Raid Motherships
Temujin Raid Mothership 09
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Carie writes:
The Temujin was designed by Tom Colvin for my father, Jim McAlister for ocean cruising and was built under a log A-frame and tarp at the head of Port Harvey on Cracroft Island in the Johnstone Straits, where we were caretakers of Dick Donovan's old logging camp. The steel was brought in by freight boat and put on the log raft that our float house was on before we moved it to the land. We started construction in 1972 and launched the Temujin in 1975. We then finished out the interior and lived aboard. Temujin was orginally a three masted junk rigged schooner, no deckhouse, with a centre cargo hold. The photo is of the Temujin as she was built to Colvin's plans and as we launched her in Port Harvey. Later we put the halibut licence on her that belonged to my older brother James, from his wooden fish boat the Anandale, changed the rig to 2 masts, built a wheelhouse, cut off the bow sprit, and glassed the hold.
Temujin's construction was a family affair: besides cleaning welds and many other jobs, we children mined and processed all the sand for the sandblasting from a bank up an old logging trail (after we had finished our correspondence lessons). My mother sandblasted the hull, did most of the painting, and built the four sails on a treadle sewing machine in a small bedroom in the floathouse. In the spring, we were able to lay the sails out on the grass around the "float" house, and we all helped sew on the bolt rope.
Getting supplies, fuel, welding rod, paint, and other materials to Port Harvey was time consuming; we took our camp tender Sea Ace to Minstrel Island (for mail or to meet the freight boat) or to Kelsey Bay where we kept a car to drive to Campbell River.
A warm shout-out to all the people we met building and sailing the Temujin and to our friends and neighbors up and down the coast.
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Rupert Pelican: Raid Mothership 08 and 07
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Rick Sobel, the Pelican's owner/builder writes:
Howard Chapelle, in his Small American Sailing Craft, writes about the simple work boat designs used for yacht construction. The largest vessel in that book is the Gulf Scow Schooner. Lets build a practical vessel, not too shiny, and don't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
The idea captured my imagination as I dreamt about the modifications; a stern castle and junk rig. With friends, the lines were developed along with the offsets. This was around '77 or '78. A shed was secured in Dodge Cove, near Prince Rupert, B.C. and the wood was ordered; around 5000 bf yellow cedar for the frame and 5000 bf douglas fir for planking. The fir came as double dressed 2x4 at 1.5 x3.5 clear up to 24' lengths. Galvanized rod was used for the bolts, and the project was under way by the summer of '79.
As with a skiff a jig was built and the keel timbers were bolted up, the centerboard trunk and transoms were joined and stiffened with the sheer stringers, chine logs and sister keelsons. This is called 'frameless construction' since the bottom would be cross planked and normal ribs would not be used.
The hull took about 14 months and was launched up side down, without the watertight bulkheads and with the raw water engine v/v left open. Attached to a fish boat and the jig secured to a dock, the hull came right off the jig, the v/v closed and the hull was pumped. At this stage it was realized the project was only 1/5 to 1/10 towards going sailing. Dreams are so much easier to persue while lying down; six years later we were sailing.
(Rick Sobel is a co-director with Tad Roberts of the Shipyard School. And, having served in the Coastguard at Prince Rupert as well as building the Rupert Pelican in Dodge Cove, Rick knows the McAlisters and the Temujin as well as the Temujin's sistership that Jim McAlister built in Oona River, the Far Reach. Many thanks to Rick for supporting the Raid!)
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Island Eagle Raid Mothership 06
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Scott Welch writes
Island Eagle is 61 foot trawler designed by Arthur DeFever, built in San Diego and launched in 1964...With any boat, the three most important sources of information are the designer, the builder, and the original owner. Astoundingly, even though Island Eagle was built over 40 years ago, both the designer (Mr. Arthur DeFever) and the original owner (Mr. Joseph Coberly) were still alive when I bought the boat, and they have been most generous with their reminisces (sadly, Joe Coberly passed away in late 2006). Here is what we have learned so far about the history of Island Eagle: http://www.islandeagle.net/ie_history/
(Scott's wonderful restoration of the Island Eagle in Nanaimo, BC is well-documented and tells the story Of Tad's involvement and the commissioning of the wooden tender Seka at the Shipyard School; Seka was also Raid shepard in 05 and 06. )
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Grail Dancer Raid Mothership 05
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Wayne and Maureen Loiselle write:
Grail Dancer is a traditional schooner based on the hull lines of the "Emma C Berry", a Noank Well Smach from 1866. Built on Thetis island, BC by the owners, Wayne and Maureen Loiselle. Lofting begun - 1986; Launched - 2000; Rigging & Systems - 2005.
(Wayne and Maureen are long-time supporters and friends of the Shipyard School; during Grail Dancer's construction, boat building classes took field trips to Thetis for the rare chance of observing the construction of a large traditional wooden schooner, and on occasion students were able to lend a hand. Grail Dancer was the Raid's first mothership, and Maureen and Wayne have given two wonderful seminars at the Shipyard School in the past year. Many thanks to the Loiselles for all their support.)
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