TOLA. Seaborn, Blanchard, Sistership is WE'RE HERE

[BETTY-B]

Does anyone know where TOLA is? Or even better, have a way to get a hold of the new owner? I had a friend ask me to see if I could find them. He ran into a guy that used to own the boat a long time ago that has original stuff that he would like to give the latest owner/s. Among the original stuff are racing plaques from swiftsure and Lipton cups and stuff. Also the original bell.

This is the 1937, 42', Ben Seaborn designed, Blanchard built sloop, that was featured in SAVE A CLASSIC 163:144. December 2001. The sistership was WE'RE HERE. Now ARROYO. TOLA is a pretty big part of PNW history and was big in the racing scene for a long time. TOLA was the first commisioned design by Seaborn too.

Anyways, I think it would be pretty neat to get these pieces back aboard where they belong. Anyone with any info please let me know. We have the guys info. The guy is pretty much non computer too, I guess.

Keep y'er eye out! Thanks everyone.

DAN

[ron ll]

My first boat was a Blanchard Sr. Knockabout and, as with cars, one tends to look at the same make when contemplating the next purchase. I came very close to buying Tola at one point (must have been in the '70's). Don't remember what stopped the deal. There was another Blanchard 42' at Shilshole for many years that I thought was a sister to Tola. It had turquoise-blue colored house and mast and I think it was named Weatherly or something similar? Does that ring a bell? But I also think I remember that there were only two B-42s built. I wonder if Arroyo is the turquoise one. I also sort of remember (thru the brain cobwebs) that it had some kind of semi-circlular guard around the jumper struts or spreaders.

Haven't seen Tola in years and the Coast Guard does not have it listed as a documented name.

I also had Norm Blanchard Jr. take the helm of my Sr. Knockabout during a Duck Dodge race once. But that's another story, maybe for the thread on Brush With Sailing Greats :) .

[BETTY-B]

I dont see WEATHERLY as being a past name anywhere. CWB lists other past names for WE'RE HERE(ARROYO) as OSCAR IV, KATE, AVOLONTE.

Ya, the first place I looked was CG documentation. That's a bummer because I always figured it was a badge of honor to get the boat dcoumented if there was care in the whole deal. The guy said he thought it was purcheased my some Microsoft dude that was supposedly doing a full, proper restoration.

That's awsome you had Norm aboard for a Duck Dodge rip! I met him a few years ago at the symposium before the boat show in PT. I have a picture with me standing off to the side behind him that I look at like he's a rock star. Well, he is in my book! :- )

DAN

[ron ll]

I wonder if I mis-read WERE HERE from its transom as WEATHERLY or something similar. Do you know if it ever had a turquoise colored cabin and mast? Or if it had the round guard on the spreaders?

In the Duck Dodge, I gave Norm the tiller while I trimmed. As we were coming to the first mark we were heading right toward a crossing boat's stern as well as into other traffic. As I didn't know Norm well and even then he was "an elderly gentleman", I was getting more and more nervous. I was right on the verge of either yelling or grabbing the tiller. Sure glad I did neither because as it turned out he knew EXACTLY where the bow of that boat was and where it was going, sometimes missing a transom by inches but in total control. He taught me a lot about my own boat in that short sail including, "Let that gennie breathe a bit. We'll make up for the lack of pointing with speed." And we did.

[BETTY-B]

No, I have know idea.

That Duck Dodge sure is fun. I've only been on a sailboat once for it. We had far too many peope aboard with cases upon cases of beer! Many times in BETTY-B and my other boats have I gone out to do dinner aboard as all the fun people ran by. And of course the party afterwards.
It sure brings a mix of racers. The super serious ones are too funny. One time this guy was screaming at me that he had the right of way. Coming strait at my bow. The top of BETTY's wheelhouse makes a perfect seat to watch. Anyways, I didnt bother to put my plate of food down to try and fend him off. I knew his boat would be the one going to the bottom. He swirved right at the last second and missed by inches. Still screaming his head off and waving his fists. With a mouthful of food, I suggested he read the rules of the road.

DAN

[ron ll]

Don't mean to hijack your thread, hopefully we will still find Tola. But in the meantime I gotta tell you this story.

