I was greeted by a folded note as I got to SPARTINA before dawn this morning. It was from a man looking to buy a Pathfinder. I am not interested in selling the boat, I told him this in a text. I also told him that I was impressed that he recognized the design. Most people think it is a Drascombe.
I got out on the water before the sun crested over downtown. There was a nice breeze and it was still cool, perfect for a morning sail. I found I need to do some adjusting on the new standing rigging, it always takes me a while. It should not be too much trouble. Three hours of pleasant sailing before the heat arrived. I'll take that any day.
Sailing by the beautiful schooner FLYING DRAGON out of Key West there was a man on board having his morning coffee in the shade. I asked him who designed his boat. He told me Merrit Walters. I should have at least suspected that from the raked masts. The tall ship AMERICAN ROVER, also with raked masts and tied up just across the river, is another Merrit Walters design.
The man on the schooner then asked if my boat was a Drascombe. One out of two for the morning is not bad.
Nice sailing report Steve.
ReplyDeleteWe are impressed that you ran across someone who knew what a Drascombe was. In 40 years of sailing our Lugger, we have only had 2 folks recognize the design, one was a gent from Plymouth, England so he had an unfair advantage.
There used to be a time horses were recognized by their race. Times fly by fast. Memories and things of times fade even faster. Especially if the minds get filled with utter useless junk.
ReplyDeleteLove the pics Steve. Good job on the overhaul. Spartina is new again. You use dynema? Spliced it also? How is that working for you?
Kent, I can't even begin to count the times somebody thought I was sailing a Drascombe. In fact one time down in Beaufort NC a guy told me that I might have bought under another name but I was in fact sailing a Drascombe.
ReplyDeleteRik, yes, used dyneema for the shrouds, wire for the forestay. Easy to splice the dyneema. I need to do some adjust with the turnbuckles but it will all be good soon.
Steve