Nesting Dinghy Activities | Port Townsend Watercraft BLOG

40th Annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat festival

Ashlyn BrownSeptember 27, 2016

Two weeks have already slipped by since the festival! I am late to express my deeply felt gratitude to everyone who makes the festival happen, (http://nwmaritime.org/) , all who participate, and all who come to talk wooden boats and all things boaty. I realize that is a big blanket statement.

ptwatercraft.com — Our booth with WEST SYSTEM EPOXY and 3 PT 11's on display!

For the past 5 years we have been very fortunate to share a tent with WEST SYSTEM EPOXY. This year Alan Gurski (CEO) and Bruce Niederer were on hand with their comprehensive and unbiased knowledge about epoxy; its uses, history, and the very chemistry of it all. If you want to understand epoxy, pros and cons, these are the guys to talk to.

There were more than a few of our customer boats in the festival. PT 11 nesting dinghies and PT Spear dinghies were to be seen on boats, behind boats, at the docks, and out in the bay.

Two customer PT Skiffs graced the festival as well. Both boats are mind blowingly beautifully built and equally unique interpretations of the kit. High compliments are due to these two builders.

Steve Merrill wipes the morning dew from his PT SKIFF, Takin' Five. Steve has been meticulous with his build, taking his time. He says he has been really enjoying it and getting creative especially with his 'expanding' driver seat and his self bailing installation.

This seat hinges up, slides forward and ......

....expands into a romantic, "side-by-each" joy ride seat. My jaw dropped upon seeing this. But, alas, there are NO PLANS for it so you will have to charge up the brain-waves to create your own if you want one!

Our friend, Cooper Parish, took time off from his high-tech job at Scaled Composites in Mojave, to help us at our booth again this year. We love having him! We want him to keep returning every year so we make sure he gets plenty of sailing time in! In spite of being the smallest boat with the least sail area, Cooper sailed 'Rascal', a PT SPEAR, to a 3rd place finish (out of 6) among the Non-T-Bird class in the 26ft and under race.

Of the events in the bay over the weekend, I totally missed getting photos of the Schooner Race. With a piping wind, it was one of the fastest schooner races on record at the festival. It was over before I could get to the beach with the camera. I hear it was eventful! John and Anne Bailey's recently re-launched , Sir Issac, snuffed the fleet.

The PT Wooden Boat Festival is always a colorful affair. It is an overwhelming weekend for us, exciting, exhausting, and encouraging. Customers often visit us at this time and we see our 'family' growing. We are seriously looking forward to holding a casual, PT11 sailing regatta of sorts and I will keep you posted on any development in that direction. Thank you all again. AEB 😉

Fun overview Video off of You Tube..

Summer’s Final days

Ashlyn BrownSeptember 3, 2016

Yesterday morning began with a tropical downpour that is just as out of character for the PNW as this summer's 90 degree temperatures. A few days ago the driveway was suddenly littered with crunchy yellow alder leaves. It has hit me hard that summer is coming to an end. For us, it also means that our local Wooden Boat Festival, (the 40th!) is upon us. We will be there! September 9, 10, & 11.

We are pleased to announce that two, customer built PT Skiffs to be at the festival this year!

Mojo at the Wooden Boat Festival

Immediately prior to festival, we will be in Deer Harbor (Wooden Boat Rendezvous), and just as promptly after festival, we will set sail northward, incommunicado, for 2 weeks.

We try to go sailing every year after festival and this year is special as it will be our first trip in our 'new' boat. We have yet to give it a name and perhaps this first real sail on her will help us decide on a name from our list, many suggested by friends.

If you are curious about our odd but inspired cruising boat, a G-32, the original promo videos can be seen HERE, and Russell's refit blog HERE.

We will have the PT 11 with us as we travel up to Desolation Sound and back. During that 2 weeks we will aim to get new video, recharge our creative and productive energy banks and be on full power for our busier Biz season; Fall through Spring. Hence, we will be a little difficult to reach by phone and a little slow to respond to emails for the rest of September, but please write and leave messages anyway! We will get back to you and new production favors the early birds. There is also the quick deposit button if you are ready to secure your place in line for kits while we are away.

