April 2007

Dear friends,

Just when I thought things were going to slow down, we hauled out S.S. Sophie, the 80-foot Trumpy (contract 328, built in 1947), and launched the 1929 Consolidated Commuter Justice at the same time. After getting Justice to the dock, I headed to the Palm Beach Boat Show to see Joe Bartram’s Exact, a 75 foot Trumpy, Contract 420.

We had some minor warranty work that we wanted to take care of after the boat show. Most companies probably would not mention work that needs to be revisited but I have always been proud to stand by our work that we have taken to completion.

I would like to share a story from more than a few years back, about Col. Jack & Dottie Koneazny on the Fayaway, a custom 1940s soft ketch built in Nassau, Bahamas. I had been taking care of Jack’s boat for many years and he would bring her from South Carolina for her maintenance or so he said. Jack is retired military and runs a tight ship. He is also a writer and a fine chef.

On this haul out, we had fixed her side decks. After the launch, he was headed north. A few days went by when I got a call from Titusville. This was before cell phones became common. The message I received was alarming. Sailing the Intracoastal Waterway, yes sailing, the bridge tender had told them he would open and when it opened half way, it suddenly stopped. Heading down wind, they knew they weren’t going to make it. They hit the bridge. The heavy stays half in and chains that ran from bow sprit the stem, the impact pulled out the stem right out of the boat. As the mast started to break and head towards Jack, he pushed his wife overboard and deflected the mast away from him, breaking his hand. The spreader drove through the deck and out through the hull, below the water line. So if you are thinking the decks were maybe leaking, they weren’t. Col. Jack is a stubborn man and doesn’t give up easily. They brought the Fayaway back to me.

This whole ordeal had taken its toll on them. We made a deal to do this work in the off season and have her ready by the next winter. We built a new bow sprit, spliced new bottoms on to the spars and built a new stem. When I installed the new stem, we decided to use modern rubberized glue instead of putty and old-fashioned stop water in between the joints between the keel and stem below the water. After replanking the bow and replacing bulwarks, bow up and repairing the foredeck, the Fayaway was ready. So when Jack and Dottie returned that winter, we were painted and when we launched her after she swelled up, everything seemed okay. About two weeks in the water and she really started to leak in the bow. Jack brought her back to the shipyard. She was hauled out last boat and would stay in the slings overnight and go back first thing. So I pulled

Out the tools and got the power cords hooked up when it started raining, not a light rain but a flash flood type. I was so determined to drill and installed the stop water, a wooden dowel that I kept going. Dottie came up behind me and unplugged me before I electrocuted myself. The next morning, I installed it. I learned two good lessons: Keep to what has worked for centuries and don’t get so carried away that you get yourself electrocuted.

Although Joe’s warranty work wasn’t so dramatic, it involved interior veneer, it was still important to me. My father always said a man is only as good as his word and I have always tried to live by that.

As for the books that Col. Jack has written, he is in his third or fourth reprint on his Moose Cookbook. It think it has sold 300,000 or 400,000 copies. I didn’t know there were that many moose to cook. If you want one, his telephone number is 413-229-8841. He will sign a copy and write something special for you. You’re on you own on acquiring the moose.

I was recently asked when I find the time to write my letters. I just do. I think it might be something I learned from my father. He died when I was 10 but I still learned a lot from him. I truly enjoy writing it every month.

Stephanie, James and I recently headed to Beaufort, N.C. to stay at our little river cottage. My neighbor and friend, L.J. Hardy told me the history of our house. It was a “dollar house.” Mr. Hardy said, “Back in the 1950s, after the war, they would build you a house for a dollar down payment with the builder.” There were three of these little houses in South River, now only two remain.

The cottage reminds me of my childhood family getaways. Two years ago, my Uncle Merrill Moores sent me a drawing my father had done of a cottage called Kessler’s of Pompano Beach, FL. As children in the 1950s and early 1960s, my family would pack into our station wagon with six kids, two parents and lots of suitcases for the trek south from Indiana. At home, it was cold and we were pasty white and aching to swim in the Florida Ocean. The cottage was just off the beach, behind a small sand dune. There was a line of trees, and through the grass loaded with sand spurs was a stand of white cottages with blue shutters and palm trees. Inside, there was tongue and groove varnished walls. There might have been five or six, total. My whole family, aunts, uncles, cousins, would descend on the cottages for the winter vacations and all the cottages were ours. I remember sand in my bed, shorts, everywhere. We must have driven our parents crazy. So when we found South River, I wanted this little house to have that spirit. So the heat is open gas front with white bricks that glow orange like Kessler’s and the walls are tongue and groove. As a nod to the south, we have added a porch swing to the front porch and put out rocking chairs made by hand by Mennonites out of willow on the back porch. If you get to South River, you’ll recognize the house because I crossed a pair of Amazon River paddles on the house peak. Most of the furniture came as gifts. The writing table is from Mr. Hollis Baker of Stately Lady. The white wicker came from Kris and Sheryl Garrison when they owned Patience II. Our art work consists of name boards we’ve collected over the years to original art from my son’s James early work in preschool and first grade. And yes, my father’s drawing of Kessler’s cottage is there, and it hangs in the center or the heart of our little house, the kitchen. We didn’t redo this house to rekindle something from my childhood. I was looking at the drawing when the similarities dawned on me. I wanted to create a special place for our own memories, new ones. James said, “We’re going to keep this place forever.” I agreed. “Yes, James. Forever.”

