Chebacco News 80 – Three Rivers has a new home

I was very pleased to receive this email from Mike Capriola in North Carolina about his purchase of Three Rivers:

Hello.  I have recently purchased Three Rivers (3R) which is a 20 foot chebacco sailboat built by Ben ho and launched in 2007. Specifics in Ben’s own words:

“Measuring 19 feet 8 inches with a beam of 7 ft 9 inches, Three Rivers has that perfect balance of a spacious cockpit and a functional cabin for two. For the rainy nights, there is a cockpit enclosure that completely covers the cockpit and it is rain and wind-proof. She weighs 1500 lb, of which 250 lb is from four marine deep cycle batteries which also act as the ballast. The design is revised partly based on the Raised Deck (RD) version of Chebacco, with a raised floor providing a self-draining cockpit, strengthened backbone/keel in the after-end of the cockpit, and a larger rudder.”

Three Rivers in her prime in 2015 (Picture by Ben Ho)

Ben sold 3R in 2017 and the new owner eventually donated her to Northwest Maritime in Port Townsend WA to be sold to raise money for this wonderful non-profit. It would have taken very little to upend my half-baked intention to drive 2800 miles to purchase a boat I had not seen and do not know how to sail. Any unkind word, sarcastic comment, or question of my sanity might have been enough to scuttle the whole idea. Instead I was met with nothing but support and encouragement which surpassed anything I could have hoped for.

Aside from assisting me in tracking down a boat he sold 8 years ago, Ben Ho tirelessly and patiently answered my many questions, and indeed he continues to do so as I move forward with restoration work. David White at Northwest Marine was consistently polite, encouraging and obliging.  Marc Cartner of Port Townsend performed a careful inspection of the trailer and repaired and serviced it to make sure it was up for a long journey. That he did an excellent job is evidenced by the fact that the trip was accomplished without a hitch. And Blaise Holly of Haven Boat works inspected 3R, offered advise of what needed to be repaired and refused to take any money for his services. He did, however, accept a shipment of beer.

Three Rivers is now safely home under cover in North Carolina.

While still a beautiful boat Three Rivers definitely is in need of some cosmetic attention and a few other repairs.  All the brightwork needs to be refinished and the bronze hardware could use some polishing. The hatch cover also needs work.

The stem of 3R is a solid white oak coated with extra thick fiberglass. Unfortunately there is evidence of delamination. I am thinking some of this fiberglass needs to be removed to bare wood. Then I am debating primer and paint versus coating with extra thick epoxy.

Pictures of stem with close ups of areas of fiberglass failure:

I am looking forward to bringing 3R back to the shape she was in 10 years ago. I am also really excited to sail her. I would love any advice from the Chebacco.com community regarding how to best repair the stem.

Most importantly, I am looking for a mentor to help me learn to sail this boat. If anyone is interested and able to help, please let me know. I just trailered this boat from Washington state to North Carolina, so a few more hours drive to sail with someone who knows these boats is something I would be happy to do.

Thanks,

Mike

mikecapriola@gmail.com