Boats show up on this page in a variety of conditions and for a variety of reasons. Here, we have an interesting contrast of a classic sailboat and a classic powerboat.
Courtesy of Pat Fincham / Sensible Cruising DesignsNATIVE, which lies in Deltaville, Virginia, was built in 1970 by Allan Vaitses.
The first, NATIVE, is in usable condition but clearly shows weathering after a couple of seasons ashore with masts still stepped and the hull partially covered with tarps. Her owner has moved on to other interests and seeks a sailor who’ll keep this half-century-old gem going. He says that her bottom needs some refastening and caulking, and it’s obvious from the photos that a good deal of refinishing lies ahead. But what a lovely craft she could be! No one was better at designing handsome ketches with clipper bows than L. Francis Herreshoff (LFH). John Kendall, who had this one built as ALARIA, was so taken with the type that he owned several different LFH ketches, some used, and others built for him new. This design, named Nereia, provides full headroom and a generous interior as well as stunning good looks. She’s a real little ship, with bulwarks all around and a place on the bridge deck for a dinghy. All of her drawings are in LFH’s book Sensible Cruising Designs as well as a how-to-build description.
Courtesy of Pat Fincham / Sensible Cruising DesignsShe was built to the Nereia design by L. Francis Herreshoff.
NATIVE Particulars
- LOA: 36′
- LWL: 31′6″
- Beam: 11′
- Draft: 5′3″
- Displacement: 24,000 lbs
- Sail area: 673 sq ft
- Official No.: 522550
- Designed by L. Francis Herreshoff
- Built by Allan H. Vaitses, Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, 1970
Courtesy of Bob Cairl / Yachting, June 1941SAGA needs considerable work to bring her back to the form shown in this photo signed by her designer, Olin Stephens.
Health issues and aging have brought SAGA’s owner to decide to dispose of her instead of carrying out his planned restoration. The boat is far from turn-key, but over the past 25 years the owner has made a lot of careful progress. There’s a great deal left to do, and for this she needs a seriously committed new owner. Luckily, the necessary mahogany, teak, and oak (almost 5,000 bd ft of lumber) go with the boat, along with refurbished hardware, rebuilt engines, and lots of other gear. The labor, some of it requiring skill, will amount to replacing the outer layer of bottom planking (her entire hull is double-planked); fitting and installing the remaining new sister frames and floors; reinstalling the tanks, engines, heads, and controls; sheathing the decks with plywood and teak; and building a galley.
Courtesy of Bob Cairl / Yachting, June 1941The layout is unusual, with the aft galley originally for a paid cook.
SAGA, one of four sportfishermen of that name owned by Charles Shipman Payson, was laid out for a paid crew. One of these was a cook, which explains why her galley is part of the crew’s quarters squeezed into the aft cabin with a ladder separating it from the big, light, and airy main saloon above, which is over the engineroom. With the owners’ quarters forward, her layout is reversed from the usual. I’d be for moving the galley up a level to be part of the main saloon, where the action is.
SAGA Particulars
- LOA: 53′2″
- LWL: 50′9″
- Beam: 12′10″
- Draft: 3′8″
- Power: Two GM 6-71N diesels
- Official No.: 241041
- Designed by Sparkman & Stephens
- Built by Quincy Adams Yacht Yard, Quincy, Massachusetts, 1941
NATIVE is located at Stingray Point Boatworks in Deltaville,
Virginia. For more information, contact the owner, Pat Fincham, by email at barbarafincham@gmail.com.
SAGA is located inside at Safe Harbor Toledo Beach Marina, LaSalle, Michigan. Contact owner Bob Cairl for more information at 419–704–0360 (cell) or email at coolstuff@att.net.
Maynard Bray is WoodenBoat’s technical editor.