Bruce Halabisky
Beginning at age 13, Solianna Halabisky spent six years building, with her father, an 11′ dinghy whose design she specified with designer Laurie McGowan. Here, she sails the boat, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, on Cascade Lake on Orcas Island, Washington.
As a traditional boatbuilder and a father, I naturally hoped that someday my children might take an interest in my trade; I had romantic visions of passing on the lessons and myriad woodworking tricks of building a wooden boat to my two daughters. However, I was also aware of the fickle nature of the parent-child relationship: push too hard or appear too eager and they might run in the opposite direction like the sea captain’s son who moves to Idaho to raise cows. I had to approach my daughters’ woodworking education with finesse and self-awareness; I knew I could be a bit of a fanatic when it came to explaining the intricacies of the dipping-lug rig or marveling at the cleverness of a finely sharpened compass plane. My oldest daughter, Solianna, could execute a sly eye roll as I droned on about some obscure bush used in boatbuilding or the chemical composition of a proper keelbolt. I resolved to bide my time, play it cool, and not be that weird old dude yammering on about pine tar, caulking irons, and the tragedy of a lumpy sheer.
I was therefore caught off guard one morning when Solianna, who was 13 at the time, approached me and casually said, “Hey, Papa, I think we should build a sailing dinghy.”
Woah! Breathe deep. Restraint. Years of subtle and not-so-subtle brainwashing were coming to fruition! Don’t blow it. Play it cool. “Oh?” I said, trying to hide the shaky excitement in my voice. “What did you have in mind?”