Winter Work at Jensen's & Rita on the Hard

[Lew Barrett]

Anchor Jensen's yard (still owned and operated by family) is a legend in Seattle. Anchor was responsible for the world beating Slo-Mo-Shun series of hydros that ruled the unlimiteds during the early fifties, as well as for bringing to life and caring for a huge number of boats during the golden era of wooden construction. His designs were frequently fanciful, advanced or outright wild. Take for instance his 1938 build, Meteor. Here she is seen undergoing work for her new owner at the yard that built her here in Seattle. The new owner is a Canadian Rock Super Star who is a legend in his own right.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/meteorstern.jpg
Meteor's unreal stern

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/meteor3.jpg
Another view of that wild rear end

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/meteor1.jpg
And the best I could do at showing her in the shed. Remember....1938, not 1958!

Meanwhile, Rita gets her shave and haircut outside on the way.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/rtaontheramp.jpg
Jensen's best in class railway lift

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/oi.jpg
She's up and with master caulker Tim Regan (credits include the Constitution, among many others) at the irons.

A couple of spots needed some light touching up after her major refit three years ago.
Mainly she's out for zinc, bottom paint and the completion of her survey by Roger Morris (RGM) who is a contributor to the board...but like many busy pros, not as yakky and chatty as some of us:D

[Lew Barrett]

Continued.....


http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/RgerTimEvie.jpg
Roger, Tim and Roger's daughter Evelyn take a break as we near the end. Tim on the right,
Roger on the left, Ev in the middle.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/bagodrews.jpg
A bag stuffed full of Drews and Tim's beautiful mallets, which he carefully wraps in oakum and burlap every night after work. Note how the upside down one is balanced on her handle!

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/cuttingiron.jpg
Roger displays one of Tim's polished and beautiful cutting irons.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/jensen4.jpg
Jensen's "Main Stage is chock a block full of woodies....always.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/waterhawk.jpg
Another Monk, this one the Jensen built (44 foot?) Waterhawk, getting new coach-tops. Waterhawk was featured in her own article in WB a few years back.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/picolonave.jpg
Piccolo Nave is a 34 foot Chris Craft Double Cabin Cruiser owned by Nicole and Keith Meicho, recent recruits into the Classic Yacht Association. Keith works at Delta Marine and does cabinet building for them. He is refitting the interior himself, but the boat was recently splashed after Jensen did a bunch of work on her. Seen here
across the way from where Rita is lying.

[C. Ross]

Gaaahhh. Beautiful boats, great pictures. More?

[Lew Barrett]

Still more....

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/MarkunderSweetenia.jpg
Here Mark is seen working under Sweetenia, his 1937 28 foot Chris cruiser.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/ginger1.jpg
Ginger cutting in the last of Sweetenia's bottom paint. Also CYAers.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/shep3.jpg
A Shepherd get's powered and finished (boat was rebuilt from the keel up in Canada and is being finished at Jensen's)

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/shep2.jpg
Big twin 4 bbl Ford is being strapped on!

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/liftmotor.jpg
The lift's motor and.....

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/cabledrum.jpg
....machinery were all renovated and built out for the new ways.
They look fabulous and better in person than the pictures show.

[Lew Barrett]

Last...

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/waitingtheirturns.jpg
Boats waiting their turn for work

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/raven.jpg
A Century Raven (The Raven!) looks like she's getting some varnish

Jensen's is truly a remarkable success story, and speaks to the renewed interest and significant efforts being made in recognizing the value of our marine heritage. People are spending money and the results will be more and better boats. Get 'em while you can. It's not going to get cheaper to own one in the future. The interest in fine boats is growing.

I'll take some more pics tomorrow when we splash, and I'd also like to put up some stuff of the shop interior. It's killer!

[Nanoose]

Great shots, Lew! Thanks.

So, you haul out mid Feb....I`m calling tomorrow to book our annual for March. I`m off for spring break (2 weeks), so whatever we don`t get done together over the weekend is left for me to take care of when Dave heads back to work!

Last year it POURED!!! Should have seen our great, innovative, creative tarpage! I think I qualified for the tarp queen award....

Thanks again for the pics.

Deb

[Lew Barrett]

Not my first choice, but she needed to get out. Zincs were nubs...I should have taken pictures of them, but they would have been damning. We were lucky to have excellent weather. Next year she'll come out for the whole deal, but she'll have to live with her taudry coat another year. It won't be her proudest moments, but she'll get by. She will get new canvas this year, and the last of some newly discovered rewiring that got overlooked in the "Big Gulp" of 2004. Maybe some interior touch ups.....maybe not!

[John B]

Great stuff thanks Lew.
Sweetinia is made of Honduras mahogany no doubt?;)

[Concordia...41]

Great pictures. Great story. Great boats.

Thanks!

- M

[The Bigfella]

Excellent - thanks Lew

[Jim Ledger]

That Ritas's a beautiful boat, Lou. You've done a great job on her.

