Two Outstanding Small-Boat Events
Want to Rent Space in a Fully-Equipped Boatshop? Or Attend a Small Boat Festival?
The Duckworks Takeover…
Nothing’s more fascinating than organized and energized boatshops—vs. the chaos we seem to enjoy—so I was inspired by last week’s visit to the productive shop at the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend, where the annual Duckworks Takeover was in full swing. The Takeover is a month-long burst of boatbuilding energy and focus, organized by Duckworks Boat Builders Supply and the NWMC. The idea is simple: Folks who want to build or restore a boat are given special pricing on four unforgettable weeks of work in the NWMC boatshop…along with helpful coaching from Joel Arrington, boatshop manager. What a deal!
Heading for the NWMC, I had no idea who we’d meet, but we wanted to learn more about the Duckworks Takeover and amateur builders who were three weeks into their month-long adventure, either building or restoring a small boat.
The first person I met was Emilia Ramsey, experienced beyond her years, who showed up at the Northwest Maritime Center as a shy 7th grader, registered for the Girls Boat Project, and since has become an example of why today’s kids might save our world, after all.
Now age 20, Emilia has excelled in a variety of NWMC programs, starting with the Girls Boat Project and continuing with the OCEAN study program (Opportunity, Community, Experience, Academics, Navigation), BRAVO Team and other programs before registering at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, where she’ll graduate this Fall. Over several years, the shy 7th grader has become an accomplished teacher of younger kids, and a regular in the NWMC boatshop.
Three weeks into the Duckworks Takeover, Emilia was nearing completion of a 12’ Point Hudson Dory, designed by boatshop manager Joel Arrington along with Brandon Davis of Turn Point Design. (Joel mentioned that he and Brandon hope to offer a CNC-cut kit for the attractive Point Hudson Dory, so stay tuned.)
The dory built by Emilia, to be named JUNE BUG, will be the tender to DORJUN, a 1905-built rescue surfboat that was part of a 1930’s expedition to Cape Horn, before going through a number of owners, conversions, restorations, near abandonment and more rebuild work before being donated to the Northwest Maritime Center. In recognition of her dedicated participation in various maritime programs, and because Emilia proposed and executed a plan to do restoration work on the boat, she was gifted with DORJUN, the 120-year-old 26’ double-ender, which she’s been readying as a cruiser and floating classroom for younger kids. (Photos of DORJUN below.)
So, what might be next for young Emilia, I asked? After sharing her knowledge with 5-12 year-olds this summer, her plan is to attend college and quite likely do what?—become a boatbuilder, or teacher, or professional mariner with the 100-Ton license she plans to get? Nope, “I want to be a nurse,“ said Emilia.
Well, bravo, young woman. Whatever you do, we‘re sure you’ll make a positive contribution to the world.
Next, we visited with Jeanette Wagner of Port Townsend, who retired from a 33-year-long career in residential remodeling, and figured it was time to build a boat. Signing up for the Duckworks Takeover, she decided on the 14’ Clint Chase-designed Caravelle Sailing Skiff (14’ 3“ x 48”, and 115 lbs, with a 64 s.f. balanced lug rig).
Jeanette is doing a great job building the skiff, adding a few touches like spacer blocks between gunwale and inwale to help with positioning and securing of fenders and mooring lines.
Jeanette’s eager to put her new craft in the water, and to learn sailing aboard the handsome skiff. During our visit, she was being assisted by Abby Laughlin, who was going at it with a sanding block, getting the hull ready for paint and varnish.
After visiting with Jeanette and Abby, we wandered over to the next boat—a very different kind of project. The upside-down blue hull turned out to be a Lightning-class sailboat, built in 1951 and sailed on Lake Washington before being donated as a project to the Northwest Maritime Center.
Taking on major restoration was Cindy Brooks and her boat partner Carol McCreary, who supported the hulk’s original shape with temporary OSB bulkheads while repairing old frames, rebuilding the CB trunk, refastening sections of the bottom and getting ready, when we visited, to install a large sheet of marine plywood to the aft bottom…with some help from boatshop manager Joel.
Cindy is not a boatbuilder or restorer by trade, but she’s had a lot of life experience and is currently executive director of EDC Team Jefferson (Economic Development Council, Jefferson County—where Port Townsend is situated). As someone who knows a lot about who-does-what in the area, Cindy wanted to say how impressed she’s been with the collaborative nature of organizations in the local maritime field: How the Northwest Maritime Center, along with the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, the local school system, Turn Point Design, Duckworks Boat Builders Supply, the Marine Trades Association and many others have helped make Jefferson County an extraordinary hub of maritime culture and commerce.
It was inspiring to see folks, young and older, doing rewarding, quality work on new boats and one beat-up old craft that many would have left for dead. The local Boat School has a mix of young students, military vets, older career-changers and retirees. The Duckworks Takeover is similar, with a new generation of boaters alongside retirees who’d like to build their own watercraft. We often wonder where the next generation of boaters will come from—well maybe they’re already here…getting started in boats as 7th graders, or maybe slightly older folks.
So, thanks to everyone involved in programs like the Duckworks Takeover, and other small-boat offerings around the country.
And, Speaking of Inspiration—the Small Boat Festival!
We’re now counting weeks, not months, until the second Pacific Northwest Small Boat Festival, so if you have a trailerable boat, or cartop dreamboat you’d like to share with others, it’s time to get serious about signing up.
The SBF, organized by the Pacific Northwest Pocket Yachters, is co-sponsored by Small Craft Advisor along with Duckworks Boat Builders Supply, Gig Harbor Boat Works, Glen-L Marine Designs, the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, the Northwest Maritime Center, the Pacific Northwest chapter of the Dinghy Cruising Association, Gig Harbor Boat Shop and our wonderful event host, Port Ludlow Marina, which makes guest slips available, along with excellent dry-land display space for the event.
The Small Boat Festival begins Friday, May 30 (load-in day for land-display boats, along with positioning of other boats in marina slips), and the actual show is Saturday, May 31, when all boats are on public display. (There’s no cost to attend if you can’t bring a boat, and no need to fill out paperwork. Just show up, and have a great time.)
Port Ludlow Marina is in sheltered Port Ludlow Bay, with a stunning view of the Olympic Mountains. The marina and adjoining grounds are well-maintained, and the place is next door to a hotel, Port Ludlow Resort, with excellent restaurant.
Building on one of last year’s hits, we‘re putting together a program on cruising experiences small-boat skippers have had with electric-powered boats. We’ll hear from up to a half dozen boaters who’ve hit the water with different systems—some home grown, others a mix of components from different sources, and a few with system packages. It’ll be interesting to hear their experiences, different perspectives and results…and the free seminar will be moderated by Kevin Ritz, chief instructor in the Systems Program at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding.
So, anyway, we still have a small number of in-the-water slips available (as of today), and almost unlimited space for boats displayed on trailers and hand-carry watercraft shown on the lawn or boat stands. (And yes, you can sell your boat at the Small Boat Festival; quite a few were snapped up last year—some before the show even opened!)
For registration information and other details, go to www.pocketyachters.com
We’ll hope to see you there, and talk boats until, well, who knows when?
And thanks, as always, for reading. - Marty
Marty, thank you for gifting us (oh dear, was that a verb?) with a delightful account of women seeming to take over the Takeover. And thanks to Duckworks for gifting them (oh no, another verb?) with the month of boat building and restoring. I am inspired!
If the takeover were available in this area, I might have attempted building Nereid on my own. I would have succeeded, but not executed the project as beautifully as it is being done for me.