In 1974 a friend and I bought the Blanchard Sr. Knockabout from a guy on Lake Union. He then bought an International 110. The Blanchard was such a nice boat I asked him why he was selling it. He said he wanted a faster boat. I said, "But you didn't get a faster boat". He says, "Oh yes I did." So I said, "Tuesday night I'll meet you out on Lake Union and we'll see which one is faster." He did and we raced each other around the buoys and under the Aurora Bridge.

We had so much fun that I went home and made up a poster showing a course and time for a Tuesday night race and I labeled it the "Tenas Chuck Duck Dodge".
http://www.duckdodge.org/history.php
My friend and I stapled these to poles around Lake Union and the next Tuesday we had thirty-some boats of all sizes and shapes show up to race, all starting at once based on synchronized watches. The rest is history except that there is some dispute about who won that first race, the Blanchard or the International 110. Bruce (Gilbert) says he did, I don't remember it that way. :D

Another side story is that in 1993 the Duck Dodge committee contacted me to help them celebrate the 20th anniversary. I told them that the Duck Dodge was started in 1974 so they still had a year to go. But they didn't care. So in the true spirit of the Duck Dodge, they celebrated their 20th anniversary 19 years after its birth.

Okay, now let's find TOLA.

[TimH]

Theres a Blanchard senior here on the island that the guy keeps in his front yard. I think he dry sails it.

[ron ll]

There were 97 Blanchard Sr. Knockabouts built between 1927 and 1958. Mine was #22 "Blackfish" and was built in 1940. It was the only one built with a longer cabin that extended forward in front of the mast (possibly #23 also had this cabin but I was never able to confirm that). All the others had the cabin stop just aft of the mast. Do you know which one this is?

[BETTY-B]

Yer kiddin' me ron?!! That's great! You personally have provided me with many hours of fun. Thanks!

Oh, and, drift away on my threads all you want. I'm not a drift Nazi. And cant seem to help it myself...

DAN

[BETTY-B]

There were 97 Blanchard Sr. Knockabouts built between 1927 and 1958. Mine was #22 "Blackfish" and was built in 1940. It was the only one built with a longer cabin that extended forward in front of the mast (possibly #23 also had this cabin but I was never able to confirm that). All the others had the cabin stop just aft of the mast. Do you know which one this is?

Yes I do. And found some pics of it last night.

DAN

[BETTY-B]

:(Nothing new? No jumping for joy TOLA restorer?:(

DAN

[ron ll]

No news on Tola yet but it dawned on me in the middle of the night that the boat I was calling Weatherly was actually called Stormy Weather (I think). This is the one that was at Shilshole for a long time and had the turquoise cabin and mast. I always thought it was a Blanchard 42' and therefore a sistership to Tola. But maybe not or maybe there were three or more B42's ?

Speaking of Blanchard and Seaborn, have you seen NEOGA II? http://www.automatesoftware.com/html/boat.html

[ron ll]

Okay, a little more poking around www.tbird50years.com/seaborn.pdf indicates that Tola and Were Here were indeed sisterships from 1937-1938. Stormy Weather was a later (1948) slight evolution to the design by Seaborn to better conform to the CCA rules. According to the Coast Guard Documentation, Stormy Weather now appears to be on Mercer Island.

[BETTY-B]

That NEOGA II is something else. Too bad it's on the wrong coast now.

That is pretty much the only link with any real info that I have found too.

DAN

[bvv]

So......
TOLA is laying on the ship canal, at Salmon Bay marina in an outside covered slip, the last I knew. She is owned by Kevin Lane. If you PM me, I will put you in contact with Kevin. He will be overjoyed.

She is a sistership to ARROYO. ARROYO was named WE'RE HERE when her present owner, Roger Newell, asked me where he could find a Blanchard like mine to restore. I gave him the owner's name, and Roger bought her out of the water at a farm on Vashon Island and completely restored her. I don't think his wife will ever forgive me.

TOLA lived in a boathouse in Port Orchard for many years and many owners; none of which ended up having much more than the purchase price and moorage. Often they walked away from her. Through that period, someone removed the deck and all of the hardware. The replaced plywood decking revealed its former life as signage from below. The last owner observed teak decks on nearby boats and placed short pieces of teak in a kind of mosaic buried in FG and resin. When he abandoned her, the moorage owner wanted to sell her and Roger and I bought her, took Arroyo over and spend the morning removing scrap lumber and otter dung and the afternoon towing her to Lake Union. We displayed her at the WB show and were fortunate to have the Save a Boat posting in WB. We offered her for a portion of our costs to anyone who had the means and committment to save her, and Kevin stepped up. That was four or five years ago; Kevin has a FG boat that he uses, and Microsoft to keep him busy the rest of the time, so not much progress to date, unfortunately. Maybe this hardware will inspire him.

