turned Little Lord Fauntleroy into a Marine recruit. The modelmaker saved every lock, using it over the years as stays and halyards of tiny schooners and square riggers.

A few crew on racing sailboats. Every yacht club has several members with families whose passion for sailing does not match theirs or who have a racing machine too big for family to crew. Waterborne, some of them be­come Bully Forbes, alienating their wives and progeny. One of them was famous for tearing out all the bunks, the galley stove, and even the head during racing season.

Another very different skipper

lived aboard an ancient, mouldering schooner. He was a general object of envy because all he needed to do to go racing was disconnect the shore power and clear his bicycle off the foredeck. He was a solitary man, wifeless, and girlfriendless because his boat took so much maintenance that he perpetually sailed on the edge of bankruptcy, living from one weekend to the next on left­overs from the lunches and dinners his racing crew brought aboard on Satur­days.

Captain Ayers, the owner of a large slow ketch, raced as a cover for his true passion, sail collecting. Often he'd get so far behind that even with his boat's impressive handicap, he'd abandon rac­ing in mid-course and sail off at random. Aiming Phoenix toward the longest possible expanse of seaway, he'd harry his crew into the forepeak to break out random bags of sails accumulated through years of trading, auctions, and no little borrowing, and urge them to get the largest possible number of them flying-

Carrying garlands of blocks, the crew scrambled up and down the rig­ging under his direction, festooning masts and stays with fantastic complexi­ties of halyards and sheets. Then they

would sprawl in the cockpit, drinking the Captain's two-water grog, and try. assign something like the terminology of Nelson's navy to the various compo­nents of the crazy-quilt rig.

"Make down the flying topmast drabbler halyard, lads, and see if you can't give the triatic stuns'l a bit more air."

Though it was possible to learn things about sail trim under Captain Ayers that weren't written in books, all these expedients failed to solve my prob­lem of being the guy on the dock. Then one day I stumbled on a small establish­ment called The Old Boathouse, tucked in behind some houseboats under the Aurora Bridge.

Here were boats like I'd never seen before, little gaff-headed catboats shaped like watermelon seeds. A beautiful half-decked sloop boat, greyhound-lean and graceful, with red sails and a varnished coaming. Two Scandinavian-looking centerboarders, bluff-bowed lapstrake craft with their stays fastened by hanks of marline rove through holes in their sheerstrakes. Every one of them looked saltier than Lot's wife. It was the light bulb coming on over Wiley Coyote's ' head rather than the effulgence that waylaid Paul on the road to Damascus, but a levin-flash of brilliance rocked my mind as I suddenly realized that boats didn't have to be big to embody every

Page 12

Shavings July 1995 Page 13

nautical principle. As I stood there immobile, the great truth manifest in those elegant craft showed me that shippiness is wholly independent of size.

And intriguing as all these boats were, they were as dross compared to the rowboats. Up to then, my acquain­tance with rowboats had been with awk­ward, cranky little dinghies, useful only for travel between shore and mother ship, carrying pizza and beer. But here, mirrored in the calm waters of the 80- by 100-foot pool, were boats designed for moving under oars. Moreover, they were the Ur-botten, even more basic than the nearby sailboats. They were essence of boat, with all unnecessary trappings stripped away. To an eye honed by many years of standing on docks, they seemed the most perfect watercraft ever made, with the breath­taking beauty of complete simplicity. Their wineglass transoms, their straight stems, and the graceful sweeps of their planking said they would slip through the water with barely a ripple. A l l they lacked was an Alice-In-Wonderland tag that said "Row Me."

They were Whitebear Skiffs said a taciturn man in boat shoes and a sun-bleached sweatshirt and yes, they were for rent. I rented them for five years. Captain Ayres faded away as I accumu­lated several Whitebear Skiff loads of books on small boats. The taciturn man, becoming less taciturn as he realized that I loved these miniature yachts as much as he did, introduced me to Rangely boats, Davis boats, Whitehalls, peapods, Adirondack guide boats, ducking skiffs, and innumerable dories as I searched for my perfect boat. Not a Whitebear Skiff, I had decided, but something a little less delicate, a bit higher sided, possibly with a more pronounced sheer to handle the chop of the open Sound. That's the beauty of a really small, small craft; you

can find one that fits your needs like a glove, and though it won't be cheap, it will be affordable.

