Crowninshield tuna schooner?

[TimH]

The guy that owns this boat says its a Crowninshield tuna schooner. he has since cold molded the entire hull, and extended the cabin trunk forward to about just aft of the foremast. In my opinion he is ruining the boat, whatever it is. any ideas? http://www.whidbeyranch.com/boat/schooner5.jpg

[ 09-15-2003, 11:35 PM: Message edited by: TimH ]

[Todd Bradshaw]

Judging by the profile, I'd say he just might be right. This is a stone-ballasted Crowninshield fishing schooner from 1905.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/pb72092332e83a992871cf5d464532a51/fb13929a.jpg

[TimH]

Well she sure looks very similar. Thanx Todd I guess the guy is right. I cant believe what he has done to the boat though. I will be by there later today and take a new picture. And he wants 45k for her..you wont believe how ugly this cabin box it. reminds me of the "coffin" on itchy-ass-sally in "The boat who wouldnt float" by my favorite author. Farly Mowatt

If there is anyone in this forum who hasnt read this book....you are missing out big time. ;)
http://www.oshima.ca/inuvik/images/farleys_boat.jpg

[HR]

The sad thing is that the boat has been destroyed to make room for a new highway interchange. It was on display outside a restaurant in Cape Breton and nobody wanted to move it. :mad:

Edited to add - Farley's boat "Happy Adventure", that is.

[ 09-16-2003, 01:42 PM: Message edited by: HR ]

[TimH]

Thats a damn shame. The boat is ugly as hell, but still I would have seen it as a Canadian icon in a way. And Farley sure is getting up in years. That man could almost have a museum dedicated to him :)I wonder how he is doing these days... :(

[Alan D. Hyde]

Here you go:

http://www.eastnorthumberland.com/news/news2002/newsJanuary2002/Mowats01092002.JPG
(Farley Mowat and his wife, author Claire Mowat)

***

January 9, 2002
Ocean Warrior to be renamed the MV Farley Mowat

by TOM PHILP
The Independent

A Canadian environmental and literary icon, whose works have inspired millions of people to become more aware of the planet on which we live, will soon have his name stenciled on one of the world's most famous vessels.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) will rename its flagship, Ocean Warrior, the MV Farley Mowat, honouring the distinguished Canadian writer.

Mowat is the Honorary Chair of Sea Shepherd, which is based in Malibu, California. He continues to be one of the organisation's strongest, and most vocal, supporters.

Now in his eighty-first year, Mowat began his writing career in 1949, and published his first book, People of the Deer, in 1952. With more than 30 books to his credit, including Never Cry Wolf, Sea of Slaughter, A Whale for the Killing, The Boat Who Wouldn't Float, and The Farfarers, Mowat has sold more than 15 million copies of his books in 52 different languages.

He and his wife, writer Claire Mowat, winter in Port Hope, and summer at their farm in Cape Breton.

During a recent conversation in his Port Hope home with a reporter from The Independent, Mowat said SSCS President and Founder Paul Watson was about to name "a ship" after the Canadian author. Mowat was not sure when the christening would take place, or where, but expected it would be early in 2002.

"It's a singular honour for me, but I'm not sure what it will do for them," quipped Mowat.

Mowat believes this is only the second Canadian ship to be named after a Canadian author.

"The other is the Lucy Maude Montgomery, a ferry that plies between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia," he said.

A Canadian citizen, Capt. Paul Watson went to sea early after being raised in a New Brunswick fishing village. He co-founded Greenpeace in 1971, with a mandate to thwart actions that threatened the world's ecological balance. Campaigns included near-site protests of American plans to test nuclear weapons in the Aleutian islands; stopping the annual slaughter of baby seals in Labrador; and positioning small boats between Russian whaling vessels and sperm whales about to be harpooned.

Capt. Watson founded SSCS in 1977 after finding himself at odds with some Greenpeace directors over his "direct action" approach to environmentalism.

"They were worried about losing tax status and government grants more than the reason we were in existence," Capt. Watson said during a telephone interview last Saturday.

"Those were the newer directors, and I guess they figured they knew how to run the organisation better than the founders," he said. "It's interesting that most of the original directors left Greenpeace and now work with Sea Shepherd."

