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hiya to everyone. so, i’ve been in love with sailing and sailboats since i was about 13 years old and now that i’m 38, medically retired from the army and have plenty of time on my hands just i figured it couldn’t be a more perfect time. i’ve been doing lots of looking, searching a begging (lol) over the last few years without much luck. you see while my income is permanant and steady and i have all the time i need, well i just never seem to have enough for the initial perchase. all of that changed about two weeks ago when i accquired a ’68 dickerson ketch rig (pics will be coming soon). for let me just say this about her and ask if anyone knows her as well. 1968 35′ dickerson ketch, named “Skaphe”, known issues…gapping of some planks (yes you can see daylight) and of course she needs a paint job. the plan is to use cpes to fill and seal the few gaps and repaint her by spring. other than that she’s seems to be in good condition, interior is in almost perfect shape, all the original equipment onboard IE; kerosene lamps, alcahol stove, deisel inboard (running) ect. the previous owner even gave me all the sails and spares, cushions, dishes, pots pans and all the tools on the boat. all this i bought for exactly $1.00. so did i do ok for a first (probably only) family cruiser?
Ahoy Steve!
Most importantly, thank you for your service to our country. Secondly__CONGRATULATIONS! Off the top, we know that “Skaphe” was formerly owned by Henry Lawrence of Queenstown, MD. I will try to provide you more detail when I look at my Dickerson records at my office.
Rest assured that you now own a classic and there are some folks here on the Forum who have refitted and maintained their D35’s with love and care–they will help you on your journey.
I know that you are excited and you should be. Expect to hear soon from the skippers (and former skippers) of “Irish Mist”, “Rainbow”, and “Restless” — all three D35’s. They will caution you not to be too quick to try to caulk the seams. These great boats will swell tight as a drum.
And as the Dickerson Owners Association Commodore, let me personally welcome you aboard. Please consider joining the DOA–instructions on this website.
“Ya’ done good”
thank you. believe me i am well aware of the deal i got. i do plan on a few upgrades and some re-fitting. my priorty right now is getting back to sailing condition (she was and the hard for about two years so there is dehydration issues and the gapping is enough that she has to be sealed before she touches water). among the list of future work are: upgrade the head, larger fuel & water tanks, converting the icebox to a fridge, modern eletronics (ie; radar, sonar, chart plotter though i do want to learn to celestial nav as primary navigation), also looking at watermakers as i plan on extended cruises with my two teenage boys. now i do have a few questions too:
does anyone have any experiances with watermakers and some advice? i’m looking into adding solar charging as well as wind vane turbine so any advice there would also be helpful. but my biggest question or favor really…we plan on launching in the spring and while i have some very minor experience sailing (i learned on a 30′ single masted open boat) i know nothing about sailing a ketch and rather than try to figure it out i plan on hiring a pilot to sail/teach me from Maryland to NC as i live in Fayetteville nc, which of course mean taking the ICW. so if anyone on here knows somebody in the maryland area (or wants to do it themselves) i would love to hear from them.
Steve,
After a quick review of our records, I didn’t come up with a easy trace of “Skaphe’s” past–but the sleuthing continues. When you get a chance, I’d appreciate any other data you can foward eg. previous owners/boat names/homeports/sail number, etc. It may be that we can hook you up with “past/past” owners who will know even her hidden secrets.
Is she an aft cockpit ketch or a center cockpit?
You’ll get some replies on your other questions soon–I’m certain.
sorry was so excited to share in the news i forgot to mention some of the important info. ok so here’s what little i know: she is an aft cockpit, i have a pic of her under sail and the main has the number 76 on it so i’m guessing thats her sail number (yes i know i don’t know much yet but i am learning alot very quickly), she does have the westerbeke diesel option, and the previous owner was Dick Lawrence (a wonderful fellow), oh, and she is currently on the hard in maryland, which is where the hull work will be done. so any locals who wanna stop by and check her out and offer their advice just email me for the location. and she hails from Queenstown md.
Steve,
I am owned by Rainbow, a 1969 aft cockpit ketch. I had the same issue with open seams many years ago when I had her out of the water for about six weeks. I saw the gaps in the planks and caulked them with Boat Life. Years later I found that this was a bad move. When the planks swelled up, they pulled themselves away from the frames and I did not know it. The caulking prvented the planks from returning to their natural position so they had nowhere to go but out away from the frames. The bungs started leaking and the entire are where the caulking was put in weakened because the planks moving out pulled the screws out of the frames.
My suggestion is this. When are getting close to launch, clean the inside of the hull as carefully as you can (a light sanding first might help since that will expose clean wood to the method I am about to describe). You want the inside of the hull clean so that when the planks do begin to swell, there is no debris inside the seam that will keep the seam from swelling up tight. Since these boats are not cauked with cotton and oakum, there is no margin for error if dirt gets in the seams.
