Tim Diebert
02-10-2006, 07:15 PM
I have a story for you folks. I was not going to post it because it makes me look damn stupid. I am over it now and perhaps by posting this yarn some of you might be able to help me out with some info.
I had (have) a plan. I am going to build or somehow acquire a trailerable 17-18 foot fast, cruising sailboat. Now before you all start tossing design ideas at me I already know what I want.
It is a toss up between a custom design project (I am on John Welsford’s waiting list) or me finding a suitable hull and redoing it to more suit my needs. I figured if I found the hull I wanted first, I would go in that direction. The hull I chose is the Thistle. A popular Sandy Douglas design started in the fifties and still being produced today. I was looking for a basket case in either glass or wood. I am easy with either,though I was hoping for a nice cold molded version with no rigging....cheap.
I much admire the lines of the Thistle and the way she moves through the water. Even though I was not planning on a rig as huge as the stock sail plan (190 ft2), the fact that the hull planes easily is very appealing. My inspiration came from Charles Stock and his boat Shoal Waters. Same story. He found an bare class racer hull and made it into what he wanted.
I started looking 6 months ago. About two months ago I found what appeared to be the perfect project. It was an ad on the Thistle Class Association’s website of boats for sale.
Here is the ad:
"263 $300. A D& M woodie. Rescued from certain death, she had dry/ wet rot in her hind quarters. I cut out the holes and replaced them with mahogany plywood, steamed and bent to the thistle shape. Then the baby arrived. There’s a gold mast, the rudder and centerboard, a tiller and two full sets of sails, including spinnakers. Actually, I think there’s three chutes. There are no rails or a boom. All the stringers and cross members are original and intact. I can trailer this boat wherever you want it in the PNW. So you have a wood hull, ready for epoxy and paint if you can get a boom, rails and hardware, you have a competitor! Stored dry for the last two years. Contact Sailor1 XXXX 206-343-xxxx or email at xxxxxxxx@xxxxxx.com 09/12/04"
So, you can see it was just the right thing. I emailed him but it turned out it was an old ad and he had sold the project to another chap in Seattle over a year ago. Dang, missed it. The fellow and I (Sailor1) stayed in touch. He was interested in my plans for the boat and we also discussed the fact that he was currently sailing an older classic I 14. One of those over canvassed acrobatic go fasters.
Then out of the blue the guy that bought the boat from Sailor1 contacted him and said he was taking work out of the country and needed to sell the boat. It had no further work done to it and was just dry stored in the rafters of a shop. Did he know of anyone who might be interested? Shazam.
I got a hold of the guy (Sailer2), got some images emailed to me and basically bought the boat over the phone. (oh I can hear you all now……but wait)
I set up a date to pay for and pick up the boat. I had to shore up my existing boat so I could use my trailer to drag the new boat home. Took precious time of work, but decided to high ball it there and back in one go. I had a very well timed weather window and decided to go for it. Round trip was 1400 kilometers (about 870 miles). I left at 8am and got back at 3am next morning so I could get some sleep and back into the shop.
It was the next morning when I went to toss a tarp on the thing that I realized something was crazy wrong. I measured the boat for a tarp and somehow it had shrunk. I measured 14’ dead on….and a Thistle is 17’. Then I remembered saying to Sailor2, “seems small somehow”. And I said it again once it was on the trailer. But for some reason it did not twig me to measure the boat…or even chew on that thought a bit. I was in such a hurry to get the hell out of Seattle and back home. The rush hour traffic is always a little irritating for a country boy. Even during the long and tiring ride home I remember looking in my mirrors and thinks that thing sure looks small back there…..at the same time making grand plans for my mods.
So I rechecked everything, called both these guys, and both of them had no clue that they did not have....and were not selling...a Thistle. Thing is, it looks just like one. That's because it was designed by the same guy. This boat, which is a very early classic International 14, was for forerunner to the larger Thistle.
Now I have a boat (hull and parts) I have absolutely no use for, and am not about to spend another $100 in gas and another two days off work to return the boat. And I still don’t have my Thistle hull. What a bummer.
Perhaps someone knows where I could post this rascal for sale or to just find it a good home. I was so mad a coupla days ago I came real close to heating the shop with it.
Also, the hull number is 263…carved right into the keelson just aft of the case. It might be nice to know just how old this thing is or anything about it really.