While I am at it, I want to share a couple of pictures of some dinghy fun from this summer. It is exciting for me to realize that quite a few PT 11's and PT Spears have been completed locally and regionally (with many more on the way!). We had our first 'mini regatta' of friends at Watmough Bay this summer and look forward to having more PT 11 'meets' in the future.I also have this vision of a Wooden Boat Festival here, perhaps the 41st next year, where-in a veritable fleet of PT 11's and Spears fills the foreground of the sail-by on Sunday afternoon, escorted of course, by several PT Skiffs.... my how our family is growing. Mark it on your calendars if you think you can make it. 😉 AEB

Mid August PT11 and PT Spear buddy sail in Port Townsend Bay. Here, stopped for lunch at the North West Maritime Center.

ptwatercraft.com by Ashlyn Brown — One of my favorite festival sail-by's, up close and thick with sails...

2016 Port Townsend Shipwright’s Regatta

Ashlyn BrownMarch 14, 2016

Fun! For the second year we had a blast in our PT 11 as the smallest entrant in the Shipwright's Regatta hosted by the Port Townsend Sailing Association. Russell was at the helm and I was ballast, chocolate dispenser, and "kite" handler, .... hmmmm... maybe we have some work to do if we are going to get real about racing...

Of course Russell would have been much faster by himself but no fun without me! Kidding aside, we didn't do all that bad (13th out of 19 boats in Class B) since our competition was all multiples of us in waterline. (except for Simeon in Noddy, his SCAMP)

It was a beautiful day, perfect breeze, sunshine, and little chop. I took some photos and Ace managed to capture a shot of our "kite" on the down wind leg... yes, it really was a kite. I could not get it out from behind the mainsail but it actually did have some pull to it. The one time I got it up higher, it nose dived into the water and became an instant drogue. A funny experiment that confirmed we could come up with an 'itty bitty' spinnaker and make use of it. We shall see...

Oddly, for Russell and I, it takes more discipline to actually get it together to participate in our local sailing events than to work in the shop and office every day! Gotta work on that... 😉 AEB

Pictures follow.

ptwatercrfat.com — T-Birds in their own class. photo-Ashlyn Brown

PT11-“off label uses”..

Ashlyn BrownDecember 27, 2015

This letter came in November and I have the author's permission to post it along with the pictures he sent. It is clear by the pictures, that this boat has gotten some real use. Nothing could please us more. 😉

"The boat went into the water Thanksgiving 2014. Since then I’ve spent a lot of time with it. I have become quite jaded over the years with lots of bluewater miles and lots of hours racing a thistle-not to mention dozens of other boats. However I think I can state unequivocally that this boat is by far the most fun I’ve had on any boat in a very long time.

I have to confess to some off-label uses—on Sunday I was on a lake in Northern Massachusetts and had an adventure in an unexpected snow squall. Gusts 15-20 and horizontal snow. The gusts went away and I managed to keep the boat bottom side down. It took me a long time to regain normal feeling in my toes after I got back to base.

In So Cal (my normal stomping grounds) I can take it lots of places that neither a Thistle or a Canoe (two of my other boats) are comfortable. The Thistle is too much boat for a narrow cove with gusting winds and canoes don’t deal with surf (at my level of skill—though they are fun in whitewater rivers). I bought a small Rocna and use it to anchor and dive off of the boat. Dolphins seem frequently curious about the unusual traffic and check the boat out. You don’t realize how big they really are until you are eye to eye from water level.

In one incautious moment (or of one of several) on a flat calm day I rowed into a little cove. There was a rock pillar in the center of it, but I didn’t think anything of it. A boat wake from a passing ferry picked the PT11 up and deposited it directly on top of the pillar. I was really worried it was the end of my favorite toy. However when I got back to the dock, there was a slight paint chip aft of the mast area and NO OTHER DAMAGE! This boat is strong.

In another adventure had a 2+ mile long plane down a lake in New Hampshire in a really big blow. I knew it was a bad idea but I was flying all the way and it was too much fun. I did not succeed in taking the boat upwind. After a couple of capsizes I gave up and left it on the lee beach until the weather changed. I think I would have been OK, but the boat was so slippery inside that I couldn’t get up on the rail between tacks. I simply fell down.

I’ve since put a tasteful patch of non-skid on the floor of the boat, and found that I can feather upwind sitting on the rail, even in a good bit of wind.

Matt Foreman
Newport Beach, CA"

Sailing off to wild places

adminOctober 2, 2015

This last June and July, Russell and I sailed our multi-hull from Port Townsend to Haida Gwaii/Gwaii Haanas park (also known as Queen Charlotte Islands) and back down the west coast of Vancouver Island.

