Alden or Knott?

[johngsandusky]

A boat mystery solved: Last fall I bought a 39' Alden ketch. At the time I sought some confirmation of her pedigree. There is no builder's plate. The first owner and registered builder have crossed the bar. I found two Alden designs very similar to her. One a few years newer is almost identical. Satisfied, I bought her. The boat is great, looks beautiful, performs well. But I continued trying to learn about her origin. Patience and connecting the dots put me on the phone yesterday with her designer: Wm Daniel Knott. Mr Knott was working with Chester Crosby when he designed Aries, a 36 schooner, still in existence. My boat is an enlargement of that design, ketch rigged. I'm very happy with the boat, pleased to correspond with an accomplished designer, a bit disappointed with the seller who probably knew better. My research has put me in touch with the family and friends of the original owner, who are being kind with memories and pics.

[rbgarr]

Aries was for sale in WB about a year ago. I grew up behind the Crosby yards and would like to see photos of your boat. It sounds like she was not built at Chet's, as that yard was often called. Do you know where and by whom she was built?

IIRC Knott designed other boats for Crosby: the Curlew, a daysailing boat with a cabin and (some with a) Kermath one cylinder engine, 23'.

[johngsandusky]

I'm easily frustrated trying to post pics, but pm me your email adress and I'll forward some. She was built in Florida where the first owner lived. I'm still unraveling parts of her story. Some sources say she was built by Nelson Whitesell, a Largo builder who built workboats and yachts. He built another of her little sisters, a ketch in Titusville. Others tell me that the first owner built her himseslf. I'm thinking that both men had a hand in it.

[michigangeorge]

Whitesell built a beautiful Knott design for an experienced owner who kept her at his residence on the Manatee river. She was well built for the tropics with little brightwork on deck and painted all white. If I remember correctly she had some large deck boxes which served as seating. Very nice boat. Also, a clipper bow with no decoration.

[johngsandusky]

My boat is quite similar. Painted spars, bare teak caprails, unadorned clipper bow. She has cruised the Bahamas extensively.

[rbgarr]

John sent photos of his boat, now named Wandering Star. Here are a few of them:

http://i43.tinypic.com/33ym87t.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/23vxfn4.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/33uafj7.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/eqnw47.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/4rair9.jpg

[johngsandusky]

Thanks for posting them. She's strip planked juniper on sawn longleaf pine. The strips are edge glued (resorcinol) and nailed (bronze ring). She is very well built and strong.

[michigangeorge]

Looks just like the boat I remember without the deck boxes. Great boat!

[rbgarr]

Thanks for posting them. She's strip planked juniper on sawn longleaf pine. The strips are edge glued (resorcinol) and nailed (bronze ring). She is very well built and strong.

And much cleaner looking than the Aries which is(was) a schooner with scrollwork, fake gunports, ratlines and baggywinkles.

[johngsandusky]

I remember that boat. I called about her when she was for sale. The owner emailed me an article with pictures. She is an interesting vessel, not to my taste. Though I do love scrollwork on schooners and Friendship Sloops. It's hard to maintain though.
One day I'll varnish the helm.

[dgarnold]

My dad had the boat on the Manatee River with the deck boxes "Tonsabe", ex "Wind Drift". Both the Tonsabe and Wandering Star were definitely built by Nelson Whitesell, who built high quality boats, strongly built with the Florida climate in mind. Tonsabe is a 36 ft Knott designed ketch, perhaps a ketch version of the schooner design, also strip planked Juniper on sawn pine framing. Dad cruised her to the Bahamas, Keys, Dry Tortugas, and Maine. She was sold several years ago when he passed away and I dont know what happened to her; hopefully she's in good hands.

[johngsandusky]

Dgarnold, thanks for the input. That boat is listed in the Register of Wooden Boats on this site. I don't know if the information is outdated. I'm very pleased with Wandering Star, having recently brought her 1100 miles safely.