The final choice was a Piscataqua River Wherry. Freya Boats of Anacortes stretched the original lines from 16 to just under 18 feet long, giving it a nar-rower entry, a finer run, and a small skeg so she tracks like she's on rails. They built her of spruce over oak so she's far lighter than if she were made of the traditional pine. The rowlocks were positioned for our most efficient stroke; the seats placed so that Deborah's 110 pounds and my 170 set her down on her

lines in perfect balance. She has satis­fied every boating need for 17 summers.

We've discovered deserted beaches, rowed up one of the last four untouched rivers in the lower 48, and spent many hours as the only boat on the water, but I ' l l always remember the day we first launched The Lady Deb at Shilshole Marina. On that sunny summer day, she was still all bright oil finish, the color of old honey. We slipped her off the trailer and Deborah hiked down toward the gas dock with our camera to get our first pictures as I rowed past. As I was getting ready,a man walked slowly down

to the end of the float. He was wearing a swordfishing hat with a long peak. I waved cordially to him before settling the oars in the rowlocks, but when I looked up, I realized he was paying no attention to me. He was staring with fixed intensity at the boat. He was the guy on the dock.

And I was the guy in the boat.

Chas. Dowd sets the standard of writing that the Center for Wooden Boats hopes to obtain: grace, eloquence, flaw­less grammar and at least one word per piece that you have to look up.

One Step At A Time by

Colleen Wagner Seattle needs a maritime heritage

museum! Without it, much of this region's important maritime heritage may be forever lost.

We must preserve the past for the enrichment of future generations.

We need a museum with a fresh new approach to exhibits and education, a museum where everyone can get in­volved and will want to return again and again.

In a city as maritime-oriented as Seattle and in a state that developed and grew because of its maritime heritage, it is difficult to believe that a major mari­time heritage museum hasn't happened before now. PSMHS (based for many years at the Museum of History and Industry) recognizes the need to act now. Every day this heritage is slipping away. A museum is desperately needed to save what remains before it also goes to other museums, antique stores, collectors or the garbage bin. We need to honor those persons still with us, do oral histories and continue to collect information from them.

It is a huge responsibility to accept the task of starting a new museum but PSMHS can do it, taking one step at a time! We hope that others will help with the challenge and help us record our great maritime past, which is and was so vital and important to all of us. It is the foundation of all that we have now.

The Puget Sound Maritime Museum will be more than simply exhibits. It will

be a place of historic adventure, explo­ration and education. A place to get involved in the past. A place to hear the old steam whistle and ring a traditional ship's bell, to help run a steam engine and learn how it works, to build model boats, turn a capstan as part of a crew, to help raise sail, turn a ship's wheel, climb a ladder to the crow's nest or even learn to sing a sea chanty. There is so much knowledge to pass on: ship's time, navi­gation, knots, signal flags, compasses, telegraphs, how boats were designed, built and launched and their work or claim to fame.

The museum will feature a large model display (including models being built). Classes will be held there for children and others. There also will be a large resource library - which is now being assembled by a dedicated staff of volunteers. At present, the library col­lection contains more than 70,000 pho­tographs and photographic negatives, 4,000 books, boat plans, charts, maps, countless maritime operating documents (ships' logs, menus, postcards, crew lists, etc.). The library will help you find that photo of the ship your grandfather sailed on or the steamer they might have taken to the Alaska Gold Rush in 1897.

Another staff of dedicated volun­teers publishes four issues a year of a

nationally-known maritime journal,"Sea Chest" (which is included with PSMHS membership or may be purchased indi­vidually). This will be continued as a part of the museum.

The museum will reflect how the maritime world — transportation, rec­reation, shipping and thousands of jobs on ships and ashore - touched so many people living here. Our early legislators were paddled to Olympia in native ca­noes or caught a ride on the first Puget Sound steamer, Beaver, which burned 40 cords of wood a day to keep her paddle wheels turning. There were no roads; the waterways were the high­ways.

