Forgive me, WBF

[Hollingsworth]

For I have steeled:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3479/3183390472_dc813c8cfc.jpg

[willmarsh3]

You are forgiven - at least by me. That is a very pretty boat.

I steel all the time: http://www.willmarsh3.net/al/theboat.html

But I also "wood": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt1jL8l6lng&fe

[TonyH]

Yes, forgiven. She's a wonderful looking boat, the stuff of adventures and dreams.

[BarnacleGrim]

I have steeled as well:

http://www.yago-project.com/images/stories/boats/yago31/boat_concept_1.gif

I have been very much intrigued with the Yago 31 (http://www.yago-project.com/content/blogcategory/76/58/lang,en/), I even got the plans for it. I'm not planning on a build, though. Steel has many merits as a boat building material, but I think it's hard to make it look good up close. So I'll stick with wood for now.

[johngsandusky]

Is that your schooner? Never apologize. She makes me drool.
Besides, steel is salty.

[Hollingsworth]

Yes, that's the Black Swan.

Designed after the cargo schooners which used to ply the Great Lakes in the 19th century, by J Murray Watts
42' LOD
58' LOA (from dinghy davits to bowsprit)
displaces 40,000 lbs
Beam = 12.5'
Draft is 4' centerboard up

Looks salty, but has only seen fresh water

[Hollingsworth]

Here's another pic, taken from the bowsprit:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3303/3182799011_eaed5c6c4e.jpg?v=0

btw, I also have a wooden boat. It's just that it's... still in the driveway. Waiting for me to finish restoration.

[kayakn]

Great looking boat!!!

[S/V Laura Ellen]

Steel is fine, at least you aren't telling us you used epoxy or CPES!:D

[Mrleft8]

That boat would look awful good hauling cargo from Grenada to St. anywhere.....

[Michael Beckman]

Nothing wrong with steel.
http://www.tallshipstacoma.com/image_assets/0000/0282/hawaiianchieftain2.jpg

[PeterSibley]

If mine weren't wood she would be steel .I weld OK but it doesn't make me whistle .:D

[Hollingsworth]

Steel is fine, at least you aren't telling us you used epoxy or CPES!:D

I'm sure I'll catch hell for using Cetol on the dodger...

[Hollingsworth]

Nothing wrong with steel.
http://www.tallshipstacoma.com/image_assets/0000/0282/hawaiianchieftain2.jpg

Is that the Falls of Clyde?

[Bob Cleek]

No.

This is the Falls of Clyde:

http://www.boatnerd.com/news/newpictures03/Historic-FALLS-OF-CLYDE-moo.jpg

(Flying a Matson Navigation house flag from the mizzen jumper strut... Perhaps to indicate Matson's financial sponsorship at the time the picture was taken.)

[clancy]

Here's another pic, taken from the bowsprit:

More pictures would be greatly appreciated.

[Hollingsworth]

Since you asked so nicely.

Here's a shot motoring in glass calm conditions.... sails aren't nicely flaked. Oh well.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3383/3185600814_95b2493716.jpg?v=0

Here are a couple shots down below, in the forward cabin. Potbelly stove on starboard, head forward, ice box / fridge on port:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3404/3184756343_f06beb0b07.jpg?v=0

The potbelly keeps things cozy in the Fall and early Spring. (Especially when it's still in the boatyard and I spend weekends getting ready for the new season.) Like the z-brick backing? Bricks on a boat!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3337/3185620336_055375806b.jpg?v=0

Here's the galley, looking aft to port:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3531/3185601030_8d3a2286de.jpg?v=0

[Flying Orca]

If I manage to save enough to retire on a purpose-built liveaboard, it's a cinch for steel. As much as I like wood.

[Captain Blight]

Did you have that moored at Blue Island last winter?

[Hollingsworth]

No, it's been in Saint Joseph, Michigan at Harbor Isle Marina on the Saint Joseph River for the past two years.

Before that, one summer in Hammond, IN (yeah, I know...) and before that, it lived in Kenosha, WI.

[Ian Marchuk]

Congratulations Hollingsworth , one stout schooner.
I remember stumbling over this vessel when it was in Kenosha. IIRC it was broker listed on Yachtworld. It was serious drool material then and still is. Life was complex then and I was far enough away that it just seemed too remote. But I was considerably taken with the vessel.
A few questions if I may .
Who built the boat and where.
How was the hull plating stood up over the years , how well was the plating
prepared and coated on the inside, and how did you go about checking the inside hull condition?
What is the designed displacement ?
When it comes to vessels of this size it seems that the market has all but collapsed, and they seem to take a long time to attract the right buyer, moreso now than ever. I know that I would have a difficult time keeping up with the basic maintenance of a wood boat even half this size. In aluminium or steel if it is properly prepared and coated the maintenance is minimal by comparison. The sheer brute strength of steel and aluminium in hull construction gives me greater peace of mind as well.
Best.... Ian

[Hollingsworth]