The End.
[ 02-10-2006, 11:52 PM: Message edited by: Tim Diebert ]
I had (have) a plan. I am going to build or somehow acquire a trailerable 17-18 foot fast, cruising sailboat. Now before you all start tossing design ideas at me I already know what I want.
It is a toss up between a custom design project (I am on John Welsford’s waiting list) or me finding a suitable hull and redoing it to more suit my needs. I figured if I found the hull I wanted first, I would go in that direction. The hull I chose is the Thistle. A popular Sandy Douglas design started in the fifties and still being produced today. I was looking for a basket case in either glass or wood. I am easy with either,though I was hoping for a nice cold molded version with no rigging....cheap.
I much admire the lines of the Thistle and the way she moves through the water. Even though I was not planning on a rig as huge as the stock sail plan (190 ft2), the fact that the hull planes easily is very appealing. My inspiration came from Charles Stock and his boat Shoal Waters. Same story. He found an bare class racer hull and made it into what he wanted.
I started looking 6 months ago. About two months ago I found what appeared to be the perfect project. It was an ad on the Thistle Class Association’s website of boats for sale.
Here is the ad:
"263 $300. A D& M woodie. Rescued from certain death, she had dry/ wet rot in her hind quarters. I cut out the holes and replaced them with mahogany plywood, steamed and bent to the thistle shape. Then the baby arrived. There’s a gold mast, the rudder and centerboard, a tiller and two full sets of sails, including spinnakers. Actually, I think there’s three chutes. There are no rails or a boom. All the stringers and cross members are original and intact. I can trailer this boat wherever you want it in the PNW. So you have a wood hull, ready for epoxy and paint if you can get a boom, rails and hardware, you have a competitor! Stored dry for the last two years. Contact Sailor1 XXXX 206-343-xxxx or email at xxxxxxxx@xxxxxx.com 09/12/04"
So, you can see it was just the right thing. I emailed him but it turned out it was an old ad and he had sold the project to another chap in Seattle over a year ago. Dang, missed it. The fellow and I (Sailor1) stayed in touch. He was interested in my plans for the boat and we also discussed the fact that he was currently sailing an older classic I 14. One of those over canvassed acrobatic go fasters.
Then out of the blue the guy that bought the boat from Sailor1 contacted him and said he was taking work out of the country and needed to sell the boat. It had no further work done to it and was just dry stored in the rafters of a shop. Did he know of anyone who might be interested? Shazam.
I got a hold of the guy (Sailer2), got some images emailed to me and basically bought the boat over the phone. (oh I can hear you all now……but wait)
I set up a date to pay for and pick up the boat. I had to shore up my existing boat so I could use my trailer to drag the new boat home. Took precious time of work, but decided to high ball it there and back in one go. I had a very well timed weather window and decided to go for it. Round trip was 1400 kilometers (about 870 miles). I left at 8am and got back at 3am next morning so I could get some sleep and back into the shop.
It was the next morning when I went to toss a tarp on the thing that I realized something was crazy wrong. I measured the boat for a tarp and somehow it had shrunk. I measured 14’ dead on….and a Thistle is 17’. Then I remembered saying to Sailor2, “seems small somehow”. And I said it again once it was on the trailer. But for some reason it did not twig me to measure the boat…or even chew on that thought a bit. I was in such a hurry to get the hell out of Seattle and back home. The rush hour traffic is always a little irritating for a country boy. Even during the long and tiring ride home I remember looking in my mirrors and thinks that thing sure looks small back there…..at the same time making grand plans for my mods.
So I rechecked everything, called both these guys, and both of them had no clue that they did not have....and were not selling...a Thistle. Thing is, it looks just like one. That's because it was designed by the same guy. This boat, which is a very early classic International 14, was for forerunner to the larger Thistle.
Now I have a boat (hull and parts) I have absolutely no use for, and am not about to spend another $100 in gas and another two days off work to return the boat. And I still don’t have my Thistle hull. What a bummer.
Perhaps someone knows where I could post this rascal for sale or to just find it a good home. I was so mad a coupla days ago I came real close to heating the shop with it.
Also, the hull number is 263…carved right into the keelson just aft of the case. It might be nice to know just how old this thing is or anything about it really.
The End.
[ 02-10-2006, 11:52 PM: Message edited by: Tim Diebert ]