Hooked On Wooden Boats

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Latest Episodes:

HOWB 017 – Dale McKinnon - Wooden boat builder, Long distance rower (800 miles AK to WA) - Interview - 01.12.12 Jan 02, 2023

Show notes

Starting with competitive swimming (including trials for 1964 Olympics), then moving on to sailing, skiing, diving and cycling, Dale has always been adventurous and an ultra active athlete. But after a skiing accident in 1999 that shattered her left leg, Dale was looking for her next adventure – something with low impact to the lower body, but still a great workout.

In Dale’s own words, here’s what happened next: “.... a few weeks later (after skiing accident), I stopped by my friend James’ house and he had plans for a dory spread out on his kitchen table. He showed me a photo of the boat’s designer rowing in a sliding seat rig in the boat, and for some reason lights and bells went off in my head. I had to build this boat, and I knew that rowing it would take me into old age with a relatively healthy body. No jarring, but a lot of exercise for the major muscle groups. And... I’d be on the water...”

Dale has dories in her blood. Her father is from Gloucester, MA and told Dale many stories of fishing and surviving tall seas in traditional planked dories. Dale did her dory research and went on to build several Sam Devlin designed wooden boats, including the 20ʹ dory “Bella” that she solo rowed 800 miles from Ketchikan, AK to Bellingham.

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You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

HOWB 016 – Tug Buse, Wooden boat builder, Long distance sailor, Historian - Interview - 01.05.12 Dec 30, 2022

Show notes

Michael “Tug” Buse grew up on the water. In fact, looking west from his parents’ Warm Beach (WA) home dining room, all you see is Port Susan bay and Camano Island in the distance. Beginning at the tender age of 10 months, Tug was getting sea legs on his parents’ wooden tugboat, the “Maggie B” while cruising around Puget Sound.

Buse always wanted to build a little sister for Maggie B. He wanted a boat that was his very own but closely related to his parents’ tug. Tug purchased plans for a ’14 sailing pram from the same renowned Seattle naval architect that designed the Maggie B – William Garden. The pram was designed to be easy to sail, stable, and rock solid on the water. He took Garden’s plans and built “Adventure” during five summers, finishing her in 2008 after a total of about 2,500 hours. She is a striking boat with a stout 6ʹ beam, cedar strip planking, a small cuddy cabin, and sitka spruce spars.

When Tug moved to Sioux City, Iowa to be a college professor at Morningside College in 2007, he felt landlocked. After doing a little research he discovered that the Missouri river system in his back yard was connected with other rivers to the south and eventually emptied into the Gulf of Mexico. Next, he discovered the intercoastal waterway, a mostly protected 3,000 mile long waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that could take him east along the gulf, then as far north as Maine to his alma mater, Bowdoin College. It was then he began planning his extraordinary journey.

The rest “is history”, as they say.

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You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

HOWB 015 – 1890 Elmore wooden tug boat owners Dee & Sara Meek - Interview - 12.29.11 Dec 26, 2022

Show notes

This week was an interview Dee & Sara Meek of Oak Bay, WA. The Meek’s have the distinct privilege of owning the 68ʹ, 1890 wooden tugboat Elmore. They purchased her in 1990 after Dee read an article about a couple that had turned a tugboat into a live aboard. He convinced Sara they should buy an ocean going tug to live on.

Shortly afterwards they found the Elmore on the Snohomish River in need of extensive cleanup and repair.

They figured one year would be enough time to clean up Elmore and get her ready to live aboard. After eight years of commuting 4 hours to the boat and working all weekend, they finished her up. Talk about perseverance!

The Elmore has a fascinating history including ferrying passengers and freight to the Alaska Gold Rush in 1898 and being stripped of all machinery in preparation for being scuttled in 1982 before she was rescued by Dave Updike of Seattle. Click this link to view the Complete History.

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You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

HOWB 014 – Jake Beattie, Exec. Dir. Northwest Maritime Center - Interview - 12.22.11 Dec 23, 2022

Show notes

This week is an interview with the exec. director of the Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation – Jake Beattie. Jake began sailing an El Toro's when he was seven years old, spent time sailing the San Juans on his family’s sailboat, and then went off to college. After college he decided to “volunteer” for 2 weeks on the Tall Ship Bounty back east. One and a half years later he finished that “two week stint” and then moved onto the Tall Ship Denis Sullivan for several years. After that Jake became a Seamanship Instructor with Outward Bound, worked on freighters and tugboats and then spent 6 years at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle. While working at the CWB, he lived on the north end of Lake Union and his “commute” consisted of sailing or rowing across Lake Union while stressed out motorists were crawling along Interstate 5! (I’m a little jealous Jake – hahaha)

Jake moved to Port Townsend and started as executive director of the Northwest Maritime Center in January of this 2011. Jake’s a firm believer that “if you gain competency in a physical, real world setting, the skills you learn will have a profound impact on your life”. Best to you Jake!