What an important history to save as we look back to 1851 when the 24 men., women and children arrived in a little 73' schooner, Exact, on a cold rainy morning in November. They founded a town which they later called Seattle. Amazingly it was only one month after arrival that they signed a contract to supply the Brig, Leonesa, (whose officers just happened to see the settlers working on their cabins) with a cargo of Douglas Fir pilings. They were paid $1,000 in hard cash; the Leonesa's captain sold the pilings for $6,800 later in San Francisco. A l l were happy with the arrangement and continued this com­

mercial operation. Education will have a major focus

in the museum, especially for families and children. There will be school and group tours and classes in maritime skills and crafts, such as making rope or rope mats, ditty bags, sail making with a sail palm, wood carving for ships' name boards or perhaps cook up a salted cod fish (Puget Sound boasted a fleet of codfishing schooners) or chew some hardtack, which was the staple food for sailors on a long voyages. There will be opportunity for teachers to check out treasured Sea Chests for their classes, with maritime artifacts, videos, slides, books and lesson plans.

Lectures will be another great re­source of the museum. There are many members of PSMHS with firsthand maritime experience who happily pass on this knowledge to others, people such as Captain Raynaud (nearly 100 years old), who went to sea at 13 on square-rigged sailing vessels. And there is Cap­tain Ed Shields, whose father started the Pacific Coast Codfishing Co. Ed grew up learning the trade and became cap­tain of the C. A. Thayer, sailing to the Bering Sea to fish for cod from dories with hand lines, cleaning and salting them down for the return voyage.

Another is Steve Philipp who lives on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Steve as a shipwright helped build many of the ships in Puget Sound. Now in retirement he uses his excellent skills to build

Page 14 Shavings July 1995

Shavings July 1995 Page 15

models of all the various types of cedar canoes that were used by Native Ameri­cans from time immemorial. Steve would give lectures and present exhibits at the future museum. And then there is naval architect Phi l Spaulding, who has designed many ships but is particularly known for this states' ferry designs. An early design of the ferry Coho which is still in use proved so successful that many copies were made. Even now in retirement, Phil has been called upon to design the present-day superferry to be built by Todd Shipyard. Phil Spaulding, like so many others, is still around to tell tales of how it was.

PSMHS has the fundraising ability to make the museum a reality. With one step at a time it will become a reality!

In the near future, the Naval Re­serve Base at south Lake Union will move to another location and the build­ing will be turned over to the city. Public support is needed to the building may become the Puget Sound Maritime M u ­seum, along with The Center for Wooden Boats and Northwest Seaport, already on site.

If you want to know more about PSMHS or the museum, how to get involved or how to help make the mu­seum happen or how to join the mem­bership, please call (206) 624-3028 or visit our museum exhibit at Chandler's Cove (west side) on south Lake Union,

open daily 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sundays noon to 5 p.m.

We hope to see you at the future Puget Sound Maritime Museum!

Colleen Wagner is the co-founder of The Center for Wooden Boats and actively involved with planning the Puget Sound Maritime Museum. She formerly

was administrative manager of The Museum of Sea & Ships and education and public activities manager of North­west Seaport.

Shavings July 1995

Center for Wooden Boats 1995 Survey Results How Are We Doing?

