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A Third Rebirth of a Woody
by Granger B. Whitney
 In last year's "Northern Breezes"
I wrote about the fascination a small
gaff rigged half-scale harbor pilot sloop
had for me and the intimidating task that
stood before us in her restoration. By
way of review of that article: The 20'
boat was hand built over a couple of
years by Lee Pastor, a Ford Motor
Company engineer in a yard north of
Chicago, being finished in 1941, only in
time for Lee to enter military service for
the duration of WWII. On return, he
sailed, restored, and refined the little
craft to have the features that you would
expect to find on any full scale blue
water cruiser. Ford transferred Lee to St.
Paul, Minnesota where he sailed, and
restored again, the boat in Lake Pepin
until his death. The boat sat dry in brokerage
for several years after a brief failure
serving as a Courage Center training
vessel. A friend bought the boat with
intentions to restore it, and after a brief
St. Louis River, Spirit Lake dunking
several years followed, again, on the
cradle dry, mostly out of doors. The fall
of 2007 brought her to my attention, and
the third restoration project ensued
She was initially renamed the
Guppy (a tongue in cheek observation)
which was shortly revised to Dulcinea,
corroborated by her commissioning on
Memorial Day, 26 May 2008. A crowd
of over 50 souls paid witness to her
rebirth and acceptance by the ancient
Gods of the Sea.
 Her
restoration, under the auspices
of White Bear Boat Works, included sistering
broken ribs, backing up certain
planks, digging out entirely a variety of
plank caulking, splicing in structural
pieces at her stem and rudder post, garboard
fastenings and reinforcement, a
keel and ballast reconfiguration with a
steel sandwich over the wood keel, a
steel keel base skid with a full length
wing, also it became necessary to delaminate
then restore and re-laminate her
mast. Putting her in Bristol Fashion
included all new plank caulking, fasteners
reset, stripping all old hull finishes,
sanding and more sanding, new through
hulls, new sleeves and bolts for the
stainless chain plates (bowsprit and
mast), new teak rub-rail, a West Epoxy
saturation coating, three prime coats,
three finish coats at the waterline and
above, with a sacrificial bottom paint
also in three coats. Teak topsides were
all sanded, caulking restored, and teak
oiled in multiple applications all summer
2008. The mast was reinforced with
a fiberglass mat/epoxy lamination, while
other spars were stripped and varnished.
Sails were cleaned, reinforced,
where required, with a replaced 115
genoa. Running and standing rigs were
refurbished, lines replaced, winches
lubricated, with certain items supplemented/
replaced. Other sails are
planned: a new main with two conventional
reef points (currently the main is
roller-reefed on the boom via a gearboxed
gooseneck), an accommodation
for a double headed cutter rig, a topsail,
and a spinnaker. Winches serve the
main halyard, the gaff lift, the genoa
sheets, and the anchor.
Cabin goodies were all put back
into service, pressure water with tankage,
a full featured galley, VHF and FM
radios (the later with a cassette player),
safety equipment and fire extinguishers,
two electric and one manual bilge
pumps, and a new water closet with
holding tank. Sailing instruments
restored/replaced include: compass,
wind, speed, and depth as well as a bilge
sensor… all with night lighting
 DULCINEA SAILS
Being
berthed at the White Bear Boat
Works docks on White Bear Lake has its
advantages. Taking but a few minutes to
prepare for getting underway, a skipper
can go from an agonizingly dull business
meeting to being afloat, reaching
out under the sun in less than a half an
hour. New canvas covers, color coordinated
in teal to match her freeboard
include a boom cover, or an optional full
boat stem to stern cover. Her new hull
sides are amply protected by a combination
of fenders and vinyl dock plank
strips. The maiden sailing season and its
varied weather conditions of 2008 was
mostly a delight with the restored hull
swelling nicely.
The
little craft is well handled by
her new Yamaha 4 hp, 4 cycle long stem
outboard engine. The engine contained
fuel tank allows for two circumnavigations
of the lake, while the transom concealed
tank provides a full season of
powered maneuvering under normal
sail-power use. A one-third throttle setting
gives an easy 6 knot speed.
Setting sail under an authentic gaff
rig presents several more tasks than the
conventional modern rig. Hoisting the
gaff topping lift coincidentally with the
main halyard is the first challenge, and
those skills get repeated in reverse when
dousing or reefing sail. Outhauls on the
gaff and the boom assist in trim. The
mainsail appears substantially over scale
with its head dangling well off the mast
and much higher than the gooseneck of
the gaff. But, when well trimmed, the
massive trapezoid gives the impression
of a powerhouse. Playing her genoa in a
conventional manner (she has a roller
reefing option as well as a hanked-on
headsail plan) the boat moves out smartly.
KIND OF LIKE A PETERBUILT
TRUCK. She handles in a purposeful,
deliberate way, not at all fast, but very
assuredly. Her full keel gives her rudder
the feel of an afterthought. One learns to
guide her through a turn with a fair
degree of patience to find out how much
influence your last urging has made.
The whole thing makes immense sense
as the bowsprit dips in rhythm to our
pace as it responds to whatever the condition
are on the water's surface. The little
rascal is completely deceptive in her
ability to persuade her crew that they
have the privilege of being far out at sea
aboard a craft twice her size. I can hardly
wait to further complicate her rig and
sail-plan so as to find out if all can be set
before the opposing shoreline forces the
impossible next maneuver. She handles
well single-handed with critical lines all
fed to the cockpit, and can engage other
crew assistance as the skipper sees fit.
SHARING THE JOY
Most good things are immeasurably
enhanced when they can be shared, particularly
if the carefully applied expenses
run to a level that sharing them
makes much more sense. From the outset
I have held the opinion that there are
other "wingnuts" out there that would
take pleasure in having the experience
that I am willing to speculate that only
little Dulcinea, on White bear Lake can
provide. Not only is the sailing experience
unique (try a setting sun dipping
up and down over her nose on your
return to port), but the anchorage experience
would have to rival being underway.
Dulcinea is set up with every
above- and below deck lighting requirement
imaginable, plentiful ventilation
with screens, and accommodations for
every personal need expected during
overnight stays. She'll comfortably
sleep two below deck with others on
deck. The cockpit seats two well, with
her decks accepting another two. I don't
recommend more than four sailors. Her
movement under sail or power doesn't
appear to be much affected by a crew
from one to four as her gross weight
approaches 4,300 lbs. and her fat wooden
hull enhance stability.
A preliminary draft partnership
agreement has been prepared to facilitate
shared ownership. Details of her
costs and other business/technical matters
are available. Contact: Granger
Whitney, 2801-A Lexington Ave. No.,
Roseville, MN 55113-2020, ph: 651-
493-3859, cell: 651-235-3668, fx: 651-
493-3869, or e-mail: grangerwhitney@hotmail.com
Granger B. Whitney, of Roseville,
MN, sails on White Bear Lake,
Minnesota and charters on Lake
Michigan.
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