We cleared off a drawing board in my office and
my father went to work designing a shoal draft
cruising sloop. George was part of the design team
too. It was to be a pleasant and unhurried process
that would continue for several years as we
considered and developed different designs
The design we selected was for a boat 30 feet on
deck by 10-foot beam with a draft of 2’ 8”. She had
a big centerboard. When we discussed what the boat
might cost we simply looked at boats George had
built, his own Baby Doll of 26 feet and a 39-foot Alden
yawl, and made an educated guess. The final cost was
quite near the estimate, although helped by the gift
of a diesel engine, a gift from a client of mine. Because
of my long relationship with George and previous
experience in building boats together, there was no
formal contract. Since we had only lines and a sail
plan, a detailed estimate would not have been
possible anyway.
In October 1971 George lofted the boat from our
Table of Offsets. We had long since decided that the
boat would be strip planked. George had good
experience in this method of planking. My 20-
foot sloop was strip planked, and over the years
the topsides and bottom had remained quite
perfect. The mirror-like finish of the topsides
often caused dockside observers to ask if she
was she made of fiberglass.
Planking would be strips of seven-eighths inch
juniper held together with resorcinol glue and
bronze nails. Juniper, a tree native to Florida, is
good for planking as it remains stable with the
give and take of moisture.
The first part of the planking was to put up 10
molds on the keel assembly. The molds are on
the outside of the planking. Next there was the
“garboard.” The edge of this shape is to make
the rest of the strip planking equidistant from
the sheer. The inside of the hull was sanded
smooth with a disc sander. The floors were
bolted in with bronze bolts. Frames were
laminated on the planking with strips of
mahogany and resorcinol glue, and bronze
screws went through the planking and into the
frames. When finished her topsides were as
smooth as a china teacup, and are so to this day.
There were three experienced boat builders
at work – George’s brother Homer and Merle,
as well as George. As the hull took shape I drew
what I wanted for a cabin plan. We placed planks
54GASPARILLA ISLAND July/August 2018