1. Cour teous Staff 1. Poor

3 2 4

3 2 4

4 77

5. Excel lent 103

2. Quali ty of Sail ing Classes 0 3 11 4 5 36

3. Quali ty of Skil ls C lasses 0 1 14 4 0 4 0

4. Qual i ty of Volunteer Coord inat ion 9 19 2 6 44 2 6

5 Quali ty of Boat Fleet 0 9 52 84 5 6

6. Mix of Boat Types in Fleet 0 9 39 85 71

7. Main tenance of the Fleet 5 22 61 8 8 23

8. Ju l y 4 th Wooden Boat Fest ival 0 2 17 44 9 2

9. Shavings Newslet ter 0 6 27 107 85

10. Care of C W B Buildings & Grounds 0 8 23 108 73

1 1 . Boat Rental Program 3 6 21 79 65

How should the Center grow & change 1. Not

Important 2 3 4 5. Ve ry

Important 1. S tay wi th Smal l boats Only 15 2 0 18 73 9 6

2. A d d more small power boats 74 54 4 5 12

3. A d d More Large Sail 44 62 62 4 2 16

4. A d d More Large Power 156 47 13 2 2

5 . A d d More Skill C lasses 3 12 63 76 55

6. A d d More You th Programs 11 16 6 0 76 56

7. More Commun i t y Serv ice 12 25 62 39

8. Develop Satel i te Campus on Camano Is. 3 0 2 6 4 6 47 4 9

The Voice of the People

We recently surveyed our membership on how they felt

about our service and our mission. As of the end of May,

15% had responded. The survey was in the form of multiple

choice and essay answers. Not everyone responded to all the

questions and 72% added at least one line of written

comment ("You're a fantastic addition to this community. "

"Don't change too much too fast; you seem to be on a roll

now."). One returned the form with response only to the item

on care of buildings and grounds. The sole "comment" was

an $8,000 check to set up a building maintenance

endowment. Now that's a response!

The results of the multiple choice items are shown in the

accompanying charts. The following summarizes the written

comments (the number of times the same comment was

received is in parenthesis):

How Are We Doing?

Staff Need better people/operations manage­ment (1); The staff is great (7); Director is best/indispensable (4); there is staff/ volunteer friction (1).

Sailing Classes Need more consistency (8); Increase price (1); Need more women instructors (2); Need advanced/racing instruction (10); Need more weekday sailing in­structors (1).

Skills Classes Reduce cost (1); Need more classes (3); Need better scheduling (1); Exchange work for tuition (2); Like class reunion potlucks (1); Boatbuilding workshop during Christmas vacation (1); Com­posite construction workshop (1) Hands-on powerboating (3); Seamanship/boat­ing safety (2); Boat maintenance (1);

Publish how-to manuals (1); Evening/ half-day Saturday workshops (9); More Charlie Mastro classes (2); Small diesel repair (1); Survival skills (1); Elder hos­tel boatbuilding workshop (1).

Volunteer Coordination Need more visitor guides (2); More friendly volunteers (7); Better coordi­nation (4); Volunteers need more coffee (1); Home jobs for volunteers (2); A l l Board members should work on site (1); Want to volunteer now (5); Will volun­teer when retire (3).

Mix of boat types Want more diversity (1); want more small powerboats (2); more diverse sail­boats (7); include wooden multihulls (1) ; Want policy on acquisitions (1).

Quality of fleet Maintenance of fleet Take better care (10); Boats looking better (1); Get more boat covers (3); Sailing instructors should work in main­tenance (1).

Boat Festival Love festival (1); Reinvent festival (1); P.A. system too loud (1); Pre-mail auc­tion catalog (2).

Shavings List Puget Sound activities (1); Love Shavings (3); Need more technical info (2) ; Stick to publishing schedule (2).

Buildings & Grounds Need better care (8); Get rid of geese (1); Get rid of dogs (1); Use Boatshop for private projects (1); Increase Boathouse rental (1); Need better signage (1); S hore paths should be brick (1); Love the l i ­brary (2); Need visitors' moorage (1); Get rid of unsafe/ugly docks (1).

Boat Rental Love the livery (6); Get corporate boat sponsors (3); Want more sailboats (7); Want large/overnight vessels (8); Keep affordable (1); Members should be able to reserve (1); Extended hours in sum­mer (3); Allow use in heavy winds (1); Allow off-site off-site multi-day use (1); Unclear livery policies/rules (2).

Other Doing fine, keep up the good work (56); Enjoy monthly speakers (3); Should in­teract with rowing, racing & kayaking organizations (1); Need more commu­nication with membership (1); CWB is too elite (1); Members should elect Board (1); Members should have more input to Board (1); Should partner with Wooden Boat Foundation (Port Townsend) (1); Need Boat Builders Directory (1); Spon­sor world tours (1); Great place for Troop 144, B.S.A. (1); Acknowledge gifts promptly (1); No activities for AIDS afflicted (1); Need more professional displays (3); Need more, lectures, pub­lications, portable exhibits (1); Need more promotion (5); Focus on rest of Puget Sound (1).