There is really no way to accurately describe what it was like for me, or the feeling that we dropped off into another world for a wonderful but all too brief period of time. "What does one do in absolute wilderness?" This was a question asked by my adult daughter. "It's more about being there." I finally said, but I lacked for words and still do.

I did take some pictures and videos but not many, nor do they capture the wonder that surrounded us. I simply spent more time looking, listening, breathing, and just being.

We were tandem sailing with dear friends, Alex and his rotating crew (all the coolest of people), and we met up with "Blackbeard II" and "Able" along the way. We also met some really interesting people in port. There was a lot of curiosity, honesty, generosity and simple human graciousness in the people of North Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii. Thinking about some of those people still kind of blows my mind. A blog post just isn't the place to do them justice. Of the Haida villages, we visited Skedans, Hotsprings Island, and SGang Gwaii. I was very impressed with the "Watchmen"; each one very different, each one with a story to tell in their own way, and each clearly passionate about their culture, history, and path into the future. I am so grateful, for the whole experience.

This adventure was in the planning since summer 2014, with our friend, Alex, on his lovely and magical boat, 'Vito Dumas'. Sailing in tandem with Alex is one of our great pleasures in life and we try to make at least one small trip every year. This one was a big one, 6 weeks and over a 1000 miles. He carried a PT 11 on his fore deck and we had ours on the trampoline. We were able to go adventuring in both boats and actually get some new video. Alex has become our PT 11 Star. Thank you, Alex! Some video is already published, others yet to come. Here is a video glimpse into our trip.

My 'take-away'? .. Nature, harmony with nature, back to nature; it is so nurturing so let's do more to preserve and help nature recuperate from human destructiveness. I left Gwaii Haanas feeling hopeful.

If you want to go to Gwaii Haanas, you need to do their orientation, make reservations and buy passes. It is not difficult and it is so very worth it.

Contact: Ginette,
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site
60 Second Beach Road, Skidegate BC V0T 1S1 |
PO Box 37, Queen Charlotte BC V0T 1S0 |Email: gwaii.haanas@pc.gc.ca Website: www.pc.gc.ca/gwaiihaanas
Telephone | Téléphone 250-559-8818
Toll Free | Sans frais 1-877-559-8818
www.parkscanada.gc.ca | www.parcscanada.gc.ca
www.facebook/gwaiihaanas | www.facebook.com/GwaiiHaanasFR

For an interesting approach to harmonious living that you can visit, see: http://www.roseharbour.com/

‘it’s not just a boat..’

adminJanuary 4, 2015

we received a very special New Years gift from PT 11 builder Cassie McDermott. It was a really nice email and a pdf attachment from 10 year Milo, for whom she built the boat. She concluded her letter thus:

"I knew that your boat changed our lives, but I didn't realize just how much. I am overwhelmed and feeling completely blessed for what you and your boat has brought our family. In the end, it's not just a boat."

.."Please feel free to share Milo's story. Maybe it will inspire other young folks to get into boatbuilding and sailing. " Click here to read Milo's story about his PT 11 ... and something more..

Summer 2014 Videos

adminOctober 10, 2014

I have more raw footage to play with but these are the latest from this summer. Click on the titles for the story and video,

A bit of 'white water' in the PT 11

Sky rowing in the PT 11

Camp Cruising July 2014

or watch all our videos on PTW You Tube !

The 38th Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival

adminOctober 10, 2014October 11, 2014

September 5-7th were the days of the 38th Annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival.
This year was unique for us due to having a relative fleet of PT 11s on hand; 8 or 9 PT 11 dinghies could be seen over the weekend of marvelous sunshine and sailing breezes, tethered behind their "motherships" in the harbor or out in the bay among so many beautiful boats!

Joining them was our own PT 11 captained by Cooper Parish.

Cooper (who currently works for Scaled Composites) has built a PT 11 at the NW School of Wooden Boat Building. Many of our friends and customers share our deep appreciation for innovative aircraft as well as boats. We love the following picture Cooper sent to us earlier this summer, (wearing a Port Townsend Watercraft hat!) and we love having his help at the festival!

As usual, I did not get out and about to take more pictures. The reason, I am pleased to say, is that our display maintained a virtual flood of visitors and our team (including my wonderful sister, Dana) was happily kept busy showing off 2 PT Elevens (one on the stand and one for rowing demos), and a PT Spear, (generously loaned by Mr. Swantner).