Neoga II is truly a gem. She was named the Flying Dutchman for many years and sailed in the Pacific and finally through the Panama Canal to Ft. Lauderdale. I wrote the Documented owner to find out about her, but never received a reply. Finally, when I knew I was travelling to Florida, I wrote again and his widow phoned to say that she sold the boat and it was in a yard somewhere. When I got to Ft Lauderdale, I asked the first chandlery I found if they knew about the Flying Dutchman, and they said 'yes, just down the road. When I got there, the owner was out of town, so I left a copy of the Seaborn article from NW Yachting and a note saying that his boat was built by Blanchard and named 'Neoga II'. A year later I got a call from him, and he asked what 'Neoga' meant. I told him I'd ask Norm. Norm said it meant NW wind, or fair wind, and asked for the owner's contact info. Norm phoned him, eventually travelled to Maine where the boat was at the time, and spend some time with the new owner. Norm was impressed with the work the owner had done replacing the last six feet of the boat. My wife and I got to stay aboard one night during a subsequent visit to Florida. The two sets of facing single seats in the doghouse are precious.

Stormy Weather was the turquoise boat at Shilshole. She was abandoned and auctioned for something like $900.00. The new owner, who keeps her on Mercer Island, used to crew for WE'RE HERE. He did some work on her and said she was in pretty good shape.

I understand there was one named WEATHERLY, but have never seen or read about it.

The 'non T-bird type' hulls by Seaborn, built by Blanchard, that I know of are:

Juna and Lightning Bird; 26 footers both PNW - sisterships
Nautilus (Seattle) and Sunda (SF Master Mariners winner) sisterships
ARROYO and TOLA, PNW, sisterships
Kate II and Nautilus II; both back east, more or less sisterships
Stormy Weather
Neoga II
The Swiftsure Class boats
Nautilus III
Swiftsure (owned at one point by Norm)
Not sure of the others.

Circe, of course, but she is not a Blanchard.

Many of these boats have half models displayed in the Seattle Yacht Club.

Roger and I had castings made of Nautilus' threshold bar that has the letters 'NJB' and gave them out to deserving Blanchard owners in recognition of the curatorship of their very own one boat museums.

I'll post some pictures another night.

[ron ll]

Great stuff. Thanks for posting that. Altho I don't know Roger personally, I remember him from the Blanchard Sr. fleet when it was very active in racing and cruising in the '70's. (Actually I remember his name from the even earlier days in Seattle architecture; Jessup and Newell). Those are great boats with a wonderful history around here.

Do you or Roger keep track of any of the Sr. Knockabouts? I've lost track of B22 "Blackfish". She was originally built in 1940 for Bill and Mary Black. The Sr.s were great boats but it seems many have fallen into sad states. In the 70's when moorage was cheap, a young person with more energy than money could buy and maintain a nice little boat like a Blanchard or a Tbird (or a Cub. Anyone remember the Cubs?). Now it seems the moorage cost outpaces the purchase price so fast that these boats can no longer survive.

When I bought Blackfish in 1974, the previous tenant of my slip on Lake Union was paying $7.50/month. I remember being outraged when the slip owner doubled it to $15/month when I moved my boat into it. Point being that prior to that time the cost of moorage in owning a boat simply was not an issue. (Okay, geezer mode off now :) ).

[bvv]

Roger sold his Blanchard around the time he bought WE'RE HERE. He's recently bought it back and is re-restoring it after intervening years of neglect. I'm sure Roger knows about many of them; I believe he published the Blanchard Sr newsletter for awhile. Roger Newell AIA Architects. www.rhnewellaia.com

I have a special feeling for the Blanchard Jr. What a friendly boat to sail!

I've seen a few Cubs; mostly needing some repairs.

The Sierra class was a pretty good boat; round-bilged predecessor to the Tbird.

The SeaFair class was similar but bigger.

I missed mentioning Mistral in the list of larger Blanchard/Seaborns. I believe she was launched as Romp II. She won the Swiftsure several times, I believe.

Of the designers whose boat won the Swiftsure race, Seaborn and Kettenberg are tied for first in number of wins. Seaborn boats won starting with Circe in 1934 and ending with Mistral in the early 60's; Kettenbergs from the late 40's to the early 60's.

