Motor Sharpie, Kingfisher

 Lou Brocetti 19'  Power Sharpie

While we're on the subject of sharpies, I should mention - my good friend, the superlative boat builder/designer Lou Brochetti wants to sell his practically brand new motor sharpie. Sorry, I don't understand why. He gets a hankerin' to build a new boat from time to time, is all I can figure.

Two summers ago, Lou took this boat to the San Juan Islands, in Washington State. It was a brand new boat then and performed beautifully, just as planned. Well, Lou was tickled because, of course, it was his plan.

You may wonder why this is considered a sharpie. Well, I had that question too. Why not a semi-dory?

So, I've come to these conclusions. First, Lou knows what he's talking about. Second, a semi-dory (which is most often a motor dory) has a flat aft profile allowing it to plane. I owned a semi-dory once, with an old Evinrude 35 hp that would push it's heavy-built plywood hull up to a wide-open 25 mph! We called it the Bay Bomber. I swear it used a gallon per mile.

Lou's sharpie is slower and infinitely more efficient. It has quite a bit of rocker in the bottom, a narrow transom with very little interest in planing. With a 9.9 hp outboard, it burns a gallon of gas every four hours or so, at cruising speed, which is around six knots.

Lou's second trip in this boat was last summer on Franklin D Roosevelt Lake, which is behind Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River. According to him, it just might be one of the best cruising grounds in the world.

If you want an efficient motor driven gunkholer, you should call Lou. He has just the boat for you.
(Shown here tucked comfortably up on a remote sandy beach.)

A pretty salty, hardworking boat, built just for fun.
Lou Brochetti, Redmond, Oregon:  541-504-0135

Small Craft Weekend

A photo essay

When two great events happen at the same time, it can be hard to decide which way to go. But then, a busy summer schedule often trumps, which was the case for Doryman last weekend.

The closest event was a gathering of Coots on Fern Ridge Reservoir, in the beautiful Willamette Valley, near Eugene Oregon. So, I dropped by just in time Saturday to visit as the boats returned to the docks from a day on the water. This is my home team, so you've seen some of these boats before.

First up is Bob Larken in his Wavewatcher, a Bolger designed Birdwatcher. Bob is an electronics and computer wizard and his boat is tricked out with amazing stuff. He recently installed a remote controlled tiller pilot so he can steer from any location on the boat.

This is John Kohnen's Redwing, Lazy Jack. He bought this boat recently from a fellow Coot and I think he's happy as a man can be.

Dennis McComber just finished this little runabout from a batteau.com plan. His son started the build and abandoned it. Dennis picked up where he left off and did a great job.

Cal Drake designed and built this Garvey and it's the powerhouse of the group. I don't know how much horsepower it has, but it's a lot. You might have noticed, some of the Coots are moving toward being a power squadron!

Not entirely. Hal Colvin brought his Pacific Pelican, Retta Ann. I've sailed with Hal before in this boat. A very capable craft.

And Lou Brochetti came with his newly refurbished Devlin Egret. So new, she doesn't have a name yet.

Lou likes to tinker with a design as much as I do. He says the sail rig is a bit small and too far forward. We're looking for the upgrade soon Lou!

This is the beauty that caught my eye. The new caretakers of Richardson State Park and the custodians of these docks, own this boat.

She's a Sam Rabl Picaroon and the story is, she was built in 1954 by Sam himself. Obviously the boat has undergone some extensive refitting and I'd like to know more.

A planked Picaroon is rare. The examples I've seen were all made from plywood.


A proper little yacht.

Speaking of proper yachts, north of here a few hundred miles was the first ever Pocket Yacht Palooza, in beautiful Port Townsend, Washington State. This new event was organized by the Port Townsend Pocket Yachters, co-sponsored by the Small Craft Skills Academy and Northwest Maritime Center, and held May 19 at the NWMC.



Marty Loken worked hard to make this inaugural event a success. Give the man a hand!

Photos can be found on the Packet Yachters' website and additional information is provided by Joel Bergen on his Navigator site.

Watch for this one next year.



Here's a teaser from last Saturday, sent in by our friend Brandon.......

Pocket Yacht Palooza 2012

Photos by Brandon Ford

The Devlin Egret, redux

The Devlin Egret has been a topic of some interest around here for awhile. I'm happy to report that Lou has fitted out this worthy craft better than new, in his usual thorough fashion.

He found rot along the shear, under the guard, so the top plank is new and he installed it clinker fashion, which I think looks very nice. The mast, sail and boom are collected from here and there and he made the yard. The hardware is from my boxes of salvage.


I think, when Sam hears about this, he will be very pleased.

The photos are from a wet trial a couple days ago.

Excellent job, Lou! It's so good to see a worthy boat brought back to life.

The Devlin Egret

As the boating season gears up, so does the activity in Doryman's boatyard. This year several new projects have been added to the list.

This is also a time for reflection and contemplation because updates come in about old friends and new. Take the Sam Devlin designed Egret, for instance. An early example of this modified dory, built by Sam himself, was given to me three years ago and sadly it drifted to the end of a long list of priorities.






But last fall my friend Lou Brochetti, who is an old friend of Sam's and an excellent boatwright, suggested he have a go at finishing her out. Lou lives in the high dessert in central Oregon, so we packed up the boat with enough odds and ends from the shed to rig it for sail and set off for Paulina Lake to met Lou and other Coots for a messabout.







We were able to sail the Egret, just barely enough for Lou to get a good sense of what needed to be done. He took her home in high sprits, with big plans.








Although the Egret was designed for a centerboard or leeboards, this particular boat had a full, fixed keel. As these photos show, Lou decided she needed a centerboard.





Good job, Lou!
















We have a mission for this summer, to explore Roosevelt Lake and this Egret may end up being Doryman's gunkholer. Roosevelt Lake is just behind Grand Coulee Dam, on the Columbia River, in Washington State. I've never sailed there but pictures from the link above make it seem very much like the Sea of Cortez, which is one of Lou's favorite cruising grounds, so I can see why he is so excited about this trip.






One thing I'm concerned about. This boat is a joy to row, but isn't that centerboard case going to be a bit uncomfortable?

Skin on Frame Kayak by Lou Brochetti

My good friend Lou is at it again - nothing can stop this man! This winter he has already built two skin on frame kayaks, one for a friend and one for himself.

Lou is a pilot and has built skin on frame remote control planes, so he has a good grasp of the materials. I haven't seen his kayaks in person yet, though other friends of ours have built them and they are impressive for such a simple, lightweight boat.





I admit to having doubts about the durability of these featherweight vessels, especially on top of a car at highway speeds. I'm happy to report - they hold up!








The Chuckanut 15 is multi-chined, with a wide, slight V bottom for stability, zero rocker in the keel for solid tracking and a large cockpit for easy entry and exit.
She's designed by Dave Gentry as a protected water expedition boat. The Chuckanut is 15 feet long, by 31.5 inches wide and weighs about 40 pounds.





Lou is planning to offer classes on how to build the Chuckanut 15 for those who live in the Bend, Oregon area, near his shop.


If anyone from the Bend, Redmond and surrounding area is interested, please contact me here.