Venture	36

 

		Venture was built by the Stone Boat Yard in San Francisco in 1949.   A brilliant racing career in San Franscico Bay during the 1950's and 1960's broke every one of Venture's frames, and she also sank twice, which led to problems later on.   In 1994 she was brought to Seattle with Tarfon and Yankee Doodle. Venture was moored at the Center for Wooden Boats where she a beautiful exhibit and made many friends, but beneath the paint she was deteriorating.   She went to Port Townsend, WA for major restoration in 2006, but the damage of her early years had caught up with her. We expected to replace frames, floors, and deck, but we discovered that her planks were brittle, her fastenings had evaporated, and even her stem and keel backbone needed to be replaced. Caulking, paint and spirit had held her together.
With Venture at the end of her life, we commissioned a replica to be built at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (NWSWB) in Port Hadlock, WA. As far as we know, this is the first time a Yankee One Design has been lofted and constructed since Flotsam in 1963. Lofting began in January of 2009, and we hope to launch in the summer 2010. Many thanks to Tim Lee and the students at NWSWB for the exquisite craftsmanship that is going into this new vessel.   View photo albums of the construction:   Venture, before and after   Lofting and building the hull 2009   Winter 2010   For more information about Venture, contact her owner, Sarah Howell.