[ron ll]

Who designed the Blanchard 33's? They don't quite look like a Seaborn shape.

[bvv]

Bill Garden designed them.

[bvv]

Here's a photo of ARROYO and TOLA in the Chittenden Locks on its way from Port Orchard to Lake Union; June 2001. It is reminiscent of a photo taken of them both on the Blanchard Boat ways when they were brand new.

http://i31.tinypic.com/n3opi1.jpg

And her nameplate
http://i32.tinypic.com/33vjked.jpg

[Garret]

Neoga II is truly a gem. She was named the Flying Dutchman for many years and sailed in the Pacific and finally through the Panama Canal to Ft. Lauderdale. I wrote the Documented owner to find out about her, but never received a reply. Finally, when I knew I was travelling to Florida, I wrote again and his widow phoned to say that she sold the boat and it was in a yard somewhere. When I got to Ft Lauderdale, I asked the first chandlery I found if they knew about the Flying Dutchman, and they said 'yes, just down the road. When I got there, the owner was out of town, so I left a copy of the Seaborn article from NW Yachting and a note saying that his boat was built by Blanchard and named 'Neoga II'. A year later I got a call from him, and he asked what 'Neoga' meant. I told him I'd ask Norm. Norm said it meant NW wind, or fair wind, and asked for the owner's contact info. Norm phoned him, eventually travelled to Maine where the boat was at the time, and spend some time with the new owner. Norm was impressed with the work the owner had done replacing the last six feet of the boat. My wife and I got to stay aboard one night during a subsequent visit to Florida. The two sets of facing single seats in the doghouse are precious.


Hello All -

It may be that this thread is too old for anyone to view, but I'll post anyway. Just came across it today.

My name is Garret Mott & I am the current documented owner of Neoga II. She may be on the "wrong coast", but I will assure you that she is in the hands of folks who love her.

While Norm B. may have approved of the aft 6' (actually closer to 10') repair the former owner did, he would not have been excited by the bogus wiring (wal-mart extension cords!), epoxy filler all over the hull & even worse, covering her below the waterline in 7 layers of glass & epoxy.

3 years ago, I wooded the hull above the waterline & rebuilt every seam edge to where she is back to original.

This summer I ground off all the glass & epoxy on the bottom. About 250 7" 16 grit disks worth... She is currently getting 8 frames rebuilt (long story as to why - but basically due to neglect), 15 poorly done sisters replaced & another 15 or so properly done new ones. She is also getting approx. 1000 bd. ft. of new planking. Port Orford Cedar 'cause it's ~1/3 the cost of the original Alaskan Yellow & very similar. It was also *very* difficult to find (no matter the cost) 2x12 AYC in this day and age. The hull planking is 1 1/2" thick.

She won't make it overboard this year, as this project has tapped me out & I therefore won't have the $ to redo the cabin/pilot house tops (once again - I've ground off the epoxy spooged on top of original canvas - sigh), or build the new rudder (epoxy killed the original - though the shaft is fine), or to fully put the interior back together.

Anyway, I'd like to say that in the 9 years I've owned her, I have done everything possible to a) get her back to "correct" & b) do every job as carefully & completely as possible. Has she been modernized? Yes - but in what I feel are appropriate ways. She has a new Yanmar. She has modern electrics (but carefully & tastefully done), refrigeration, etc. She still has her original mast & most hardware (I've added a new bow roller, but have saved the original). I changed the 2 v-berths to an athwartships double, but saved every piece of the original berths so she could be put back. One reason for doing this is that the headroom in her is 6'5" (my height), but all the berths were 6'3".

I have Norm's book "Knee deep in shavings", but if anyone has additional info about her of any sort, I'd love to hear it, receive copies, whatever. Please contact me through the forum or call me @ 802.238.0003. I'll happily pay copying cost, postage, whatever! I also hope to make it to Seattle this spring/summer.

One story before I go (Ben Seaborn should be proud):

3 summers ago, we were at the "Big Boat" races in Boothbay Maine. To enter, you have to have an OAL of 70' or greater. Fun to watch a race of boats that make Neoga look small! The weather was perfect late August Maine: 75 deg. & sunny with no fog - OK there was a little early in the AM, but it burned off...