He only spent Spring Break at the cottage but he is already making plans for the summer with his best friend, Trey, Mr. Hardy’s grandson.

So from warranty work to Pompano, to South River, what other news do I have?

There are two Trumpy yachts that have made plans to be in Beaufort for the wooden boat show, but I’m not sure which ones. If you plan to be in the area, this is a great event.

The Summerwind project is in full swing, it’s ribs, ribs and more ribs. We are cutting small sections of planking away and sawing new frames below the waterline. There are two teams: one team is working in the rear of her and one on the bow. The new keel forefoot has been installed with floor timbers. Our bolts were made in Katy, Texas and the owner is a Texan so it was quite fitting. Our final cut of planking is in the kiln draying and will be shipped soon.

As I’m writing this letter, so much has happened that Justice has arrived in Beaufort. This was a big project done in a short time. It makes us proud to be a part of such a great American yacht.

I’m supposed to be on vacation, this is what Stephanie tells me, but when we arrived in Beaufort, there was so much to do. Jim Berkeley drove up our stuff to South River and the boat yard and David Rose helped him unload it all. So after we put our house together, we headed to the boat yard. Most of our equipment was still in the crates and needed to be put together and the work benches needed to be finished. There were piles of dirt in the lift path and no electricity and where was my blocking the boats? So we ended up painting and installing equipment personally. Well, our project engineer, Myron Meadows helped with the dirt and electricity.

David, Stephanie (who is now a pro with a screw gun) and I worked and worked to try to hang a cyclonic dust system on the wall, way up on the wall. Lifting, prying, using jackstands, we had her standing on scaffolding. As it moved up the wall, we needed to move it two inches to the right to hang it. As Dave and I pushed, with Stephanie acting as a counterbalance, the jackstands shifted. It was falling down. Stephanie jumped off and David and I tried to control the crash and we did. No one was hurt but we also didn’t have any energy left after that scare. Dave was willing to try again but we decided to take lunch and come up with a new plan. I hit the Ace Hardware and picked line and a come along, jerry rigged it and one man, Dave, was able to put it in place. Did I mention we were supposed to be on vacation!

With all this said, Moores Marine Yacht Center will open on time for our first boat, Windrush. The project after that will be Iva W, a 1929 Chesepeake Bay Buy Boat. We are official open for projects, big or small. Whatever you need.

If you want to know whether Beaufort is worth a stop, just ask the folks on Justice, S.S. Sophie and Sea Tabby. Justice had just left after inciting a local media frenzy when Sophie and Sea Tabby pulled in at the town docks.

It just so happened Stephanie’s new favorite person, Jeff Adams put together a shrimp boil that she says came straight from Creole country, with corn on the cob, potatoes and whole fists of garlic. After Sea Tabby left, Mike and Corliss Bradley had the rest of the crew over for dinner the next night. Beaufort people take Southern hospitality to new heights, and the thing is they really are this nice all the time.

Did I mention how I had to go back to Florida and miss all this already?

NOTE: This is my first installment on what I have learned about bilge and boat ventilation and air purification over the years.

Maybe it’s because I live in Florida where the water is warm but after working on many Trumpy yachts and other types, I found that many of these yachts share the same inherent problem. Now I do want to say that all of the yachts are at least 40 years old or much older. Many people in this day and age are allergic to mold and mildew and I’m one of them. Mold and mildew are the beginnings of rot, brown rot. It’s also known as wet rot. It needs dampness, stall air and darkness to grow. If you remove one of these elements, brown rot won’t grow. We developed a system to move air in and out of the aft areas on many Trumpy yachts. In Mr. Trumpy’s masterful original designs, he accomplished many things: Engine room forward, long shaft angles for less drag and one of the most beautiful hulls ever built. To make all that work, the aft floors are installed directly on top of the floor timbers. That restricts air movement quite a lot.

The problem with pumping air in the cabin is it will fill the boat with bilge smell. Sucking air out and you have pumped all your air conditioning and cold air overboard. The solution is to push and pull the air. There’s a large lazarette aft. By installing two low volume, silent running fans and using rubber connection hoses down and through the aft bulkhead, there is an area that runs along the hull that a 3” PVC pipe can be installed. Drilling and tapping the pipe every 16”, a hose bar and a plastic hose can be installed. That hose needs to be secured with a strap and fastener. They all need to be led under the sub floor. All angles have to be soft, no 90 degree turns, more 45 degrees. The trick is to match the push and pull of the air. Look at the drawing. What has taken years for us to perfect, I’ve just shared with you. Air Purifiers: (First of four installments).

Ozone generators have become quite popular and the U.S. government stores documents in an ozone rich environment because mildew will not grow in it. The problem with these being used for marine applications is ozone is corrosive and will eat the flexible finishes on varnish, paint and rubber. We just finished a project where it ate all the rubber out of the portholes and turned the painted surfaces to peeling paint. In my next installment, I will be writing about bow vents.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the letter.

Until next time,
Jim Moores