Congratulations Hollingsworth , one stout schooner.
I remember stumbling over this vessel when it was in Kenosha. IIRC it was broker listed on Yachtworld. It was serious drool material then and still is. Life was complex then and I was far enough away that it just seemed too remote. But I was considerably taken with the vessel.
A few questions if I may .
Who built the boat and where.
How was the hull plating stood up over the years , how well was the plating
prepared and coated on the inside, and how did you go about checking the inside hull condition?
What is the designed displacement ?
When it comes to vessels of this size it seems that the market has all but collapsed, and they seem to take a long time to attract the right buyer, moreso now than ever. I know that I would have a difficult time keeping up with the basic maintenance of a wood boat even half this size. In aluminium or steel if it is properly prepared and coated the maintenance is minimal by comparison. The sheer brute strength of steel and aluminium in hull construction gives me greater peace of mind as well.
Best.... Ian

Hi, Ian.

You stumbled over this vessel? I hope you didn't break a toe. Did you actually see the boat in Kenosha, or just on-line or in the mags? I've crewed on her since 1995 or so and bought her from the second owner in 2005. She was built by a professional steel worker, named Matt Putra, in his backyard in Kenosha in the '70s. He bought the plans from Watts. Started in 1972, launched in 1979. I have photo albums chronicling the build over the years. It's fascinating. He was a good welder. I hear that he never worked on the boat when the temperature was below 50F.

It displaces 40,000 lbs.

The hull plating was originally treated with coal tar epoxy. I had an ultra-sound performed for insurance purposes when I first bought her and it showed excellent preservation of the plating with consistent readings throughout.

Every Spring before relaunching (Lake Michigan is not a nice place to sail in winter) I find a few rust blooms, about the size of a dime, on the exterior below the water line. Quite common. I simply grind down to bare metal and recoat with epoxy before applying bottom paint. There are numerous zincs on the hull.

The biggest problem I had was last Spring when I discovered rust on some interior plating, running longitudinally on either side of the centerboard trunk. I was at first dismayed-- okay, panicked, but then with the help of some of the good folks on the old Metal Boat Society forum, was able to address and remedy the situation. Lots of elbow grease and a pneumatic needle scaler along with a variety of wire wheels before phosphoric acid and then 2 coats of epoxy. It's solid and I'm proud of the job I did. One thing you learn when working with metal is that the amount of rust/scale is exponential in proportion to the actual degradation of the metal. I learned a lot about metal boats in the past few years and getting better at welding. (Though can't hold a candle to Pipefitter. That guy's good!) I even became Editor of the Metal Boat Quarterly for the last year. (No longer, but that's a completely different story. They've had some political in-fighting over there and it looks like they're splitting into 2 different organizations.)

I like steel, but I like wood too. Each has its advantages. I also agree with an earlier response in this thread about difficulties of making a metal boat look good up close. The Black Swan will never be a thing of beauty up close, as some great wooden boats are.

I have a wooden cutter that I started to restore a few years back, but that went into storage when the schooner just happened to become available.

I hang out on the WBF because of the collective wisdom and knowledge of the forumites, especially when it comes to sailing classic vessels. I've learned a lot by lurking on this forum and just as much by just getting out there and sailing. (Of course, the entertainment factor of The Bilge is also a big draw...)

[Ian Marchuk]

Thanks for the details Hollingsworth.
This is yet another attempt to reply,previous attempts timed out and when I logged in again my post went pfffttt.
Thankfully when I stumbled over your boat it was on Yachtworld. Otherwise the stumble would have seen me hobbling along as Sire Limpsawaypainfully.
The rust issues seem minimal ,that is a credit to the builder. Coal tar epoxy applied generously over a near white sandblast is really effective . That is one nasty and dirty job but it has to be done. Most steel boats are lost from the inside out.
The Metal Boat Society Forum has been an invaluable resource to me as well. It really is a crying shame that it is being torn apart. A few words of thanks and encouragement sent to Steve Hayward, Kevin Morin , Brian ,and those others that have contributed so much are certainly in order.
Thanks too to Scot for keeping the WBF rightside up.
I was taken with the stoutness of this boat and its no nonsense workboat design. Lots of interesting features. The stoutness of steel and a ... SCHOONER!
Sigh. Lovely.
Hollingsworth there is only one way to atone for this kind of wilful Sin.
Pictures.... lotsa pictures ....details .Interior shots . Construction shots too .
Lovely vessel sir , you are a sinner after my own heart.
Best .....Ian

[Paul Denison]

Great post.

[watson1990]

Lets see if i did this right ??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxLvMcFV3Xs

Many on this forum have probably never heard this.

Oh,By the way,,,I post this here only because of its relevance to the subject at hand ..not as a disparaging remark at all ...You have a beauty there,,,and I am jealous !!

[Hollingsworth]

Geez, I leave the forum for a day and come back to find a Gordon Lightfoot reference?

I googled "Yarmouth Castle". Not quite what I expected:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9d/Evangeline.JPG