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Shavings July 1995 Page 17

How Should the Center Grow and Change? Fleet expansion/change Continue focus on small sailboats (1); Focus on sail, small and large (2); Focus on small boats/skills (16); Focus on small row, sail, power (3); Only low speed power (3); No fossil fuel power (11); Steam OK (2); More power, large sail where appropriate to programs (11); Keep growing with same mission (14); Keep large boats if endowed (2); No large boats (2); No more large sail than present (1).

More "woodworking/maritime skills classes/expand youth programs, in­crease community service activities Get more kids in boats (7); Focus on kids/outreach (14); Outreach to 10-12-year-old girls (1); Sailing and wood­working skills before community out­reach (2); Pro school partnerships (1); More hands-on programs (1).

Develop satellite campus/programs at Cama Beach Should expand with other maritime heri-tage organizations at south Lake Union (5); Don't get overextended (14); Ex­pand to Lake Washington (2); Expand to Puget Sound (Shilshole Bay) (1); Link with Seattle Commons (2); Pro Cama Beach (11).

Other 'Should survey community (2); Survey was great (1); Survey was strange (1); Survey should have been edited (3); Glad C W B has national reputation (1); Should expand publication (1); Expand library (1); Should publish Northwest boat plans (1); Should publish product catalog (1); Should have "garage" sales (1).

The annual Ed Clark Memorial Classic Sailboat Race wi l l be held July 2 as a part of the activities during the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival. The race is part of the Wooden Yacht Racing Association's.1995 season.

The race is expected to draw nearly 20 wooden sailboats of varying vintages and sail plans. It is open to all wooden sailboats; although advance registration is encouraged. Registration will remain open until the skippers meeting which begins at 1200 hours in the CWB Boat­house. The race starts at 1600 hours on Lake Union.

The race is named in honor of the late Ed Clark, first president of W Y R A and an instructor in CWB's Sail NOW! program. The perpetual race trophy is a half model of a Star, Ed's favorite sailboat.

For race information, contact CWB: (206) 382-2628.

Shavings July 1995

A Paddling Tale As I happily paddled in circles one

early morning in May, I realized how lucky I was: Happy to be alive and paddling a beautiful wood and canvas Maine Guide canoe with a paddle I'd carved myself. The lake was quiet, the water was glassy, my only companions were the barn swallows swooping by skimming the water for bugs and finger-ling salmon surfacing for the same pur­pose. It was perfect.

But as my circles continued to form, so did my frustration. I tried every way I could imagine to get the canoe to go in a straight line. I changed positions in the canoe, moving aft and forward, not sure which was aft and which was forward. It didn't seem to matter; the harder I tried to go straight, the prettier the circle. When the wind began to come up my problems were compounded and I headed in a roundabout way back to the Center for Wooden Boats.

I have a month and a half to figure out how to get this canoe to go in a straight line. Early on the morning of July 5, I will "put in" with 12 other people at Fort Benton, Montana, for a 12-day trip along the upper Missouri River. We will be traveling along the historic route of Lewis and Clark and along the way, will have their journals available from the Bureau of Land Man­agement. From what I've heard the coun­try along the upper Missouri remains much as it was in 1805 when Lewis and Clark began their travels up the river.

The leader of this group of adven­turers is John Rundberg. John is a canoe and paddle expert. He owns ten or twelve

by Leslie Oldham

canoes, including wood and canvas ca­noes, Chestnuts and even an Henri Valliancourt birchbark canoe. John also has about 50 paddles of every wood and design. An elementary school librarian by vocation and a voyager by avocation, he is the perfect guide for this trip.

