A quick visit to Maine

Julia and I had the pleasure last weekend of attending the wedding of my brother Bob and Lorinda. And we had the added pleasure of meeting family and friends, gathered from near and far.

There was a bit of boat messing as well. A treat was taking folks out for a spin in the Shellback.

Here are a few pics, more on Flickr:

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The Ceremony
On the floats in the sun, breeze and tide. The weather held with no large wakes from passing ships. Izzy the Ring Bearer awaits.

The dinghy at the end of the float is one of the Bolger Elegant Punts I built ( I did build it!) in the early 90’s.

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The Arrival
The Bride and Groom descend the ramp. There was a boat similar to Boss Lady to Port, both serving as stadium seating.

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Richard Jarbo
Long time friend, poet and polymath Richard Jarboe recites one of his classics.

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Happy Couple
Another Happy Couple.

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BL at rest
Boss Lady at anchor off Buckle Island. Sixteen of us cruised down to this little island in Jericho Bay on Monday after a day of recovery.

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Treasures
Gathering treasures (and trash) on Buckle Island, a nice cruise from the Landing.

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Enter!
So you come upon a door in the woods….. Which is the out side?

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Sonny!
We had our usual visit to Brooklin Boat Yard in …well, Brooklin. The one without Willamsburg. We ran across Sonny, on whom we had a wonderful idyll a few years ago. Across from her is an early 20th Century 15 Square Meter completing a full restoration at BBY.

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Life finds a way
It was Sea Lavender season on Buckle Island. This plant was found at the very high water line, just enough sea water to keep it happy. Our Sea Lavender is a few weeks behind.

A great trip but happy to be back in our almost fully renovated home. Pics to follow.

Sjogin video

Last Monday I had the pleasure of having Kent Mountford on board while he was interviewed by Kirk Moore of the Asbury Park Press about the state of Barnegat Bay. Delightful day, sad story. Videographer Tom Costello recorded it all.

We had a nice light breeze from the West that made for a pleasant sail with no drama. We came back to the dock to pump bilges (battery dead) and drop off Tom. We then sailed about in the basin and then out for more of the interview.

Here’s the LINK to the on-line article in the Press including the video. Sjogin did fine in her first “close-up”.

Here’s a pic I took of Kent being interviewed by Kirk:

Kent's interview

Be sure to comment on the article and let them know what you think of Sjogin as a recording studio.

Pics from here and there

It’s been a busy Summer.  We’re having our home renovated which entails removing 24 years of accumulated treasures as the floors are all getting refinished. Many long delayed projects are being done, including widows on the second floor for views of the gardens, lake and distant dunes.

We’ve been up to Mystic for the WoodenBoat Show again, meeting new folks and renewing acquaintances both analog and digital.

All this with the business, gardens and marshaling forces (thanks Andy) for the move out, it’s left little time for things Sjogin.  I go down to the yard to check on her on a regular business and have taken a few pics you may enjoy.

 

I’ll put the Beaton pics first to make Peter S happy
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Smile
Smile, the steam bent coaming for Myth went around the old Lotus house without a problem.

 

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Myth’s deck is almost done.  I have some of her just completed that shows Paul Smith’s fine work at Beaton’s.  I’ll put them up next post.

 

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Here’s an old friend.  Tom Beaton and I built this Herreshoff Columbia model Dinghy in the early 80’s.  Now maybe the next generation will go for a row or three.

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New birdsmouth A-Cat spar
New bird’s mouth mast for Ghost (I think.) Just not going fast enough?

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Opps!
Bettle Cat mast vs. low hanging tree limb. Here’s the loser.

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Indeed a Happy Skipper.  This was taken in late-June; a morning stolen from the move preparation.

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Summer bounty
The garden continues to shine despite my benign neglect. The new Attic window surveys all.

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Sunrise from the Attic
Summer sunrise from the Attic window. When the room is wainscoted and painted white, the sunrise will make the space glow. Fine spot for a first cup.

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Small boat heaven
The John Gardner Small Craft Weekend coincided with the WoodenBoat Show. Double the fun!

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Aida
One of my all time favorites. This is Aida, one of N. G. Herreshoff’s finest shallow draft yawls. She would be perfect for Barnegat Bay as she only draws 3 feet.

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Porch people
After last years gap, we continued our tradition of hosting a quick Saturday afternoon party on the Whaler Porch for our WoodenBoat Forum friends. Margo’s smile fills the foreground.

Sorry for the long wait between posts but other duties call. You can check on my Flickr Page for more frequent pics not otherwise found here. For those so inclined, my Facebook page has occasional postings as well

Russ

Off Center Harbor

No, I’m not hove to off Center Harbor. Maybe in August but not now.  Center Harbor can be found on the North side of Eggomoggin Reach, right in the heart of Wooden Boat Paradise.  It’s also the home of Brooklin Boat Yard.

The Post title refers to a new web site created by some boat struck folks in Brooklin, Maine. It’s subscription based and has many fine videos and blogs from local boat builders, sailors, designers and such.

Here’s the link to the site. They’re charging $29.00 per year for full access and lifetime memberships are available.  I’ve been a member for about six months and find the videos and blogs first class.  They introduce new ones on a regular basis.  It’s a nice blend of practical advice and looking at beautiful boats.

There are a couple of videos available on the site for non-subscribers to give you an idea of what it’s all about.  As they say in Maine….finestkind!

Here’s a pic I “borrowed” from a Blog Post on the Temple Tiny Regatta held early in the season at Brooklin Boat Yard.  Folks having fun messing about in small boats.  That Skipper and crew sure look familiar…..

