I recently wrote about "discovering" the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle Washington. Now, I've stumbled across the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in the bay area. I'll be headed that way later this Fall, so add another wooden boat center to my itinerary.
I have a soft spot for wooden boats. growing up we had an old plywood rowboat converted to a sandbox in the back yard. Some of my earliest memories are going out on our wooden Dory from Pacific City, Oregon. The first of our commercial boats was a 40' wooden trawler, a shrimper named the "Shadow Dew" out of Newport Oregon. Since then, everything I've owned or crewed on has been steel, aluminum, glass or plastic. But still, seeing a beautiful wooden boat brings a smile to my face.
OK, back to the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center - In addition to their main site, which offers information on the organization and its programs, there is a Wooden Boat Finder site; sort of a blog clearing house for wooden boats ranging from partially finished projects, to large sailing yachts. I then ran across their Boatbuilders' and Sailor's Blog about a program where kids build and sail wooden boats. Tomorrow - November 8th they are having a launching party for their latest creation - the Guppy, a 12' Norwegian Sailing Pram. stop by and check out the project. They had nice documentation and a very cool project. Where were they when I was a kid? Congratulations and best of luck on your launch tomorrow.
I have a soft spot for wooden boats. growing up we had an old plywood rowboat converted to a sandbox in the back yard. Some of my earliest memories are going out on our wooden Dory from Pacific City, Oregon. The first of our commercial boats was a 40' wooden trawler, a shrimper named the "Shadow Dew" out of Newport Oregon. Since then, everything I've owned or crewed on has been steel, aluminum, glass or plastic. But still, seeing a beautiful wooden boat brings a smile to my face.
OK, back to the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center - In addition to their main site, which offers information on the organization and its programs, there is a Wooden Boat Finder site; sort of a blog clearing house for wooden boats ranging from partially finished projects, to large sailing yachts. I then ran across their Boatbuilders' and Sailor's Blog about a program where kids build and sail wooden boats. Tomorrow - November 8th they are having a launching party for their latest creation - the Guppy, a 12' Norwegian Sailing Pram. stop by and check out the project. They had nice documentation and a very cool project. Where were they when I was a kid? Congratulations and best of luck on your launch tomorrow.Loren
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As a young man, in the mid-seventies, I was a crew member on the Shadow Dew out of Port Dock 5 in Newport Oregon. As I recall the owners name at the time was Percy Hadley, who lived up the bay in Toledo Oregon. I'm curious if anyone knows of the current whereabouts of the boat-if it still exists? I've been to Newport several times over the years but not seen "The Dew" in port.
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