Upon the completion of his first trip down the Missouri in 1989, John and a newfound friend from the river vowed to repeat the voyage every three years. My first introduction to John Rundberg was in April, 1993, when Jerry Stelmok came from Maine to teach the fine craft of building wood and canvas canoes at CWB. Whenever Jerry hits town, his students from previous classes, John among them, descend on the Center to help with various aspects of the class, lend canvas stretchers, admire the new canoe and generally hang around with the guru.

That same month, CWB hosted a three day conference on programs for at-risk youth (The Center's own pro­gram using sailing and boatbuilding skills is considered a model). At the conclusion of the conference John Rundberg spoke to the group about his canoe travels. He brought his birchbark canoe, paddles and loaded pack baskets to set the scene. He showed slides of several canoe trips and read to us from a variety of literature. We all were mes­merized. It was a magical presentation and I was ready to sign up then. So was

everyone else at the Center that night and John humored us all.

And then this April, when Jerry Stelmok returned to CWB and I was once again enamored with these wood and canvas canoes, regular as clock­work, up turned John Rundberg. As he was describing the upcoming Missouri trip to Jerry, I piped up, "If I had a canoe, I'd go." John informed me that I didn't need a canoe to go along (remember John has ten or twelve canoes) and that I was welcome to join the group. Wow! Twelve days on the Missouri! I couldn't imagine a more wonderful two weeks. Of course I said yes. And with that everything was set in motion.

Jerry and John encouraged me to carve a paddle for the trip. John's wife, Darlene, Milt Footer, a student from the canoe building class the week before, and I all carved paddles. We worked away in the shop alongside the canoe restoration class. Thanks to Jerry's pa­tience and expert guidance we produced three pretty good paddles. What an ex­perience to start with a board of cherry seven inches wide and what they call six quarters thick and take it down to a delicate beaver tail paddle. The wood was so heavy I couldn't imagine ending up with a paddle light enough for me to use. Carving the paddle, principally us­ing a spokeshave, was a very Zen thing. It's difficult to describe how pleasing, and relaxing the process was, how pleas­

ant it was to see this lovely shape emerge from a heavy, rough board, how silky the wood became with each stroke and how well it fit my hand.

But then reality set in. Jerry Stelmok returned to Maine, John and Darlene Rundberg went back to work and the canoe fanatics went back to their rou­tines. I have spent only two nights in a row in a tent in my life, my knee hurts a lot of the time, I can't imagine what food to cook after 10 days on the river, I don't do well in the sun and the heat and I can only paddle in circles. But therein lies the challenge. I'm checking out gear, air mattresses in particular, I've got my Bullfrog sunscreen and a great hemp hat, I'm going to fix Jambalaya for my dinner and my paddling is improving.

John Rundberg has been a wealth of information. I've got plenty of reading to do including David Lavender's Way to the Western Sea about Lewis and Clark's explorations, a paddling video by Bill Mason has been a big help and a copy of a Thomas Hart Benton's paint­ing of the Missouri is posted on my fridge. John's letters have provided the group with information about maps, pamphlets and books to help us prepare. The group will include a retired engi­neer from the Livermore Labs, a novel­ist and seller of fine used books, a Se­attle dentist, an elementary school sci­ence teacher, a wine sales rep, a forest ranger, a Microsoft manager, a profes­sional nature photographer, two elemen­tary school teachers, one middle school student, five dogs and me!

I 'll keep you posted.

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Shavings July 1995 Page 19

Description of Events Rope Work CWB member and friend Steve Osborn w i l l be showing his marlinespike handy work.

Aleut Ikak Kayak Demonstration Corey Freedman will have four kayaks and demonstrations.

Navigation Rulers Ken Hicks will demonstrate and sell navigation rulers.

19th Annual Live Auction We've limited seating for this one so buy tickets first, then read the follow­ing! This year the Auction wil l be one of Seattle's best. With last year's big auction success, we've moved indoors and dropped the dinner in favor of plenty of hors d'oerves and some serious bid­ding. The auction items this year are bigger and better - we are aiming to raise $30,000. Come and join in the bidding frenzy and help with CWB's biggest fund raiser of the year.

Maritime Books American Booksellers will have three tables full of maritime books to increase your library.