Hope you all check it out and sign up. Nice to have a bit more joy in the universe.

Beaton’s update

Here are a few pics from the last few weeks showing progress on several fronts. There’s been precious little Sjogin work as business and home needs soak up my boat time. My Annual Meeting is tomorrow in NY so with that out of the way you should be seeing more slow sailing pics. And finish work on the tiller. And replacing the smoke head and deck iron. And so it goes.

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Done outside
All done outside except for railings and rockers while the interior work continues. Here’s hoping for showers this Summer!

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Ready for rubber
Here’s Paul getting ready to caulk the seams on Myth. Beautiful job. She will (keep your fingers crossed) be on display at Mystic for the Catboat show the weekend of July 14th. She may be at the WoodenBoat Show the weekend before as well. (As we will.)

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Beaton Fresh
Here’s the Silent Maid, looking Beaton Fresh. De Rouville’s did the spar work, adding 3 feet to the mast and lengthening the gaff and boom. She now sports 1,100 square feet of sail. That’s almost two A-Cat sails!

New hatches, steering gear work and a whole lot more was done this winter. No engine for her trip to Mystic and a couple of races against Kathleen. Barnegat will make a fine towboat.

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Maid Service
Maid Service ready for another season of….well, Maid service.

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View from the top
Fine view from the new office. That’s Cat’s Whiskers in front of the wood shop getting ready for another season.

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Black Jack half model
Here’s Tom holding another Black Jack model. You can’t see it here, but the strakes were hand carved by Jeff Reid. Finestkind.

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A wreck!
Another candidate for a Beaton’s restoration. This little gem showed up a few weeks ago.

Sjogin pics soon.

Beaton’s memories

A comment from a new reader prompted a walk down memory lane.  Jim S recently commented on the Beaton’s page about growing up at Beaton’s and what it meant to him. Here’s the text of his comment:

“I grew up summering at Beaton’s Boat Yard. I bought my first sailboat, a Snipe, from three school teacher’s who sailed it from Beaton’s for several season’s. I had a friend, John Callahan, who introduced me to Beaton’s. He sailed the Snipe, then purchased a G sloop. We had many fabulous sails from Beaton’s over several year’s. We were given a lightning owned by Mr. Beaton on one occasion in Mid December. We sailed on the calmest bay with a light breeze that day. It was surreal. Not a single other boat on the bay that day as far as I could see. There were very old boats rotting in the weeds which we played skipper on for hours and admired the old brass fittings and large wooden cleats and pulleys. A lot has changed since I last saw Beaton’s 35 or 40 years ago, but I still get the same warm feeling when I saw it again today. Please don’t change it. And thank you for being a part of my growing up.”

While I didn’t find Beaton’s until my mid 30’s, my sons Jeffrey and David had experiences similar to Jim’s.  Many a time I’d go looking for them after a days labor on Caprice, our 24′ Crosby tabloid cruiser, and find them on an abandoned boat in the back row, happily pretending to be guiding the wreck on some imaginary voyage.

There’s less of that today, but the spirit of Beaton’s continues.  Thanks for the walk down memory lane Jim.

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New view
There’s been a few changes in the years since you were here Jim. The major one is the building of the new office/store complete with showers. This is the view from the building’s second floor of the wood shop and Bay looking much like they did years ago.

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New store/office
And here it is. Give it a few years and it will blend right in.

Any more Beaton’s stories out there readers?

Small Sjogin plans now available

The indefatigable Rod Brink has brought forth another version of Sjogin. After Paul Gartside did a fine job with the building (and dreaming) plans for a replica of Sjogin, Rod convinced him there was a market for a smaller, trailerable version. So here we have Sjogin III, as published in the current issue of Watercraft Magazine. She’s 19′ LOA, with a hefty 8′ Beam. Very shallow draft at 1′ with a Centerboard draft of 4′ 2″. There’s an ingenious outboard bracket tucked away for a clean look under sail. Plans are $50 from the Gartside Sjogin III page.

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We're famous!
Hopefully the new version won’t need a pump.

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Sjogin III Sailplan
Here’s an image of the Sail plan. What joy. Let a thousand Sjogins sail.

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Very Happy Skipper
Here’s a pic of your Very Happy Skipper at Brunch on Friday. A nice SE breeze and a northerly current allowed a very slow sail over the bottom off Mantoloking

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Deck work of Myth
The deck work continues on Myth. Paul Smith is doing this exacting job. The seams will be caulked with a decidedly not sticky compound.

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Silent Maid bling
The Maid’s back in and looking especially fine this year. Note the fore hatch that matches the deck crown in both directions.

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St John Pics

As promised, here are a few pics from our recent visit to Butterfly Beach on St John. It’s the Fish Bay home of our friends Dave and Cheryl. We spent a very relaxing week and a half unwinding with a daily 5:00PM soak in the hot tub and visits to the local beaches. Paradise indeed.

Here’s a link to the Flicker Page. A selection follows:

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Butterfly Beach
The Gazebo on the beach on Fish Bay. There’s a hammock inside with an over the toes view of the Caribbean.

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Our digs
The Pool Cottage. There’s a mangrove framed view of Fish Bay from the balcony.

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Trunk Bay
On the Second Day Tour. Trunk Bay frames Julia, Joe, Annie and Cheryl. Dave is out of view video taping.

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Last night
Just before dinner on our last night at Butterfly Beach. Another fine tradition that started with a sunset gun.

Thanks again Dave and Cheryl for another perfect vacation together.

Edited to add the over the toes view referenced above:

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Auditing Fish Bay