The boat and trip home

This is a blog about the restoration of an Ed Monk designed 1947 24 ft. wood sloop. Vic Franck, the owner of the Vic Franck boatyard in Seattle built her for his honeymoon cruise. Her original name was "Wee Two" but she now sports the moniker "Inca". I purchased the boat from an individual on Lopez Island, off the coast of Washington. He sailed her for ten years until she sprung a leak and was hauled out. She sat on the hard for ten years until the owner, who could not stand to see her rot away put her up for sale. I found her and purchased her...the story with me begins from there.

Some pictures of the boat as I found her.

I’ve been looking for a classic wood sailboat restoration project for several years. I generally go to websites and drool over the photos of exquisitely fitted yachts and to see if there are any boats that would be appropriate for an ambitious first timer’s restoration. I was looking for something in the neighborhood of 20-25 ft. I wanted something that would work for weekend trips for our family of three. Really, I think that size would work best because I can handle the restoration and it could hold a head, which would mean that my wife and daughter would be much more likely to join me on our trips. About two weeks ago I was looking at boat classifieds on craig’s list and one headline caught my eye. It said “Classic Wooden Sloop- Best Offer”. As it turns out, the boat was a 24 foot Ed Monk designed sloop built in 1947 which had been sitting in a field for 10 years.I looked at the four pictures on the website and was immediately smitten. The pictures showed a powerful bow that tapered into a slim wineglass transom. It’s a boat that could handle some heavy weather while looking good.Barely able to contain my excitement I called my wife to tell her about the find. She, of course, thought it was the worst idea I had ever had (I think she just doesn’t like the idea of a derelict sailboat sitting in our backyard for several years). So after some discussion she agreed and I went to make sure that the boat was something I could tackle.

I spoke with the owner and we agreed on a price ($250.00) provided that it was a project I could handle. The owner of the boat (which is currently named “Inca”) gave me a rundown of the boat and sent some pictures. Based on his description, it sounded like exactly what I wanted. Two hull planks need to be replaced, the cabin rebuilt, and the hull refastened (She was fastened with iron screws in 1947 and they all really should come out.). That makes three main projects…three big projects. Also, the engine is frozen and needs some attention. I’ll probably haul it out for something to work on over the winter. It’s a pretty simple 12 hp single cylinder Yanmar diesel so I’ll see if I can fix it; if not it will go to a professional. There are also a myriad of smaller projects which will also have to be addressed. The cabin is pretty bare and tired, but serviceable so that project will probably wait until we haul her out after the first season.

So I went out to the boat to make sure it was as the owner, Helmut, said it was. I was expecting the two boards to actually be ten and ribs/keel to be rotted out, but everything was exactly as Helmut said! (and he’s a great guy to boot). So I agreed to buy the boat and pick it up the next Saturday. The trip was a little tricky because the boat was on an island off the coast of Washington, which would be great if the boat floated, but it doesn’t. Also, the trailer was a bit strange. The bow overhung the trailer by four feet and had a full size front wheel so I would need a flatbed truck with a ball minimum 25 inches from the ground and 20 inches maximum to the bed. After several days of searching I was able to find one for rent, which let me sleep at night.

On the day of the pickup I took a ferry over to the island and because Helmut had spent some time securing the boat I was able to just hitch up the truck and make it back to the ferry for high tide (I wanted to do this to minimize the chance that Inca would contact the truck when boarding the ferry). I must say, the trip up north to Bellingham was a white knuckle affair. The tires hadn’t been driven on for ten years, and while they held air I was constantly worried that a tire was going to blow, giving me visions of a wood boat scattered all over the road. As a result, I drove the 60 miles to Bellingham at 25 mph, much to the consternation of the drivers behind me. I got lots of hand gestures, but I suspect it’s better than a boat falling on their car after a blown tire. I finally got the boat home and when I looked at the tires I was glad the trip ended when it did. The right rear tire was showing cracks in the tread so I got the trailer on blocks and won’t be driving it again until it has new tires.

Some pictures from the ferry ride over to the mainland

The dark marks on her hull aren't rotten wood. Some diesel leaked out of the fuel tanks...they will need some repair as well.

Finally home!

When I got back to the house my neighbor’s son was really interested in the boat so I invited him on board and let him poke around in all the corners. Then I convinced him that it would be fun to unload everything that wasn’t bolted down and he thought it sounded like a great idea (I definitely felt a bit like Tom Sawyer on that one). We got everything unloaded including the mast (which is a solid 35 ft piece of Sitka Spruce by the way!) and he went home for dinner while I sat in the boat cataloguing everything that needed to be done. I was about 20 minutes into that process when I started feeling rain. Pretty soon it was raining pretty hard and I was forced into the house.