Capt. Watson confirmed Ocean Warrior would be renamed the Farley Mowat when the ship is reflagged in February.

"The ship is in Seattle, and we are in the final stages of registering her under the Canadian flag," he said. "We expect her to come out of dry dock in late February, and that is when she will be renamed after Farley."

Capt. Watson said that during the reflagging process, SSCS discovered another corporation had registered the name "Ocean Warrior," preventing the watchdog group from launching under that name. Although several names were suggested, the SSCS board agreed unanimously that "Farley Mowat" would be the most appropriate one for the flagship.

"Farley Mowat is the epitome of environmental awareness," Capt. Watson said. "He has been a tremendous supporter of Sea Shepherd and the causes we pursue."

"The first influence that Farley had on me was back in the sixties in High School when I read Never Cry Wolf!," Capt Watson said. "When I organised a campaign to protect wolves in the Yukon and British Columbia in 1984, Farley contacted me to lend his support. We have worked together ever since."

"When I asked him to serve as our International Chair for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society he readily accepted and we are very proud to have him as such," Capt. Watson said. "If we can no longer have the Ocean Warrior, it will be an honour to sail the Farley Mowat," he said.

Capt. Watson said the maiden voyage of MV Farley Mowat would take her to Cocos Island, and the Galapagos Islands, off the coasts of Costa Rica and Ecuador. Her crew will continue to monitor illegal fishing and sea turtle poaching in the region, apprehending "pirate" vessels when they can. A film crew from CBS' 60 Minutes will also accompany her on the trip, said Capt. Watson.

"As a recognised international NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation), we have a partnership with both the Galapagos Marine Reserve (Ecuador), and the Cocos Island National Park (Costa Rica), to patrol against illegal activity," Capt. Watson said.

Under the agreement for the Galapagos, SSCS provides the Canadian-registered Sirenian to transport park rangers and an Ecuadorian naval officer in pursuit of vessels suspected of poaching marine life.

It is the first time the government of Ecuador has allowed a foreign-registered vessel to assist in enforcement patrols, said Capt. Watson.

In the Cocos Island operation, the vessel soon to be known as the Farley Mowat has Costa Rican authority to apprehend ships caught fishing illegally in those waters. The Ocean Warrior's crew seized two Ecuadorian-based ships, accompanied by seven support craft, in August and September last year.

Capt. Watson said Mowat has not been asked to accompany "his" boat on her first trip. He wondered if a 16-year-old border incident involving the author might affect his chances of boarding the vessel in Seattle.

In April 1985 Farley Mowat was travelling to a speaking engagement in the United States when border officials refused him entry into the country. It has long been alleged that Mowat was "blacklisted" by US officials for "anti-American" sentiments in his book, Sea of Slaughter.

"I don't even know if Farley wants to come along," said Capt. Watson, "but in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, that incident may come up again if he tried to cross the border."

As for the Canadian writer, he acknowledged on Monday that Watson had not invited him on the inaugural voyage.

"Where is she going," Mowat asked?

When told about the planned trip to Cocos Island and the Galapagos, Mowat had a pragmatic reason for not going along.

"I can't go. I have a book to write," he said.

Farley Mowat finished his thirty-third book -- his recollection of a 1965 Arctic expedition -- just before Christmas, and he expects it will be published this fall. He is already hard at work on his next book.

As for Capt. Paul Watson, SSCS, and the Farley Mowat, the renowned activist and environmentalist said the organisation appreciates the monetary support Canadians have provided so far, and encourages people to donate money for Sea Shepherd's efforts. "There is always more work to do," he said.


***

Alan

[ 09-16-2003, 04:04 PM: Message edited by: Alan D. Hyde ]

[TimH]

Alan,
Have you met him? I'll bet he has some great stories to tell :D :D :D

[Alan D. Hyde]

Never have met him, Tim, but judging from his books I've read, you're right. :D

Alan

[TimH]

OK, I went to get a new picture of this schooner with the "restoration" well underway. Turns out as I arrived they were putting her in the water to see if she would float with the first layer of veneer so that maybe they could get away with not having to apply another. Here they are about to begin moving her..

http://www.whidbeyranch.com/boat/schooner6.jpg
In this picture notice how the bow is tilted down. as they were turning the bowsprit hit up against the exhaust pipe of the truck and believe it or not began to snap right off. I was in disbelief...

