September 2005

Dear friends,

I have some Trumpy news I would like to share with you:
- Jerry Foster, our resident Trumpy historian, stopped at the Antique and Classic Boat Museum in New York to check on Sinbad and says she looks beautiful. He took some photos, which have been added to the directory under Sinbad. Thanks, Jerry.

- I want to thank Susanne Max for correcting me. She pointed out it’s Trumpy Yacht Association instead of Yachting as I was about to have stitched into the blazer patches. I was able to catch the embroidery company in the nick of time. They are hand stitched and came out beautifully. I’ll post pictures on the web site. Now I have to figure out the rest.

-Carl Vesper, former TYA president and Trumpy owner stopped by my shop the other day and loaned me his extensive collection of Trumpy photos, articles and reunion photos over the years and I’ve posted some of them on the site. Those get togethers looked like a lot of fun and I hope we can have more of those.

-Mike Miron, a writer, will be giving a lecture this fall on Eastport, Maryland, and the Annapolis Trumpy yard. I’ve read his articles, some of which are posted on the site, and I’m sure his lecture will be worth attending. I don’t have specifics but you can e-mail him at spacreek@aol.com or call 410-268-2689.

-We’ve received a number of calls and e-mails on whether any Trumpy yachts were lost through Hurricane Katrina. The short answer is not to my knowledge. I received a call from Jacob Deegan in Houston, where his yacht Aurora and another yacht owned by Richard and Donna Reiling, Flying Lady, reside. Jacob said they had unusually high tides from the storm but that was about it. While we were talking, Jacob expressed an interest in running for a post on the board of the TYA. He wants to roll up his sleeves and get things going. He has my vote.

- As to the specifics of the TYA election process, all I know is what John Patmore mentioned at the last meeting, that the annual meeting will be held at Ocean Reef, during Vintage Weekend in December. As to how members will vote absentee or by proxy, run for a post, who exactly will be on the ballot, etc., I’ll let you know more as I know it.

- I just received the invitation to Ocean Reef’s Vintage Week, which included a brochure filled with lots of Trumpy yacht photos. Whether you plan to attend by boat or car, get there if you can. The weekend starts on Dec. 1 and runs through the 4th. It’s a great time with wonderful food and events.

- We finally got the message board up and running. After three attempts of setting up other programs, we ended up using one from Google. Unfortunately, it has ads on top of it. I know, I know. We’re trying to get the ads off in the next couple of weeks. I don’t like to make hollow promises and I promised to keep this site commercial free. Enclosed is information on how to use the bulletin board. I hope that this will help people connect in the Trumpy community. I can’t wait to read everyone’s postings.

One final item, we are catching up on getting photos on the web site. We have added a lot, and are now ready for more. This project is to document surviving Trumpy yachts has generated a lot of interest. We’ve had more than 2,300 visitors to the site since we started. I get upwards of 10 e-mails a week from people looking for their father’s and grandfather’s old Trumpy yachts or grandchildren of people who worked in the Trumpy yard. They share photos but most importantly, memories. It’s amazing how a single boat can touch so many lives, from the people who built her to the owners and their descendents. We appreciate everyone’s contributions so far and need to get information on some of the other boats on the site that have little or nothing on them.

As far as misspellings or corrections on the web site, point them out to us and we’ll correct them as soon as we can. Spell check doesn’t work on proper names.

As for what’s happening at our shop, we have made significant progress on Patience II. As boat builders, we find work on structural sections of the boats such as ribs and planks, satisfying because it helps ensure survival of the boats, but we know what excites owners is the interiors. And we have been going great guns on Patience’s interior.

We have built custom mahogany doors with white inset panels and had custom molding heads made that are modeled from trim on another Trumpy to match the style. And, Bernard, our lead painter, has sprayed white Sterling in the guest and owner staterooms. We’ve pulled down the old headliner and refaired the ceiling. Patience’s owner, Joe Bartram, brought in his long-time designer Rosemary Stein in and it’s been enjoyable working with her because she is willing to look, listen and take into consideration the logistical requirements of a working yacht.

With that said, we have removed the aft deck ceiling panels for the cleaner look of open beam with trim and varnished battens. However, upon removing the plywood, we discovered aluminum plates on some of them. We did a little calculating and decided to use carbon fiber and epoxy to replace the plates. Today, with the fairing sanded and the primer brushed, you see what we’re going for: the traditional Trumpy style open beamed ceiling with all the little trim details.

Also, we will be building a custom swim platform and air conditioning the back deck so the back seat will be remade to the same style as the existing one but a little shorter with two teak end tables that will house the air handlers. The dining table is going to be modeled off a Trumpy cocktail table built for Fairlee (1960s). It’s a very sleek and elegant design. The table will be constructed out of single plank of teak, butterfly cut to line up the grain. I could go on forever, but you get the idea. I’ll post pictures eventually.


Until next time,


Jim