Before the race started, we were sailing on a beam reach between 2 small islands doing about 8 - 8.5 knots & generally feeling pleased about the world - does it get much better than that? About 5 minutes after coming onto this tack, I looked over my shoulder & saw Endeavour (yes, that Endeavour) coming up on us just to leeward. As she came up alongside us (130' made that happen fairly quickly ;-), the entire crew lined up on the windward deck & saluted us. The captain/helmsman then shouted over "Beautiful boat".

Talk about getting goosebumps all over. Gotta say I felt pretty damn proud.

Enough for now - especially since I've (further) hijacked this thread.

Garret

Pics if you're interested: http://www.automatesoftware.com/neoga/neoga.htm

[clancy]

You deserved to be saluted.

[bvv]

Garrett;
Great to hear about Neoga II. And it is wonderful that she has acquired such an amazing and responsible caretaker. She is truly a unique and - now more real than anytime in the last half century - fine example of a certain time in the history of naval architecture and Seattle in particular.

If you make it west, please PM and let's make arrangements to meet.

[Garret]

Garrett;
Great to hear about Neoga II. And it is wonderful that she has acquired such an amazing and responsible caretaker. She is truly a unique and - now more real than anytime in the last half century - fine example of a certain time in the history of naval architecture and Seattle in particular.

If you make it west, please PM and let's make arrangements to meet.

Thank you to both you & Clancy.

I guess I don't see what I'm doing as amazing, but more as a responsibility - in the same vein as "we're all stewards of the land". Owning a boat like Neoga means caring for her & making sure she is around for some time to come.

Were she one of 250 of a particular model, I would feel differently, but, as you say, she is unique - particularly in the # of connections she has with names in the Seattle boatbuilding world: not just Blanchard & Seaborn, but the Pier brothers as well. The work they did on the hardware & building the interior is a huge piece of what makes the boat so wonderful.

My understanding is that the Blanchard yard officially delivered Neoga to the Pier's with no interior & that they did it themselves. I say "officially" because (once again - my understanding) they were working at the yard at the time.

So - once again my thanks & I will definitely look you up when we get out to the NW. I have to see the half hull in the CWB too!

Best,

Garret

[TJHermes]

I took over as caretaker for Tola a year ago. I have no information as to what work was done after she was brought back to Seattle. The previous owner laminated and glassed over the cabin top and painted the cabin blue in the 3 - 4 years he had Tola. Somebody did some major hull repairs at some point. I have had to remove the interior because major rot was setting in on the aft port side of the cabin, from the top of the cabin into the bilge stringers, and minor rot on the starboard side. All the floors had to be replaced and the cockpit sole was a unbelievable collection of scrap lumber held together by fiberglass, sheet metal hangers (framing hangers) and rusted dry wall screws.
So, now I'm here looking for any information about Tola's previous repairs and missing parts. Looking for 4 portholes, winches, a mast and boom and everything else plus some of the metal that Tola collected over the years (when I sanded down the cabin interior, the outline of past glory is outlined all the way around the cabin.) I see this thread was started by somebody who knew somebody, if you folks are still out there, I be jumping.

[TimH]

http://i31.tinypic.com/n3opi1.jpg




Thats a great photo.

[Garret]

I took over as caretaker for Tola a year ago. I have no information as to what work was done after she was brought back to Seattle. The previous owner laminated and glassed over the cabin top and painted the cabin blue in the 3 - 4 years he had Tola. Somebody did some major hull repairs at some point. I have had to remove the interior because major rot was setting in on the aft port side of the cabin, from the top of the cabin into the bilge stringers, and minor rot on the starboard side. All the floors had to be replaced and the cockpit sole was a unbelievable collection of scrap lumber held together by fiberglass, sheet metal hangers (framing hangers) and rusted dry wall screws.
So, now I'm here looking for any information about Tola's previous repairs and missing parts. Looking for 4 portholes, winches, a mast and boom and everything else plus some of the metal that Tola collected over the years (when I sanded down the cabin interior, the outline of past glory is outlined all the way around the cabin.) I see this thread was started by somebody who knew somebody, if you folks are still out there, I be jumping.


Hi -

Sorry to be so late in replying & I don't know if I can be of any help, but I'll try.

When Tola was first offered up in Wooden Boat (on the back page - the first thing I look at when I get an issue), I did a little research. What I was told at the time was that the people who owned her had removed much of the hardware & had it stored in a barn (or some building) somewhere.