http://www.whidbeyranch.com/boat/schooner7.jpg

Here is a shot showing the fine cold molding job, and the nice authentic looking cabin house..

http://www.whidbeyranch.com/boat/schooner8.jpg

I cant believe what people will do try and make a buck. I am sure there is a lot of rot hidden under that veneer.

http://www.whidbeyranch.com/boat/schooner9.jpg

you can see the broken stem here. lots of bad wood in there....

http://www.whidbeyranch.com/boat/schooner10.jpg

and yes the boat was taking on tons of water as I stood there. The owner of the place said they were going to give it an hour to see if it swelled up, and if it didnt, they would pull her again and either find the leaks and fill them with epoxy or put on another layer of veneer...

http://www.whidbeyranch.com/boat/schooner11.jpg

what a sad waste of a boat with a good pedigree. This schooner has probably way outlived its projected lifespan ( the lifespan on most fishing schooners was like 30 years I believe) only to fixed to death....

[Jamie Hascall]

Sigh, It reminds me of the schooner Bainbridge which has been on the hard at Port Townsend for about 8 years. In it's latest incarnation, it's got layers of glass goobered over voids filled with Great Stuff foam and the upper structure painted like a rainbow. When I first saw her she had one of the most beautiful old fantail sterns I'd ever seen but obviously needed a lot of work. Sadly, I wish they'd let her die with dignity. :(

It's too bad that they're going to find all their time and money was a waste.

Jamie

[ishmael]

When you first posted Tim I thought well, that doesn't sound so bad, but that looks like they turned a cub-scout troop loose on the old gal, with cardboard and super-glue. Gawd! Sigh.

[Todd Bradshaw]

The very idea of cold-molding one layer of veneer and putting the boat in the water to see whether it needs another layer is revolting. Leaving it there to see if it takes-up and stops leaking is about the only thing I can think of that's worse! What will they do next, add a layer of fiberglass mat and polyester resin? Post the name of the yard so that nobody else makes the mistake of taking a boat there for repair. We should also probably dig up Crowninshield's grave and roll him back over....

[ 09-16-2003, 10:06 PM: Message edited by: Todd Bradshaw ]

[Jamie Hascall]

I would certainly hope that the yard wasn't involved in this debacle. If they were, I'd definitely like to know what yard it is so I can make sure not to let friends cross their haul out. I can only imagine that the yard put it back in the water hoping against all logic that the fix would work and they wouldn't have the spectre looming of a hulk in their back lot that they'll have to try to get rid of later.

Jamie

[TimH]

It belongs to the owner of the yard I think.

[ 09-17-2003, 01:06 AM: Message edited by: TimH ]

[Jamie Hascall]

Oh my...

Are we on Whidbey?

[TimH]

Its not even really a yard, its this small repair place next to the Oak Harbor Marina called Mariners Haven. Its not part of the marina though.

[ 09-17-2003, 02:08 AM: Message edited by: TimH ]

[Ariel]

Thanks for the information about Farley Mowat--The Boat That Wouldn't Float is great! The schooner is very sad--I would think that it is probably dead--perhaps she will slip quietly under when launched and die a noble death rather than just rot ashore.

[Alan D. Hyde]

What could they possibly have been thinking???

Perhaps, they just weren't... :(

Alan

[ 09-17-2003, 10:40 AM: Message edited by: Alan D. Hyde ]

[TimH]

Ariel,
Yes, all this guy has done is make it pretty much impossible for somebody to come along and do a proper restoration on her. Not only that but the guy was pretty rude too. The first time I spoke with him he was trying to sell her to me for the great price of 45k (he said that would just get back the cost of the materials). Then yesterday after he broke the stem I asked him again "You want fourty-five thousand dollars for this boat *as is*?????" and he just looked at me and smiled and said "what do you care, you dont have any money.."

What I meant to say was...if she sinks I hope she takes him with :mad:

[ 09-17-2003, 12:12 PM: Message edited by: TimH ]

[nedL]

I'll not address the heresy being done to that Crowninshield :( .
Its too bad what happened to "Happy Adventure". That was a great book to read!
Along the same lines, anyone know what ever happened to Joe Richards' friendship sloop "Princess"? Last I heard (early 80's?) she was in tough shape blocked up at his widow's place on some Caribbean island.

