Between 1957 and 1970 Cheoy Lee produced approximatley 133 folkboats originaly sold as the the Offshore 25, better known as the Frisco Flyer.

There were three versions of this small blue-water boat.
91 in all wood and 42 in Fiberglass with wood. There were 55 Type I's and II's and 78 of the Type III's. The Type I (aka the Pacific Clipper) was an all wood boat, had a mast that was stepped through the deck, a traditional folkboat fractional rig and a smaller cabin. The Type II's had a larger teak trunk cabin and a masthead rig. The Type III's had a larger teak dog-house cabin, some "standing" headroom and a masthead rig stepped on deck. The earlier Type III's were solid teak built onto a fiberglass hull and the later Type III’s (1966-1970) were made entirely out of fiberglass with teak paneling.

This boat, Yard # 1507 is one of approximatley only 30 Type III's left. It was out of the water for the previous 16 years when I got it and then about another 5 more while I rebuilt it. It was an empty, cracked hull when given to me and needed a complete restoration/refit.
It took about five years of long nights and weekends of working outside under a tarp, in the garage or in the boat during cold winter nights, wet rainy afternoons and everything in between. The occasionally eager assistant on the project was my four (now ten) year old daughter who can have this boat as soon as I convince her mother to get another one. This blog is the record of all the work that "we" have done to the boat as well as some other somewhat related events with friends and family. Eventually, this will be put together in a book which will stay with the boat.


She still has plenty more to go but for now, Jackaroe has been in the water for a couple years now and thats all that matters...

To see past projects, use the links below.



Questions and comments to Matthewearlgarthwait@gmail.com





Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Jack, a Rowe


Young Jackson Rowe. My friend's 9 month old. No relation to Jack-A-Roe but still a great kid.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Article on Folkboats

The Frisco Flyer, like the Contessa 26 and the Invicta 26 are just a modern Folkboats. While some newer varieties have stretched and skewed the basic design to fit their individual needs, the Cheoy Lee Flyers remained truer to the original model in length, beam, displacement etc than most. Jack-A-Roe and the Folkboats mentioned here in this article share almost identical dimensions and design. LOA: 25 feet I inch, LWL: 19 feet 8 inches, Beam: 7 feet 2 inches, Draft: 3 1 feet 11 inches, Displacement: 4,322 pounds, Sail area: 258 square feet, Ballast: Cast iron, 2,315 pounds, Spars: Wood/aluminum. One of the smaller differences being that the Folkboats and international Folkboat class carry a traditional fractional rig as a part of the racing class requirements. Cheoy Lee was still offering fractional rigs for the Flyers at the buyers request in 65.

Short excerpt from an article on http://www.folkboatatlantic.com/


"So , what is the secret behind the success of the Folkboat?

To start with, she is a very good sailor. In light winds she is does well and while she may be not the fastest around, she is responsive enough to be very enjoyable to sail. When the going gets tough, she was and still is unrivalled. No matter what, the pressure on the tiller will hardly increase and she can be trimmed in such a way that any over dose of wind can be dealt with easily. The Folkboat is not only fun to race, but also safe to cruise. She is plain beautiful!


The Folkboat is everything a boat should be. She is still as simple as she's always been. This simplicity is what makes her special and she does not require any 'extras' to make her better.
The seaworthiness of the Folkboat made her a source of inspiration for many sailors. In the late nineteen fifties the first long distance voyages using Folkboats were undertaken. Some of these voyages included a trip in 1962 by Adrian Hayter, who sailed his Valkyr westwards from England to New Zealand. Then between 1975 and 1977 Australian Ann Gash circum navigated the Globe single-handedly in another Folkboat, Ilimo. But perhaps the best known long distance Folkboat is Jester, which was sailed by "Blondie" Hasler who single- handedly crossed the Trans Atlantic in 1960."



Bluenose comes to Portsmouth

This is me and the kid last summer on the Bluenose II.



It's pretty exciting for a kid (and her dad) when they can play pirate on a "big boat" like this. She had a great time and she loved the fact that they had dories on the deck, like the dory we have at home in the boatshed (garage). This same summer we went on the Coast Gaurd's Eagle when it came to town. While it was twice the size of the Bluenose, the kid wasnt rather impressed. It could have been the fact that we had to wait two hours in line just to be raced through the boat in 8 minutes. Could be the fact that they didnt give her an eye patch. What ever the case, the Eagle received two thumbs down from us.


Someone lost their hook.


For information on the Bluenose II....



and here













Saturday, February 24, 2007

How to build a sailboat in 10 easy steps...

Here's everything in the workshop...

Winch handles, winches, cleats, fair leads, blocks, faucet, turnbuckles. Everything that came off the boat for the most part was marked what it is and where it went. The smaller pieces were even individualy bagged with the screws/bolts and a label in the bag.



Cabin lights, motor throttles some blocks, teak footing for the stanchions...


More teak trim etc. Extensions for the galley table, the companionway drop boards



Hanging from the ceiling there is about 60 pieces of teak trim that lines the inside of the vee berth and the backs of the settee berths. Leaning against the saw is the base of the settee berths. Two openings on each side for two large drawers.



