Introducing the Comet!

On Sunday, Kayleen, her husband Jeff and I ventured to Port Townsend for the 37^th annual Wooden Boat Festival. As we wormed our way through the plague of wooden sailboats tied together, squeezing past as their owners bantered about in their pirate pajamas, we quickly realized that although 1890 tugboats are beautiful, and locally crafted Devlin cruisers are modern day masterpieces, nothing secured to the Port Townsend docks even remotely echoed the characteristics of our 1950 SkipperCraft. Surprised, we began to ask around hoping that one of our cold calls would resurface a suppressed memory of our beloved barge – nothing! Even the small boats manager at the Port Townsend Maritime Center was stumped. In short, we walked away empty handed, but strong in faith that our 18 feet of 1950’s plywood boat was rarer than we imagined.

Bummed that we didn’t find the information that we were hoping for, I spent a good chunk of time last night chasing my own Internet leads. If college taught me anything, it taught me the art of investigation research. Here is what I uncovered:

Above you will see the official advertisement for a 17' SkipperCraft Comet. Look familiar? Bingo! Here's a little history on the operation: Larsen Marina was founded in 1945 by Harry Larsen, who with a crew of four men began manufacturing 8-foot skiffs, which he later trade marked as SkipperCraft in 1947 - Larsen Marine was established in the small village of Burton, located on Vashon Island. As of 1955, four thousand SkipperCraft’s left Vashon Island and were transported for sale all over the West Coast and even up into Canada. In 1950, Larsen Marine boasted a payroll of $42,000 a year in sales, and averaged two boat builds per day. Larsen Marine’s first debut as a boat manufacturer was in 1946 at the Seattle initial boat show, held in a tent at Bryant’s Marina. 

So for now we know that it is a Comet SkipperCraft, and most likely hull #107 (what we have surmised from the hull numbers Kayleen uncovered). Aside from that, it is highly unlikely that many of these vessels survived as plywood was a new technology for the 50's, and most owners did not understand the care and maintenance required to keep rot at bay. Also from my research, I have uncovered that only three SkipperCrafts have been positively identified by hull numbers. If this is true, ours makes number four, and explains why we have yet to run into another.

Advertisement of a 13 foot SkipperCraft

The largest SkipperCraft option available.