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You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned may be outdated and no longer valid.

HOWB 013 – Larry Cheek - Wooden boatbuilder, author, and journalist - Interview - 12.15.11 Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

This week I interviewed Larry Cheek of Whidbey Island. Larry is originally from El Paso Texas and had never even seen a boat growing up miles from water. But after moving to the Seattle area as a seasoned journalist, Larry was given an assignment in 2002 by Sunset Magazine to attend and write articles on two wooden boat festivals – Seattle and Port Townsend, WA. Larry attended both shows and got “hooked on wooden boats” by the craftsmanship, charm, and fascinating people. Thus began Larry’s wooden boat journey.

Larry quickly got his hands dirty by building a 14’ Artic Tern from a Pygmy Boat kit. Next he built a cedar strip kayak while in a boatbuilding class at the NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding. Boat number three was a 13’ Sam Devlin designed day sailor, which Larry aptly donned “Far From Perfect”. It was the experience of building this boat that drove Larry to write the insightful and transparent book – “The Year of the Boat” – chronicling the character building process of boat building. In the book he describes how he had to deal with his own personal inadequacies, impossible struggle with perfection, and test of patience to build this boat.

Boat number 4 – a Sam Devlin designed 18’ pocket sailor “Nil Desperandum” – was completed and launched this year. Larry is officially “hooked” on wooden boats!

You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

HOWB 012 – Bill Mahler, (former) NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding - Interview - 12.08.11 Dec 16, 2022

Show notes

This week I interviewed Bill Mahler, (former) director of the NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding. Bill tells me the story of how the school got started: After building wooden boats in the Puget Sound area for more than fifty years, master shipwright Bob Prothero had learned a lot about the business that wasn’t in any textbook. It was his dream to find a way to pass this lore along to new generations of wooden boatbuilders and help keep his craft alive. He came to the Olympic Peninsula from Seattle and founded the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in January, 1981.

You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

HOWB 011 – Marty Loken, Wooden Boat Aficionado, Builder, Restorer, and Rescuer Extraordinaire - Interview - 12/01/11 Dec 09, 2022

Show notes

This week I interviewed Marty Loken who owns the Island Boatshop in Nordland, WA (the boatshop is now closed and Marty is "retired"). Marty grew up around boats in Ballard, WA and from a young age, followed in the mentality of his dad – if you want a boat you simply build it. Marty was busy building his first wooden boat – a small pram – when he was 10 years old. Over the years he has refined his skills as a master builder. But he is also super passionate about rescuing old wooden boats – saving them from the landfills and chainsaws and restoring them to new condition. Over the years, I've personally witnessed Marty restoring and building dozens (if not hundreds) of boats! Each one is a work of art :D

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You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

HOWB 010 - Highlights of 2011 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival - Wooden Boat Dan - 11/23/11 Dec 08, 2022

Show notes

The second weekend of September this year I attended the PT Wooden Boat Festival for the 12th time. It was a blast as usual and the weather was sunny and HOT! And PT rarely gets HOT. On this podcast I share the highlights of the day I spent there with my son Josh.

If you've never been to the Festival, its high time you go!!

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You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

HOWB 009 – Rich Kolin, Boat Builder & Designer, Mentee of John Gardner and Pete Culler - Interview - 11/17/11 Dec 08, 2022

Show notes

This week I interviewed Rich Kolin who lives on Camano Island, WA. Rich began building boats as a young lad in California under the tutelage of influential builders and designers John Gardner and Pete Culler. Eventually he moved to the northwest where he continued to hone his boat building and designing skills, began teaching classes and wrote several books. Oh, and did I mention he learned the art of carving along the way!

One of his most popular designs is the Heidi Skiff of which he wrote a book - Building Heidi (available on Amazon).

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You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

HOWB 008 - Eric Harman, Traditional Wood Canvas Canoe Builder and Restorer - Interview - 11/10/11 Dec 08, 2022

Show notes

This week I interviewed Eric Harman of Harman Canoes located in Oso, WA. Eric builds wood canvas canoes following proven North American methods developed in the late 1800’s. Eric tells the story of how he fell in love with canoeing in the 1970’s, built a cedar strip canoe, and then found his first wood canvas canoe and never looked back.

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You can contact me at woodenboatdan@gmail.com to share you comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.

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