DATESY

Donn Costanzo is a highly evolved wooden-boat expert. He has built, restored, and become an authority on an impressive array of yachts since launching his career five decades ago. So when the decision to retire from the company he founded, Wooden Boatworks in Greenport, New York, began to occupy his attention, the search for a suitable boat to build for himself began in earnest. Harry Bryan, a regular contributor to this magazine, soon rose to the top of Donn’s short list of designers. Harry’s 20' pocket cruiser KATIE, which he had designed for his own retirement, captivated Donn.

Donn knew at the outset that the boat would be named DATESY, his nickname for his wife, Linda. But the choice of design required more thought. The usual practical considerations of size, design, and materials came into play, but how does a lifetime of experience with exquisite yachts influence the choice and construction of a 20-footer? Donn is an expert on Gil Smith boats, which are designed for elegant shallow-water sailing on Long Island’s Great South Bay (see WB No. 177). Smith’s material choices and building methods clearly influenced Donn’s construction decisions. At the other end of the spectrum, Donn is also an authority on William Fife III, having completed a structural rebuild of the 108' Fife gaff schooner ALTAIR and Fife’s own personal yacht, SHEEVRA (now named CLIO), among other notable Fifes. His tastes and expectations of quality workmanship are top-tier. Nostalgia played no small role too—consciously or not—as Donn hoped to create the kind of small boat that would rekindle the joys of his youth.

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