Our tent hosts, the smart folks from WEST SYSTEM EPOXY, were on hand with expert epoxy advice, interesting props and informative booklets. This year’s festival was also special and memorable due to having our dear friends, Kathy Massimini & Steve Callahan here. Steve was a guest speaker for the festival. If you have not read his book Adrift or don't know about Steve, you've missed out. See his website HERE.

You might already know about Off Center Harbor, and all of the really well done, interesting videos they offer on a wide range of boating topics. We were honored (and pretty camera shy) to receive an interview request from the OCH team. Filming took place right after the festival and the video will be available sometime in the future. Thank you Steve Stone and Off Center Harbor!

The fine weather inspired more boats to be out sailing for the entire three days than I have ever witnessed in my 5 years of attending. The final ‘Sail-By’ was quite spectacular. If you missed it this year, mark your calendar for the first weekend of September 2015 and keep an eye on the NW Maritime Center website for events over the year.

Please enjoy a small album of pictures I took during the Festival.

Some videos of this years' festival are on You Tube. This is a particularly artistic slide show. HERE

PTW AB 😉

Featured Launchings, Fall 2014

adminOctober 9, 2014October 11, 2014

Enjoy Pictures recently received of boats launched this summer or boats in use. I love the new colors added to PT 11's; now sporting blue, green, sunny yellow, mellow yellow, cream, red, white...have I missed any? Beautiful!! Keep those pictures coming! What do you think about a photo contest???? Let me know and I will work on prizes to offer. 😉

forget_me_not_a_PT11_sm — PT 11, 'Forget Me Knot' in New England.

Builder spotlight 9/14

adminOctober 7, 2014October 10, 2014

On June 30th, Cassandra McDermott and 10 year old Milo arrived to pick up their PT 11 kit. 'Cassie' is a young woman who delivers boats, does a lot of sailing, boat finishing, refinishing, and polishing. I suspect she is very good at it, too.
Meeting Cassie and Milo (who also loves to sail) was a real pleasure. It was particularly exciting to have a pre-teen totally into building a PT 11 and that a woman was to be the primary builder. It often feels like building boats is perceived as 'such a guy thing' and I like to encourage more female involvement with the kits.

Besides the distinction for Cassie & Milo as the first ‘mom & pre-teen’ team so far to build one of our kits, they did it in record time.
On August 3rd, barely a month after picking up the kit, we received an email, and I quote, “Well we launched last week! I will send you some pictures soon....We are having a blast. She is a great boat!” Then she sent this great photo of Milo in the boat, with it’s shiny blue hull, (in honor of the SEA HAWKS)... Russell and I were very impressed!! 😉

Cassie totally dedicated herself to the project, including setting her alarm clock for 3AM to make a fill coat. They really familiarized themselves with the manual so that while waiting for one thing to cure, they knew what they could begin to prepare and have ready for steps later on. Warm summer weather helped while they had several simultaneously curing parts. This consolidated a lot of the 'waiting-for-cure' time inherent in wood/epoxy boat building."The build went really well. We made a few mistakes-nothing structural and nothing we couldn't fix," she told me.

They also had a strong motivation. Milo was going back to school at the end of the Summer and Cassie wanted to be sure he had plenty of time to sail in his new boat before then. Milo wrote us a letter that deserves a frame in our shop. Photos & captions following, (compliments of Cassie and Milo), tell much of the story best.

ptwatercraft.com photo by Cassandra McDermott — So there might be a few ice cream finger prints.

Building any kit can take weeks, months or years depending on a person’s working habits and available time. We recommend taking your time and enjoying yourself. Our builders have expressed real pleasure in the project and that is as much a part of it as the end result. The fact that Cassie met her self imposed and pretty short deadline AND had a great time is a testament to her skill and an inspiration for women boat builders! Hats off to you, Cassie and Milo!!

See some recent feedback from our builder's about our kits:

Robert in MA: It is a fantastic kit, and I thoroughly enjoyed the building project. Honestly, I felt a little intellectually lazy doing the build. Usually there are multiple details that have to be thought through, improvised, fleshed out, etc. Not with the PT11. You did all the thinking for me and didn't leave out anything. I didn't mind being lazy for a change. I can't think of a single thing to improve in the kit or manual. I can't wait to start rowing and sailing. August 2014

Simon in New Zealand: I didn't really realize how much of a delight to build she's been until the bumper had been stuck on and I was a little disappointed that there wasn't anything left to do except go sailing.