Caulking with Lee Ehrheart Master Shipwright Lee Ehrheart will show you how to do it right, including hands on instruction. 1 p.m. Daily

Caulking for Rids Master Shipwright Lee Ehrheart enlists the aid of young "apprentices" to show that caulking can be done by anyone. 1 p.m. Monday

Cedar Culture The Maritime skills of Puget Sound Native Americans. Steve and Dorothy Philipp describe how the native peoples of the region utilized their natural re­sources. Ongoing exhibit of canoe mod­els, tools, artifacts, - even a model longhouse. Special presentation at 12:30 p.m. Daily.

Charts, Books, Magazines and Boatbuilding Tools with David Kingston.

Clancy Racing World Championship Clancy racing! The Clancy is a new 10' training dinghy designed by CWB's Rich Kolin. Bob Pickett, who has built several, wil l be on hand to answer questions. If you would like to race, check in at Flounder Bay Lumber.

Ed Clark Classic Yacht Race The Northwest's finest classic wooden boat race here on Lake Union for every­one to see. This is an official Wooden Yacht Racing Association Event. Be­gins at 4:00 p.m. Sunday.

Folk Music A lively offering of songs and merri­ment for land and sea, featuring a host of talents

How to Buy a Wooden Boat A panel discussion with an expert ma­rine surveyor, a banker, and an insur­ance agent. Learn what to look for, how to finance, and what to do about insur­ance. 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Armory

Name Board Lettering Art Knowles will demonstrate and teach traditional name board lettering.

People's Choice Award Visitors are encouraged to find their favorite sail, power and Quick and Dar­ing boats and submit their votes for the People's choice award. Pick up your ballot at the CWB store on the west side of the Armory Building.

Quick and Daring Boat Building Contest Two person teams race to see who can build a fast, seaworthy boat in the short­est amount of time. Then they race them on (and sometimes under) the water. Building begins at high noon Saturday and, Sunday in the West Tent. Racing begins Monday at 3:30 p.m.

RED WHITE & BLUE Silent Auctions Three separate silent auctions, one each day. High bidders will take their booty home with them. Each auction will have a variety of items big and small. The Silent Auction is a wonderful opportu­nity to show your support for the Center for Wooden boats. Every dollar of your purchase helps pay for our outreach programs.

"Ships of Puget Sound" Puget Sound Maritime Historical Soci­ety wil l show some of their 70,000 his­toric photographs, artifacts, and records. There will be kids activities, models, and model making demonstrations.

Toy Boat Building Come build a toy boat! We supply the wood, glue, nails, tools, masts, sails, and everything you need. This is one of the favorite events of the Festival so don't miss out.

Water Taxis Take a ride in a 28' Monterey Clipper, a Poulsbo boat, a variety of traditional wooden row boats, and a plethora of sail boats. Board at CWB or the North Pier of the Naval Reserve Center.

165' 1897 Schooner Wawona Welcome aboard the last Lumber Schooner in the Pacific Northwest.

Whale Craft Folding Kayaks Unique folding kayaks taken from a design several decades old. Daniel Niblock will take down and assemble the kayaks twice a day.

Win a Boat Stop by the CWB store on the west side of the Armory and enter the drawing to win a lovely classic wooden boat.

Wooden Boats The whole reason for the Festival! Ex­pect to see over 100 wooden boats of all sizes in addition to our own fleet of nearly 100 small wooden boats. Big ships will be in port as well including the Wawona.

See back page for daily schedule of events.

SATURDAY, July 1 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. A L L D A Y Toy Boat Building - West Side of Armory Folk Music - Pavilion and West Tent Framing and Sewing skin on Aleut Baidarka Kayak. Demonstrations at the Sail Loft, Rigging Shop, Forge,Foundry Shops. Wawona Courtyard Wawona restoration tours Food Booths - Entrance to Naval Reserve Base "Ships of Puget Sound" a photo and artifact exhibit - Armory Fancy & Practical knotwork - C W B Boatshop Lettering for Boat Names - Armory Water Taxi Tours - C W B Boathouse and North Quay Ballots for People's Choice Awards - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Boat Drawing Entries - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Rich Kolin - Halfmodel Building - C W B Boatshop Seattle Public Library, Boat Files - Armory RED Silent Auction (noon - 4:00) - Armory

