I Found the Golden Ticket!

Manufacturers ID numbers

Hours invested to date: 22

Willie Wonka would be disappointed that the ‘golden ticket’ was not in the wrapper of a chocolate bar. This ‘golden ticket’ is the key to the origination of our boat and I found it! As we were removing the decking on the bow today, I looked inside the bow and found the original metal identification tag. If our understanding of boat identification tags is accurate, this boat was built in 1950. Indeed, this is the third time we have thought we knew what year the boat was born but this time it is official (we think). 

Port haul side completely sanded

Over the past two weeks we have been sanding the sides of the hull.  The last owner used house paint on the hull and it has preserved the wooden hull amazingly well.  It took us several hours to finish one side. The other side awaits as we embark on the removal of the bow decking.

We started our day measuring the transom so that we could visit Edensaw Woods in Port Townsend on a mission to find the perfect piece of marine grade plywood for the transom replacement. We also took a piece of the rail to match to the right piece of mahogany (yes, the smell of rich mahogany). Emily had never visited Edensaw and was immediately taken with the selection and the friendliness of the staff. 

The adventure of removing the bow begins!

Our first task was to find the mahogany.  We found five different kinds and started to doubt that the rails were in fact mahogany.  We walked up to the counter to be greeted by a nice older man who offered us a cookie and immediately identified the piece we brought with us as Philippine mahogany. From there we determined what it will cost us to replace the bow with the correct type of mahogany and also what it will cost to build the back bench and side seats out of the same material.

The nice older man also steered us to talk to the “Prince of Plywood."  We went to another building to find the prince and hear about the different grades of marine plywood for the transom – the original reason for our visit. The Prince of Plywood helped us select the piece that will become the transom.  As we look at the wood, we cannot help but think that it is so beautiful we may just need to varnish it and not paint it at the end of our project.

As our day wound down, we had some visitors stop by to see The Boat in The Woods.  We were given sage advice by someone whose profession has surrounded boats (Emily’s dad), Emily’s mom and sister, my parents, and my husband, Jeff.  Without the watchful eyes of so many, we may make mistakes. That’s how we learn.

Willie Wonka may not be impressed with our golden ticket but we believe it was the piece of information we had been waiting for since the start. It is truly the golden ticket that will allow us to trace the roots of this boat. On a side note, Gracie went with us to Port Townsend with us today!  She wants the boat finished so we can go for a ride.

- Kayleen 

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All you need to deconstruct a boat is a screw driver and a hammer

As to not deduct from Kayleen's recanting of today, and discredit her sacrifice of the WSU game, which she sidelined (like the Huskies will repeat on the Cougars at this years Apple Cup) to update the blog for you all, I will add my brief two bits separately: Edensaw has easily taken over the spot as my new favorite place. The moment you walk through the door, the smell of hardwood hits you like a sucker punch to the senses - you're instantly overcome with project after project of inspiration. I cannot wait to return. Once back at ground zero, Kayleen and I began the amazingly fun task of destroying the bow. For those of you unclear as to why we had to deconstruct, heres the short end: rot, rot, and more rot. Plus we can make it look better!

The bow is gone! Clean slate ready for new mahogany planks!

Tomorrow Kayleen, Jeff and I will embark on a mission to Port Townsend's wooden boat festival, where we hope to find educated souls who are familiar with our Vashion Island Skippercraft. Next year, we hope to showcase our intriguing and curious vessel in the lineup with the best of them. Next week we will begin the task of constructing the transom and will continue on with prepping for fiberglass.  

- Emily