I don't want to get your hopes up & I don't have any names, but maybe those more in tune with the Seattle scene (as has been pointed out in a post above, I'm on the wrong coast ;-) could give you some contact info.

Another thought & a very long shot. I know that the Pier brothers made much of the hardware for Neoga in their basement machine shop. I'm also pretty sure that they worked at the Blanchard yard during Tola's building. If anyone knows any descendants, they might have knowledge of old patterns or such.

Finally, since Tola does have sister ships, you might find an owner willing to have their hardware used as a pattern for new castings. Not saying this would be cheap, but a possibility. For the portholes, removing & replacing one would probably be more expensive than having the casting made.

Best of luck!

Garret

[snow]

Hello All -

It may be that this thread is too old for anyone to view, but I'll post anyway. Just came across it today.

My name is Garret Mott & I am the current documented owner of Neoga II. She may be on the "wrong coast", but I will assure you that she is in the hands of folks who love her.

While Norm B. may have approved of the aft 6' (actually closer to 10') repair the former owner did, he would not have been excited by the bogus wiring (wal-mart extension cords!), epoxy filler all over the hull & even worse, covering her below the waterline in 7 layers of glass & epoxy.

3 years ago, I wooded the hull above the waterline & rebuilt every seam edge to where she is back to original.

This summer I ground off all the glass & epoxy on the bottom. About 250 7" 16 grit disks worth... She is currently getting 8 frames rebuilt (long story as to why - but basically due to neglect), 15 poorly done sisters replaced & another 15 or so properly done new ones. She is also getting approx. 1000 bd. ft. of new planking. Port Orford Cedar 'cause it's ~1/3 the cost of the original Alaskan Yellow & very similar. It was also *very* difficult to find (no matter the cost) 2x12 AYC in this day and age. The hull planking is 1 1/2" thick.

She won't make it overboard this year, as this project has tapped me out & I therefore won't have the $ to redo the cabin/pilot house tops (once again - I've ground off the epoxy spooged on top of original canvas - sigh), or build the new rudder (epoxy killed the original - though the shaft is fine), or to fully put the interior back together.

Anyway, I'd like to say that in the 9 years I've owned her, I have done everything possible to a) get her back to "correct" & b) do every job as carefully & completely as possible. Has she been modernized? Yes - but in what I feel are appropriate ways. She has a new Yanmar. She has modern electrics (but carefully & tastefully done), refrigeration, etc. She still has her original mast & most hardware (I've added a new bow roller, but have saved the original). I changed the 2 v-berths to an athwartships double, but saved every piece of the original berths so she could be put back. One reason for doing this is that the headroom in her is 6'5" (my height), but all the berths were 6'3".

I have Norm's book "Knee deep in shavings", but if anyone has additional info about her of any sort, I'd love to hear it, receive copies, whatever. Please contact me through the forum or call me @ 802.238.0003. I'll happily pay copying cost, postage, whatever! I also hope to make it to Seattle this spring/summer.

One story before I go (Ben Seaborn should be proud):

3 summers ago, we were at the "Big Boat" races in Boothbay Maine. To enter, you have to have an OAL of 70' or greater. Fun to watch a race of boats that make Neoga look small! The weather was perfect late August Maine: 75 deg. & sunny with no fog - OK there was a little early in the AM, but it burned off...

Before the race started, we were sailing on a beam reach between 2 small islands doing about 8 - 8.5 knots & generally feeling pleased about the world - does it get much better than that? About 5 minutes after coming onto this tack, I looked over my shoulder & saw Endeavour (yes, that Endeavour) coming up on us just to leeward. As she came up alongside us (130' made that happen fairly quickly ;-), the entire crew lined up on the windward deck & saluted us. The captain/helmsman then shouted over "Beautiful boat".

Talk about getting goosebumps all over. Gotta say I felt pretty damn proud.

Enough for now - especially since I've (further) hijacked this thread.

Garret

Pics if you're interested: http://www.automatesoftware.com/neoga/neoga.htm
Hi
Can you tell me about the copper/brass cabin heater in some of the photos ?
Cheers Alan

[Garret]

Hi
Can you tell me about the copper/brass cabin heater in some of the photos ?
Cheers Alan

Hi Alan -

First - I like your tag line. Oh so true...

Anyway - the heater is a Force 10. Propane, vented through the cabin top w/ 1" stainless pipe. Approx. 6,000 btu max I think. Brass & stainless.