Once you are cleaned, line as much of the bilge as you can get to with cotton towels or burlap bags while the boat is still on the hard. Costco sells cheap guest towels that fit nicely between the frames. Wet the towels down with a hose. They will hold the water for a good while and the planking will slowly start to absorb it an swell. Do this every day until ythey swell. It will take a while since she has been out of the water so long. If the seams do not swell completely, see if you can let her hang in the travel lift slings for a couple of days.
Best of luck and enjoy the boat. Hope to see you at the next rendezvous in June. Remember to check out the Treaseure Chest store for some things you absoultely need as a new Dickerson owner.
John
Hi, Steve, apologies that this has been too long in replying, forgot my password! I’m a past-owner of (or as the Rainbow1969 more realistically says, owned BY) a much beloved D35 ketch, Restless. You will LOVE this boat! These old classics are beyond great, and also a ketch is so much less hassle to sail (the sail area’s divided up, making for more flexibility). Check out the September (I think) newsletter, Restless is in that; I cannot unfortunately download large files (dialup is slow and this ancient computer is also), but if you can fire some smaller file sizes to Barry, he’ll fire ’em to me! He can give you my email if you want to see Restless when she owned me. Barry and Joe are absolutely super and can help you with the questions on hull repair and electronics – Restless at the time I had her didn’t have major soundness problems, and I couldn’t afford electronics, so I’d be no good at those items… did have her masts replaced and the old Graymarine worked on (I’m death on motors and they KNOW it too) – – but cosmetic stuff and good old varnish, oh boy, you can make that boat just plain beautiful again!
All my best for many DECADES of happy sailing, you have the boat to do that!
NancyHi Steve,
I assume heading to Fayetteville you’re part of the 82nd. In my past life i was as well, 1/325. I have a D36 cc ketch, Nauti Legal, If theres anything I can help you with the ketch, or the wind/solar generator let me know
Shane
Steve,
Think we would all appreciate a progress check. It won’t be too long before you can put an “X” on the calendar as the day you plan to come south. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of our members might try to adjust their schedules to help you ease your way down. Should be a lot of fun on the ICW with you going south and the “rest of the world” coming north.
If your schedule will allow, you might think about delaying your trek to coincide with the annual rendezvous in Oxford, Fathers Day weekend. That is absolutely the best time to meet many of us, look at boats and get great ideas.
i am definately saving and planning to attend in june. as for progress think we’re gonna get her wet, see how much she swells, adjust any planking thats out of place and seall her with 5200 (i think it’s a 3M product) and paint her top to bottom with some fresh paint. i’ve even settled on the color scheme: working from the keel up it’s gonna go; bottom will be a dark blue, then a 6-8 inch red stripe then white the one difference is i’m thinking of doing a slight angle so it’ll end up being blue almost all the way up to the transom and the bow will be white down to the waterline.
oh and shane i too was once in the 82nd as you correctly deduced, i did 4 years on active duty, the 5 in the reserves, then 6 in the NC National Guard before being medically retired after two tours in iraq. but the army was another life and now i’m moving on to a new life of open water and coastal scenery my teenage sons and i are looking at spending the entire summer aboard and abroad. maybe even homeschooling them from aboard next year.
Steve,
Thanks for the update. 3M5200 is very powerful stuff—and very stiff and permanent. I’d be cautious. These wonderful wooden boats are almost living organisms. As John (Rainbow1969) hints, the planks will swell, and if they can’t shift naturally, you will invite some unwanted consequences. So I would make sure you’ve reached natural equilibrium as John suggests before adding ANY sealant (most will tell you that none is required–PARTICULARLY 5200.)
Make sure you find Nancy’s pictures of Restless — a beautiful boat — before you buy too much bottom paint.
Great that we will meet you in June. We’ve already mades preliminary plans (as you’ve seen on this site).
AIRBORNE!
Barry
Barry is correct. 5200 is like welding wood. Permanent. Trust the boat to swell up even it takes longer than you would like. Good luck and see you in June.
Johnwell guys it seems the concensus is pretty simple…”get her wet”.. so i guess my spring break plans are pretty much locked in lol, gonna have to drop her in the water and stay onboard to monitor the bilges, mop, and generally keep her from sinking while she swells up. honestly i can’t say i’m upset by the idea though. if all goes well i might even be able to sail her to the meet in june. i’ve been tossing lots of ideas around in my head as far as upgrades go and for now at least i think i want to keep her as classic as i can while still comfy/safe so the list of “upgrades” is pretty short.. cold plate conversion for the icebox, radar, sonar, portable generator (not sure i want it to be a premenant install), and a watermaker (a small system should be fine since it’s just me and my 2 boys). speaking of my boys, they have decided we will spend the entire summer onboard at myrtle beach.
oh and can somebody tell me how to find nancy’s pics or if she can email them to me that’d be great too. my email is: stevechadduck@yahoo.comSteve,
Have a look in our September Newsletter on this site. Nancy is a very special soul who completely bonded with her D35 “Restless” all through a pretty extensive refit (just as you are doing). She did a wonderful job and it is readily apparent that she and her boat became one.
I’ll send you a few other D35 pics that I’m sure you will enjoy.
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