NOON Quick and Daring Boat building - West Tent 12:30 Steve Philipp - Maritime Skills of Puget Sound Native Americans - Armory

1:00 Lee Ehrheart - Caulking demonstration - West Side of Armory 1:30 Rich Kolin - Half model demonstration, C W B Boatshop 2:00 Leif Karlson - Viking Navigation - West Tent 3:00 Bob Pickett - The Future of Wooden Boatbuilding - West Tent 4:00 Lee Ehrheart - Restoration of The Hudson River Sloop "Clearwater" - Armory 6:00 Festival Closes for evening

S U N D A Y , July 1 10 A.M. to 6 A.M. A L L D A Y Toy Boat Building - West Side of Armory Kid's Activities - Face Painting, Fish Printing, Puppet Shows, and more. C W B Pavilion Folk Music - Pavilion and West Tent Framing and Sewing skin on Aleut Baidarka Kayak. Demonstrations at the Sail loft, Rigging Shop, Forge, Foundry Shops. Wawona Courtyard Wawona restoration tours Fancy and Practical Knotwork - C W B Boatshop Food Booths - Entrance to Naval Reserve Base Lettering for boat names - Armory "Ships of Puget Sound" a photo and artifact exhibit - Armory Water Taxi Tours - C W B Boathouse and North Quay Ballots for People's Choice Awards - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Boat Drawing Entries - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Rich Kolin - Halfmodel Demonstration - C W B Boatshop Seattle Public Library, Boat Files - Armory WHITE Silent Auction (noon - 4:00) - Armory

NOON Quick and Daring Boat building - West Tent 12:30 Steve Philipp - Maritime Skills of Puget Sound Native Americans - Armory

1:00 Lee Ehrheart - Caulking for kids - West Side of Armory 1:30 Rich Kolin - Half model demonstration, C W B Boatshop 2:00 Festival Brass Ensemble - West Tent 2:00 AS#1 Clancy Challenge race - North Quay 3:00 Traditional Skin Boatbuilding - Armory 3:00 Lifesling Demonstration - West side of Armory 4:00 Ed Clark Classic Yacht Race - North Quay 6:00 Festival Closes for Evening 6:15 Live Auction in Armory - hors d'oerves, Limited seating

MONDAY, July 3 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. ALL DAY Toy Boat Building - West Side of Armory Kid's Activities - Face Painting, Fish Printing, Puppet Shows, and more. C W B Pavilion Folk Music - Pavilion and West Tent (noon to 6:00) Framing and Sewing skin on Aleut Baidarka Kayak. Demonstrations at the Sail Loft, Rigging Shop, Forge, Foundry Shops. Wawona Courtyard Wawona restoration tours Fancy and Practical Knotwork - C W B Boatshop Food Booths - Entrance to Naval Reserve Base Lettering for boat names - Armory "Ships of Puget Sound" a photo and artifact exhibit - Armory Water Taxi Tours - C W B Boathouse and North Quay Ballots for People's Choice Awards - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Boat Drawing Entries - C W B Store, West Side of Armory Rich Kolin - Halfmodel building - C W B Boatshop B L U E Silent Auction (noon - 4:00) - Armory

8:00 Breakfast!!! Fruit Rolls, Eggs, Meat, Coffee - all for $5 - West Tent 12:30 Steve Philipp - Maritime Skills of Puget Sound Native Americans - Armory

1:00 Lee Ehrheart - Caulking demonstration - West Quay 1:30 Rich Kolin half model demonstration - C W B Boatshop 1:30 Keith Marks - Tools for the Backyard Builder - West Tent 2:30 "How to Buy a Wooden Boat" - Panel Discussion - West Tent 3:30 Quick and Daring Boatbuilding Lake Union Challenge Cup Race - North Quay 5:30 Award Presentation - West tent. 6:00 Boat raffle Drawing - West tent. 6:00 Festival Closes - See you next year.

See page 19 for a detailed description of events.

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