Basically, it's one of their stove burners (Neoga has a Force 10 3 burner propane stove as well), in a cylinder that vents through the pipe.

Price is right (~$470US + some for the deck cap & pipe), quality is good & operation is simple. It's a season extender, making Neoga capable of staying comfortable 'til early October in Maine. Problem is, I usually haul her on Halloween - so a supplement is sometimes needed for the last few weeks.

One of my favorite suppliers in Maine (Hamilton) has 'em:

http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/ventilation-heating/heaters/heater-cozy-cabin-propane---------------------------113810/4,4967.html
(http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/ventilation-heating/heaters/heater-cozy-cabin-propane---------------------------113810/4,4967.html)
Hope this helps -

Garret

[TJHermes]

Hi -

Sorry to be so late in replying & I don't know if I can be of any help, but I'll try.

When Tola was first offered up in Wooden Boat (on the back page - the first thing I look at when I get an issue), I did a little research. What I was told at the time was that the people who owned her had removed much of the hardware & had it stored in a barn (or some building) somewhere.

I don't want to get your hopes up & I don't have any names, but maybe those more in tune with the Seattle scene (as has been pointed out in a post above, I'm on the wrong coast ;-) could give you some contact info.

Another thought & a very long shot. I know that the Pier brothers made much of the hardware for Neoga in their basement machine shop. I'm also pretty sure that they worked at the Blanchard yard during Tola's building. If anyone knows any descendants, they might have knowledge of old patterns or such.

Finally, since Tola does have sister ships, you might find an owner willing to have their hardware used as a pattern for new castings. Not saying this would be cheap, but a possibility. For the portholes, removing & replacing one would probably be more expensive than having the casting made.

Best of luck!

Garret

Garret, Thanks for the reply, every little bit of information helps. I have been in touch with Roger Newell who spent years bringing We're Here back to life as Arroyo and is her present owner. (Photo in previous post shows Arroyo and Tola passing the Ballard Locks) He has indicated that he is more than happy to share. I too have heard about Tola's hardware being stored in a garage somewhere years ago and my slim hope is that maybe its still there. Thanks again.
TJ Hermes

[Garret]

Garret, Thanks for the reply, every little bit of information helps. I have been in touch with Roger Newell who spent years bringing We're Here back to life as Arroyo and is her present owner. (Photo in previous post shows Arroyo and Tola passing the Ballard Locks) He has indicated that he is more than happy to share. I too have heard about Tola's hardware being stored in a garage somewhere years ago and my slim hope is that maybe its still there. Thanks again.
TJ Hermes

Hi - Should you wish to discuss any rebuilding issues, I've probably run into 'em...;-). Frames, Planks, Keel Bolts, Rudder, Decks, Cabin Tops, you name it. All the iron that was used in them certainly adds another challenge.

Anyway, should you have questions or simply need some moral support, please feel free to contact me directly here.

If Tola sails anything like Neoga, she is so worth bringing back!

Best -

Garret

[snow]

Hi Alan -

First - I like your tag line. Oh so true...

Anyway - the heater is a Force 10. Propane, vented through the cabin top w/ 1" stainless pipe. Approx. 6,000 btu max I think. Brass & stainless.

Basically, it's one of their stove burners (Neoga has a Force 10 3 burner propane stove as well), in a cylinder that vents through the pipe.

Price is right (~$470US + some for the deck cap & pipe), quality is good & operation is simple. It's a season extender, making Neoga capable of staying comfortable 'til early October in Maine. Problem is, I usually haul her on Halloween - so a supplement is sometimes needed for the last few weeks.

One of my favorite suppliers in Maine (Hamilton) has 'em:

http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/ventilation-heating/heaters/heater-cozy-cabin-propane---------------------------113810/4,4967.html
(http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/ventilation-heating/heaters/heater-cozy-cabin-propane---------------------------113810/4,4967.html)
Hope this helps -

Garret

Hi thx so much.
I like the unit & will check it out - leaning towards a wood / cool stove but this unit looks so easy & 'clean'.
Love your boat - the attention to detail is brilliant - well done.
Alan

[Garret]

Hi thx so much.
I like the unit & will check it out - leaning towards a wood / cool stove but this unit looks so easy & 'clean'.
Love your boat - the attention to detail is brilliant - well done.
Alan

Thanks!

One drawback to a propane stove: moisture. Coal & wood produce far less.

Propane is easier, as long as you have the proper safety devices installed.

Garret