I met Tom Colvin in the early ‘70’s, when he was building Migrant, a 42’ engineless steel junk-rigged schooner, for family friends Dick and Anita Johnson. Once complete the Johnsons sailed Migrant around the world for eight years. My dad joined them on a leg from La Paz to Tahiti, and it was a trip of a lifetime for him. The Johnsons and Migrant ended up in Anacortes, WA in the late ‘80’s. The aesthetic and approach was similar to Antelope. Migrant felt very much like a working boat, not a yacht. Thanks for this article!
A Colvin junk rigged schooner, the "Migrant," was based in Bellingham some years ago. It was an aluminum version, owned by the Johnson family, and it sailed all over the Pacific Rim. Would have made a capacious live-aboard. Don't know where it is now. I believe the Johnsons schooled their children while at sea.
In 1973 I stepped aboard the junk Tom was building at the time, Kung Fu-tsy?. I beleive it was in the 48' range and was suprised to find he only put a 20hp engine below (between his aft cabin and the main cabin forward). Shortly there after he finished her - all but his daughter went out to sea, south... I lost touch with Karen but will never forget the walk through and Imagining being one of his sons living the life, schooling aboard until off to college.
No, not closely at least. We talked once and went through some of our family history to see if we could find a connection. At one point he said something about how he couldn't imagine sleeping aboard a boat less than 20 feet in length. I joked that we couldn't possibly be related then! Was a nice guy and a great designer.
Well that's fun. It's a really neat boat and concept. There used to be - I suppose 30 years ago now - a steel-hulled junk-rigged two-master around Milwaukee, although it was set up for cruising and I'm sure it had at least a small engine. Could have been one of his designs, or an imitation. No idea where it is now. It didn't seem so elegant as the one you wrote about.
Great article. Would love to see photos of this boat, perhaps a link to more information? What I appreciate most, is Colvin's design ethos - bent on simplicity, robust design, and reliability. The mention of 'engineless' had me hooked.
Is the boat still around? It reminds me of a similar boat [in attitude, not design] that another designer [?] made available. The other was square bowed and 40 feet long and the one I saw was being built in steel but was never completed. Several were completed, I am told. Also schooner rigged.
The variations in what life dictates to us are part of the beauty and allure of sailing. Folks like Lin and Larry Pardey and Capt. Colvin are an inspiration and for me helped keep the "dream" alive. The quiet pull of sail and much calmer wake of a sailing boat have always soothed me. The rugged, purpose drawn and built boats like this always pull with a salty, seaman like air. It's not really unfortunate that some of us choose to find our independence in a job or profession ashore, but at moments like this that is the word that comes to mind. It is (in a way) unfortunate that a need to be somewhere has, and still does, mean that I can't go engineless even though there is still a reason I choose a sailboat for my primary on the water ride. The dream still lives! Thanks!
Does anyone know where she is now? When I was in my 40's, this is something I actually thought about doing, and I'd love to know more about a ship that was so close to what I would have wanted.
I met Tom Colvin in the early ‘70’s, when he was building Migrant, a 42’ engineless steel junk-rigged schooner, for family friends Dick and Anita Johnson. Once complete the Johnsons sailed Migrant around the world for eight years. My dad joined them on a leg from La Paz to Tahiti, and it was a trip of a lifetime for him. The Johnsons and Migrant ended up in Anacortes, WA in the late ‘80’s. The aesthetic and approach was similar to Antelope. Migrant felt very much like a working boat, not a yacht. Thanks for this article!
A Colvin junk rigged schooner, the "Migrant," was based in Bellingham some years ago. It was an aluminum version, owned by the Johnson family, and it sailed all over the Pacific Rim. Would have made a capacious live-aboard. Don't know where it is now. I believe the Johnsons schooled their children while at sea.
Was the Migrant steel? My mistake in thinking it was aluminum.
Great article, cool boat, fun read.
In 1973 I stepped aboard the junk Tom was building at the time, Kung Fu-tsy?. I beleive it was in the 48' range and was suprised to find he only put a 20hp engine below (between his aft cabin and the main cabin forward). Shortly there after he finished her - all but his daughter went out to sea, south... I lost touch with Karen but will never forget the walk through and Imagining being one of his sons living the life, schooling aboard until off to college.
Is Thomas Colvin related to Josh Colvin?
No, not closely at least. We talked once and went through some of our family history to see if we could find a connection. At one point he said something about how he couldn't imagine sleeping aboard a boat less than 20 feet in length. I joked that we couldn't possibly be related then! Was a nice guy and a great designer.
Well that's fun. It's a really neat boat and concept. There used to be - I suppose 30 years ago now - a steel-hulled junk-rigged two-master around Milwaukee, although it was set up for cruising and I'm sure it had at least a small engine. Could have been one of his designs, or an imitation. No idea where it is now. It didn't seem so elegant as the one you wrote about.
I wish these plans were available, if only to stare at and dream
Great article. Would love to see photos of this boat, perhaps a link to more information? What I appreciate most, is Colvin's design ethos - bent on simplicity, robust design, and reliability. The mention of 'engineless' had me hooked.
Is the boat still around? It reminds me of a similar boat [in attitude, not design] that another designer [?] made available. The other was square bowed and 40 feet long and the one I saw was being built in steel but was never completed. Several were completed, I am told. Also schooner rigged.
The variations in what life dictates to us are part of the beauty and allure of sailing. Folks like Lin and Larry Pardey and Capt. Colvin are an inspiration and for me helped keep the "dream" alive. The quiet pull of sail and much calmer wake of a sailing boat have always soothed me. The rugged, purpose drawn and built boats like this always pull with a salty, seaman like air. It's not really unfortunate that some of us choose to find our independence in a job or profession ashore, but at moments like this that is the word that comes to mind. It is (in a way) unfortunate that a need to be somewhere has, and still does, mean that I can't go engineless even though there is still a reason I choose a sailboat for my primary on the water ride. The dream still lives! Thanks!
Any pointers on where to learn more about how he used this boat? Curious about cargo n routes n how he pieced it all together!
I found very little on a cursory search. I'll see what else I can find though.
Does anyone know where she is now? When I was in my 40's, this is something I actually thought about doing, and I'd love to know more about a ship that was so close to what I would have wanted.