Guided Discovery: Hingham Adventures: Popping the Cork on a 17 Year Old NEW Boat

We were coming back from Quincy on Thursday morning (May 10) around 11:00 AM when we ran into a traffic jam at the Quincy Fore River Bridge. While sitting in traffic, I got a call from Bob Swartz, my friend and the diver who cleans Guided Discovery's bottom.

Side Story: Getting my bottom cleaned is a bit of a problem. Hingham Shipyard Marinas will not allow a diver to clean the bottom at my slip. Nor do they have the capacity to lift my boat. So, due to some insurance issue on the marina's side, or a policy to force the boaters to use their lift for bottom cleaning, I am forced to leave the marina and anchor off Grape Island. But that adds complication. Bobby and I have to coordinate weather and tide. If he could clean the bottom at the slip life would be easy. At Marina Jack in Sarasota, the number one marina in the USA (i.e., Dockage Magazine's Marina of the Year 2015), they allow bottom cleaning at the dock and supply the divers,

Back to the story. Turns out we were both caught in the same traffic jam, which was a coincidence. Bob was calling to check progress on our Sarasota to Hingham voyage. During the conversation Bob said he was headed to his cousin's home just over the bridge in Weymouth to watch the process of removing a 44 foot sailboat that his cousin had built - I repeat built by his own hand over 17 years - from the "garage" (shed - call it what you will). Would I like to see the boat?

You've got to be kidding. Of course was my answer was YES and Bob provided the address. After dropping Diana off at the boat I headed over to see the sailboat.

I arrived around 12:00 PM, met Chris Ready, Bob's cousin, and was blown away with the project.

The sailboat sits in the shed awaiting removal
Notice the wooden boards used a a ramp for trailer tires (more on this later)

A bit about the boat. She's a 44 feet long sloop (one mast) with a displacement of 26,000 pounds. She was built from 1" mahogany planking. She has one stateroom and one head. She's powered by a 63 HP Westerbeke diesel engine and carries 100 gallons of fuel, which gives her a range of just under 300 miles when running UNDER POWER at her hull speed of 7 knots (1,800 RPM). Her mast is 50 feet tall. Running under sail her range is unlimited. She has a 100 gallon water tank and will have a water maker for long range cruising. Chris provided a machinery room for a generator but does not plan to install one.

Chris is a 52 years old semi-retired carpenter who was schooled as a boat builder. Building the boat is a dream that he has made come true.

Bobby Swartz and boat builder Chris Ready pose with the boat

Chris selected the project from a book of boat plans developed by naval architect Bruce Roberts Gibson. He's been working on the project for 17 years. The project started with the building of a shed in the back of his mother's home. Atop that shed is an apartment where he resides with his wife, Nancy. He explained that the hull and superstructure were built during the 9 months where temperatures in New England permit construction in an unheated shed. During the dead of winter he worked indoors building the interior. At present the interior is finished. Unfortunately, Chris had sealed the interior two weeks. I would have love to have seen it.

The boat is currently 90% complete. Finishing the project includes installing a 10,000 pound lead keel (fabricated in Rhode Island), which is waiting for the boat in North Carolina, and then fiber glassing the hull and topsides. That will be followed by installing the mast, boom, shrouds and stays, railing and running gear (shaft and propeller). Finally, the fiber-glassed hull and topsides will be painted.

Chris was forced to move the unfinished boat due the sale of his mother's home. The yet unnamed boat is headed for North Carolina where Chris will have a 12 month building season.

I asked Chris what was involved in building the hull and how did he bend the 1" mahogany planking to create a smooth hull. He explain that very little bending was needed due to the spacing of the bulkheads. Essentially, he laid the keel and then installed the vertical bulkheads. The planks were then installed one at a time. The hull has a very smooth finish as you can see in the photos.

View of planks attached to stringers

Now to the process of removing the boat from the shed. Certified Marine Transport was selected for the job. Bryan and his three man crew were not on site when I arrived but their transport trailer was.

Certified Marine Transport trailer parked in front of the Ready residence

Turns out that the transport trailer in the photo above was too big either to get under the boat or once under and loaded, the boat would be unable to clear the top of the shed. So, Bryan and crew had left to secure a smaller (lower) trailer.