Next to the head is the table which fits in the cockpit area as well as downbelow. It has a deep hidden drawer in the middle for charts and a angled setting one side of the top to be used as a mini nav area.



Drawers

The tiller, other pieces of trim, the cabin sole and floor boards
The giant hatch cover in the back is from a slightly larger boat and not the Flyer.



This is a good shot of the stove that was in the boat. It would have been on the Starboard side as you enter the cabin. Its a small alcohol stove, which wont be going back into the boat. It just takes up too much room down below and I'll just one of our small one burners we use for camping.


At this point, all the wood down stairs has been stripped and or sanded and is ready for varnishing. The tiller handle and drop boards had previously been left to weather naturally, but I washed and brightened them with a teak cleaner and will be finished bright.



My helper..

Sac at Rye Harbor


So who needs wind when you look this fast standing still?

Start'em young.


"What's this Harken garbage? Wheres the bronze Merrimen?"



Does the rabbit run around the tree and down the hole or out of the hole and around the tree?

All mine, its all mine!!!

Somewhere Elsa'a crying.


Other than the fact that the winch handle (and sail-cover?) is about to go for a swim, this is a great shot of JK and his new boat. What is that thing, a Concordia?

(Whats really impressive is that theres no Hieneken hiding in the cowl. )

Another Volvo

I'm taking a crash course in Diesel motors. The classes take place anytime I'm near the motor with a couple of friends and a glass of rum.

Initially, I brought the motor over to the barn, (knowing I need a lot of help with it) but I'm now thinking I'll just bring it back over here to my place and slowly take it apart in the workshop (after the cabinets and berths are built and all varnish work is done).
I have allot of time to work on this thing before the boat gets wet and have plenty of help around when I eventually need it. Until then it'll be nice to be able to work on it whenever I have a free moment rather than having to drive down the road to work on it.

Here's a few shots of the motor over at the barn and links to the workshop and owner's manuals....




What it should look like when cleaned up....





Good news: After looking around in the boat shed (garage) this morning, I found the starter and control arm.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

A couple good shots from the fleet..

Lots more to come here when I have time.

The latest from Maki's Folks...

Mojito at Marina Cay, BVI


Mojito again


Cicada in the den.







S and S.

Not alot of wind, but it was more sailing than bailing this time on Charlie's Sacjawea.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Reward offered for missing dragon...

These are similar to the one that would have been in this boat in '65.

With some luck, I'll find another one on the Internet or at a tag sale. (Go find it Moch)










Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Rudder and topsides..

I took these shots of the boat yesterday, before the Valentine's day "blizzard".


The frame on the stern was built by one of the last two owners. Not sure who, but it does a great job of keeping the snow up and out of the way. I can still crawl into and out of the boat without a problem and work on the cockpit even when its snowing.


Port. I'm still amazed at the great shape of this hull. There is some crazing and very minor spider cracks where the stanchions were. There is also one dime-sized nick in the gel coat off the starboard transom.


The rudder.





Close up.


Up over the port side of the transom. Here you can see that the toe rail has been removed all together. You can also see the condition of the deck. There's one layer of marine ply joining the deck to the hull. Looks like this deck has seen some weather over the last few years, but thankfully the glass on it did to protect the wood. Another course of ply is needed to bring the height of the deck up to where it was when it was a laid teak deck. I know that I'm not putting teak back down on this because of the cost (and because I want to get in the water before my kid's in college). That said, I haven't decided how I'm finishing it (what to cover the ply with). Right now I'm thinking of using Dynel because from what I've read, it looks allot like traditional canvas and is sturdy as hell.


Another shot. The tiller is off and in the basement being sanded and varnished.


Cockpit area. The owner before last started to replace the seats and did a great job. None of this wood needs replacing. Some TSP/bleach for the seats and lots of teak brightener/varnish for the rest. There are some nice (original?) teak floor grates that are also inside being cleaned up. The controls for the motor will be here, assuming we can get the motor running. Not sure what the small square section is just aft of the motor well cover. Stuffing box access? What ever it was doesn't open now.


Long starboard locker. Everything here is in great shape and needs minimal attention. That varnish on the undersides gives me hope that these things will clean up nice.


Shorter starboard locker, closer to the companionway. The fuel tank was set up in here and will likely stay here unless something else needs the space (like outside access to an icebox). How great would it be to be able to grab a refreshing cool beverage on a hot day without having to wait for someone to go down below?




Port side windows. On more recent models like 67's and 68's, the cabin house is fiberglass with teak boards attached to the outside and a teak veneer on the inside. On this boat, the cabin is solid teak through out and is topped with marine ply and glass. There are a couple of spots where the boards have separated. Need to address this before any varnish.


Port Dorade.



Cabin top, hatches and grab rails. Original teak rails. Good shape considering their age. Will likely make new ones this winter. Black locust? I was able to scrape and sand all this before the storm hit and it is all in great shape. This will be a quick fix when the weather warms up. Nice bright white cabin tops.

Font of doghouse


Bow deck. No rot anywhere (so far).