[Figment]

Wait a minute.... lemme see if I've got this straight....

From the series of photos, I infer the following:

1) The rig was standing during this veneer sheathing operation. The hull was stressed the whole time. Was he afraid she'd fall out of shape without the shrouds to hold her together?

2)Therefore, they coped the veneers around the chainplates. Has this guy ever sailed a boat in his life?

3) Not a lick of work was done to fair the hull prior to veneer application, so the veneers are jumping over voids left by unfair planking, which probably isn't that well fastened to the frames at this point anyway.

4) I'm guessing that's a 45' hull (without the 'sprit), probably 12' beam? +/- 20 ton displacement? therefore, +/- inch-and-a-half planking? It seems to me that if a 1 1/2" plank wants to move, there's not much that a single 3/32" veneer is going to be able to say about it.

I'd say that even if this thing had been watertight when "test-launched", that would've changed the first time those sails caught a breeze better than 10kts.

This thing is going to give wooden boats a bad name someday.

[Ariel]

Tim, the guy was rude because he knew he was destroying the possibility of that boat ever being salvagable because of his shoddy work. Too bad--things like this make me so sad--such a waste. I believe it is better to strip the boat and tow it to sea and let it sink rather than doing half-a**ed work.

Regarding Princess--I corresponded with Joe Richards before he died and he said Princess was given to the Dunedin Maritime Museum. From there I traced her to the Friendship Sloop Society where it was listed on their roster that she was being restored by a yard. However I could never verify this...?

[ 09-17-2003, 01:47 PM: Message edited by: Ariel ]

[nedL]

Ariel: Thank you for the info. on Princess.

[nedL]

I took a quick look & found the Friendship sloop society. They have a forum too, and there has been discussion re: Princess. I found this " I had a recent email from Joe Richard's daughter, Susan, in which she said, "Princess, I'm afraid, is history". She looked for boatyards in Sarasota after the Dunedin museum went bankrupt, and found only condominiums. "So", she says, "she was probably hauled off to the dump long ago". Joe Richards, born in 1909, died in 1992. Arthur S. Johnson", and I found this reference regarding a friendship that is in their registry as "Princess", 1908 wilbur A. Morse - "
Yes, Deborah, she's the very same PRINCESS. Joe Richards was listed as the owner up until 1992 I think. The boat has been in the "rebuilding" status ever since. I have not seen her in Sarsota, so I won't hazzard a guess when/if the project will ever see the Gulf of Mexico again".

Maybe we'll never know for sure.

[Ariel]

Ned, thank you for information concerning Princess. Joe Richards had a marvelous command of the language and both of his books: Princess and Tug of War-- are very well written. I read those books when I first bought my ARIEL and understood how he felt about this wonderful old sloop that was 60 years of age when he bought her in 1938. When he told me she had been given to the museum he seemed skeptical that she would be restored. Imagine! Spending 50 years with a boat!

[ken mcclure]

Here's another take -

If the boat's dead anyway, and they can "resurrect" her for a few years with a couple of layers of veneer, then they can at least have some sailing fun. (heh)

Of course, they may wind up have more bailing fun, making distress call fun, swimming fun, practicing lifeboat drill fun, etc.

[Geoffrey Harris]

I realize this is an old thread, but I thought I would provide an update. The guy at Mariners Haven tried to sell me the boat as well, about a year ago. It was on the hard then, and rigged. Anyway, it just showed up in Squalicum Harbor in Bellingham, floating on its lines or very close, with sails bent on. It has an interesting feature where the fore peak halliard blocks are shackled to a ring which also supports the main topmast stay, rather than to mast bands. In the water the bow and stern profiles strongly resemble the Crowninshield drawing posted above. If it is not the same design it is very close (although IIRC the sheer is not broken as it is in the drawing).

[TimH]

so it actually floats? you should take some pictures :-)

[TimH]

The sad thing is that the boat has been destroyed to make room for a new highway interchange. It was on display outside a restaurant in Cape Breton and nobody wanted to move it. :mad:

Edited to add - Farley's boat "Happy Adventure", that is.

[ 09-16-2003, 01:42 PM: Message edited by: HR ]

There used to be a picture of it floating around the net. Cant seem to find it anymore.