This is turning out to be a pivotal year for Doryman. Of course something is always going on around here and no one really knows what might happen.
You hear all the time about activities on the central Oregon coast and even the occasional foray to the Salish Sea. But what might happen if a link between the two were to open, like a portal to a new world?
A connection with some old friends dating back to the dark ages when Doryman was young, has turned up a jewel. What can the more savvy among us tell me about this vessel?.............
12/17/2011 Update: (Thank you for waiting patient reader, here is the story)...
It is a Stone Horse, designed by Sam Crocker and built in plywood.
My friend Scott Hauser is a boat builder who moved to Olympia, WA in 1982 from Eugene, OR as an employee of Sam Devlin, who moved his business to Olympia permanently at that time and is still there.
Scott is the builder of this boat and brought it to Olympia with him (under construction) almost thirty years ago.
He and I became acquainted through a loose knit group of sailor/builders who organized the first of the (still) longstanding Olympia Wooden Boat Festival.
Back then, several wood boat owners would gather from time to time in some private cove or on a beach to swap stories and Scott's boat was this same Stone Horse. I had an old Alaskan Bristol Bay gillnetter I'd restored and there were lots of great old boats that don't exist anymore.
Scott started his own eclectic boat building business (Hauser Boat Works) and ended up building quite few liveaboard boats and boathouses over the years. He had a strong influence on the design of my Mistral dory in 1990.
Scott redrew Sam Crocker's plans for the Stone Horse to be built in plywood and this is the result. When I found out Scott was selling his boat, I had to call. The timing was right - my interest in the Stone Horse has been recently highlighted, as you all know.
So, the connection to the Salish Sea will be this boat. The SV Belle Starr will be refurbished and moored somewhere on the southern Puget Sound, ready and waiting for the next Doryman adventure. She is a worthy and sound vessel.
A trip to Alaska is a possibility.
.
18 comments:
In astrology the planet Saturn governs what might be called the seasons of a persons life. It takes just less than 30 years for Saturn to complete a revolution of the sun and the return of Saturn signifies the death and rebirth of a life cycle.
Many cultures have also applied this metaphor to the cycle of the harvest, with Saturn governing the solstice and signifying the transition from fall to spring.
One can expect that Saturn will influence the transition from youth to adulthood around thirty years, then again when wisdom finally replaces folly, around sixty.
Beyond that, this doryman has yet to experience. But what can a doryman do when a boat that touched his life at the pivotal juncture with true adulthood resurfaces, perhaps predictably, thirty years later?
Hard to tell for sure, but is that a Stone Horse? If so, wow.
At a guess I'd say it's a Stone horse you used to sail or owned 30 years ago and has or is coming back to the Dory dock?
The pic in slings seems to show a very hard chine, so it it an old wooden one?
I'll bet on the stoned pony as well. I turned 60 this year, but where is Saturn? I'm sure wisdom has not yet replaced folly (in my case).
We're holding our breath, how 'bout a little more.
And I was hoping the link between the Salish Sea and Oregon would be the canal I want between Olympia and the Columbia River. As I recall it would only take about 11 miles of cut to connect the two watersheds.
Glenn,
That's a new one on me... It seems there would be quite a bit of very skinny water on that voyage. There is a waterfall on the Deschutes river, which feeds Capitol Lake, within sight of the lower Sound, so there would be a bit of portaging as well.
It is a Stone Horse, built in plywood. The story gets complicated but here are the Cliff Notes:
My friend Scott Hauser is a boat builder who moved to Olympia, WA in 1982 from Eugene, OR as an employee of Sam Devlin, who moved his business to Olympia permanently at that time and is still there.
Scott is the builder of this boat and brought it to Olympia with him almost thirty years ago.
He and I became acquainted through a loose knit group of sailor/builders who organized the first of the longstanding Olympia Wooden Boat Show.
Several wooden boat owners would gather from time to time in a private cove or on a beach to swap stories and Scott's boat was this Stone Horse. I had an old Alaskan Bristol Bay Gillnetter I'd restored and there were lots of great old boats that don't exist anymore.
Scott started his own eclectic boat building business and ended up building quite few liveaboard boats and boathouses over the years. He had a strong influence on the design of my Mistral dory in 1990.
Scott redrew Sam Crocker's plans for the Stone Horse to be built in plywood and this is the result. When I found out Scott was selling his boat, I had to call. The timing was right - my interest in the Stone Horse has been recently highlighted, as you all know.
So, the connection to the Salish Sea will be that this boat, the Belle Starr, will be refurbished and moored somewhere on the southern Puget Sound, ready and waiting for the next Doryman adventure. She is a worthy and sound vessel. A trip to Alaska is a possibility.
Belle Starr will be entering her second Saturn cycle as Doryman begins his third. The planets are aligned ;-)
Excellent! The Stone Horse is one of my favorites, too. One of the few "large" boats that still make me think I'd want one. Bravo and congrats. Can't wait to follow your adventures in that one.
Doryman Said:
"There is a waterfall on the Deschutes river, which feeds Capitol Lake, within sight of the lower Sound, so there would be a bit of portaging as well."
That's what canal locks are for. AFAIK, some natives and the early fur traders did use the route, with the aforementioned portages. The best canal one would be parallel to the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks. I think the connector would be from the southern headwaters of the Chehalis to the headwaters of the Toutle.
Our society is too shortsighted to build it now, while diesel is plentiful and cheap. If Europeans had lived here 400 years ago it would have been done already. I think my grandchildren will have to dig it with shovels and ox-drawn Fresno scrapers.
Glenn
Glenn
This is a lot of boat, but is not large, exactly. I would call this a transitional boat - too small to stand up in yet big on a trailer. With the right trailer it could be towed and launched from a boat ramp. Deploying and retrieving the mast will be a challenge that might limit how the boat is used.
The real challenge is the cost of moorage. In this sense, it is a big boat. With both bowsprit and boomkin, the overall length is close to 30 feet.
I feel very foolish (though what is a man to do?) because I already have a boat in the water full time and all those boats in the yard at home knew the minute I stepped out of the car, that I'd done something bad.
You might know that the progeny of Black Douglas would be up to something.
We are entering an age where humans as mules will once again be all the rage.
I've seen years where the land around Chehalis was a lake from all the rain runoff. No canal needed then, in fact the highway was navigable at times, with traffic at a standstill. Your canal could be sluiced and dredged in the winter.
I woke this morning with two images that might have been a dream. In one, Belle Starr is towing a melonseed as a tender and in the other, she was sailing in company with Feather - looking forward to making both a reality.
Wow such a beautiful boat, I would love to be able to board her sometime and go for a ride
Hey There,
If you DO make it up Alaska way, we'd love it if you looked us up!
Drop us a line at triloboats@gmail.com and we'll put our cookin' hats on.
Fair Winds!
Hey Dave,
You bet and thanks for the invitation!
We have a lot in common and a visit is certainly in order.
My dream of sailing to Alaska is, alas, almost as old as I am. Now I find it difficult to sail single-handed for extended periods but that does not keep me from trying.
So much to do, so little time. Isn't life wonderful?
michael
I must know... are there plans for building in wood available for the Stone Horse?
The original plans for this boat were designed for wood - fiberglass was not in use yet. I don't know where they might be available, but I would look at a historical archive first. (a worthy research project).
The man who built this boat redrew the plans from a current set. I mean to ask him one day if those plans still exist. I'd like to see them.
Thank you DoryMan, it took me a little while to find my way back to your answer. I have not yet found a source for plans for the Stone Horse buy my search will continue.
BTW... I love your blog!
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