Many neighbors and friends graciously gave a hand with the boat, helping with everything from lifting and moving to sanding and filling, incredibly. They include Nick Bannon, Mark Coté, Merrill Grant, David Israel, Ivan Trindev and Elena Trindeva, Ron Wahlin, George and Pam Whitehouse, Elizabeth Whitehouse, and Lynn Wood.
And still more good friends—most of these are fellow writers—read various parts of the book and provided valuable encouragement and advice. They are Steve Blakeslee, Deb Caletti, Deborah Folka, Curt Gustafson, Susan Hazen-Hammond, Jane Isenberg, Susan Jensen, Dennis Ryerson, Les Wallach, and Joyce Yarrow.
An astonished thanks goes to Dr. Doug Lee, who gave us his perfectly good boat trailer.
The amazing library at Seattle’s Center for Wooden Boats offered a rich trove of resources for researching the history of boatbuilding and sailing. Both CWB’s Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival and the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival provided inspiration and impossibly high standards to strive for. Finally, I especially appreciate Greg and Nina Dortch, owners of the excellent Holly Hill House B&B in Port Townsend. Quite a bit of this book was drafted in their Victorian living room during my frequent expeditions to Port Townsend, and the writing just seemed to happen more smoothly there.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lawrence W. Cheek has written fifteen nonfiction books on travel, architecture, nature, and prehistoric North America. He currently teaches nonfiction writing at the University of Washington and works as architecture critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . He divides his too-scarce free time among sailing, sea kayaking, hiking, and boatbuilding.
1 At first I thought Perry had just been at sea too long when he reached for this term, but “hooker” is a legitimate word for a type of Irish fishing boat or any old boat. It derives from the middle Dutch hoeckboot, fishhook + boat.
Copyright © 2008 by Lawrence W. Cheek
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cheek, Lawrence W.
The year of the boat : beauty, imperfection, and the art of doing it yourself / Lawrence W. Cheek.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN : 978-1-570-61820-8
1. Sailboats. 2. Boatbuilding. I. Title.
VM351.C49 2008
623.822’3--dc22
2007049894
Sasquatch Books
119 South Main Street, Suite 400
Seattle, WA98104
(206) 467-4300
www.sasquatchbooks.com
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The Year of the Boat Page 23