Thanks for posting the pictures, it looks like a fabulous place to poke around.

[Bill R]

Beautiful! Thank you. Great way to brighten up an otherwise dreary rainy day.

[Lew Barrett]

Nautilus, I don't know what the little feather block gets used for. Funny, but I didn't even notice it until you mentioned it. Yellow cedar, like the plugs, that's the best I can do for now.

John, Sweetenia is pre-war, so likely Honduras rather than luan. I'm not the expert on when they switched over, but it does look like she's gotten a couple of new transom planks at some point. I think that many of the older Chris Craft cruisers are not planked in luan, though, probably cedar if I recall. . That's a nice job they did on her. She's one of several 28 foot Chris cabin cruisers of the same model up here. Piccolo Nave is luan, no doubt.
It's a fact that there's some residual prejudice about Chris Crafts in some (diminishing) circles but I have to say they hold up really well in my experience, and have features not found on many custom boats. Bronze and copper fastened, for one. The ones I'm familiar with often seem to have fewer problems than more expensive custom boats and a lot of the fifties boats are strong and leak free. Lightly built they may be, but not poorly built, Chris Craft are the backbone of the old motorboat hobby.

[StevenBauer]

The new owner is a Canadian Rock Super Star who is a legend in his own right.



Are his initials NY?


Looking forward to the shop photos.

Steven

[Robmill0605]

Winter work ?


Oh yeah! you guys get winter:D. ( mid 80's today here):p

Great shots of beautiful woodenboats Lew, nice to poke around a pro- yard like this, got more?

[Lew Barrett]

Are his initials NY?


Looking forward to the shop photos.

Steven

I am sworn to secrecy, but it's an open secret. It does rhyme with "Bung."

[Canoeyawl]

Great photos Lew

The little “feathered block” might be a block of precut pins for plugging small holes - ready to break off and whittle to a point.
This is the “porcupine method” of prepping for paint!

[StevenBauer]

I am sworn to secrecy, but it's an open secret. It does rhyme with "Bung."

:D:D:D

[John B]

Gee I wonder who it is LOL.

I suppose the play on Sweitinia could mean any mahogany. Generally ( historically )here it would mean it was Honduras though.

[Lew Barrett]

Gee I wonder who it is LOL.

I suppose the play on Sweitinia could mean any mahogany. Generally ( historically )here it would mean it was Honduras though.

More to say tonight after dinner. And more pictures.

I live and learn! Sweitinia!

[sawcutmill]

Actually those are "Spiles", made on the bandsaw.Tapered to match the depth, and screw size.

[MiddleAgesMan]

I keep coming back for a look at "Bung's" boat, at the top of the thread. It looks like something Bolger would draw and then expound on the advantages of a barge-bottomed stern.

What do you know about this vessel, Lew? Does it perform exceptionally well in some fashion?

It is certainly unique and should suit ole Bung just fine. :)

[Lew Barrett]

It is a pure Jensen creation, probably built as a 38 foot prototype. Jensen penned, but never built, more like her in terms of style; a range of them in fact. None but Meteor were ever built as far as I know. She's very well known in these parts, and every change of hands is remarked and commented on, of course. We're just a bunch of looky-loo gossips.
She is exceptionally fast, capable of well over 35 knots on flat water; in essence a big runabout, no head or galley. She has a nice little table in the main cabin and a rudimentary "stateroom" aft. I don't know if she carries domestic water, but at a guess, I'd think she does. A picnic boat. She is very lightly built. She was first restored 15 or so (plus or minus) years ago by a talented guy who is one of the owners of the CSR yards here in Seattle. She has, in her career, been owned by another famous person, Dale Chihuly, the glass artist and now by....oh, out with it.....Neil Young. He is re-powering Meteor (that's her!) with twin bio-Diesel conversions. I believe they are VW blocks that are specially converted. This is controversial in my view, as the boat is really best suited as a gas boat IMHO. She will be moved to San Francisco when the work is done, I'm told. This makes some of us up here sad and a bit concerned as she really isn't suited as an open moorage, rough water boat. She's a distinct Jensen legacy. I would guess, but it's just a guess as the Jensen guys are mute on the topic, that the family probably wishes they'd bought the boat and attached her to the yard but it's too late now. It would be nice if Mr. Young kept her up here under cover and used her on his trips to the region. She really should stay here where she can be serviced and maintained by the guys who built her, and where the facilities and
moorage are best suited to her. Hopefully she'll be loved and cared for as the legacy she is but if she were mine and I had the resources, I'd probably have dealt with her a bit differently. I understand the sentiment of making her a bio Diesel boat, but in this particular case, I think one could have chosen a better subject for the experiment.
Just my opinions.

[barryhill]

Thanks Lew! Great stuff.

Here's a link to the guy who did Young's Lincoln. http://www.hlineconversion.com/index.php
Was a little shop in Wichita. Web site is a lot fancier than last time.
Probably doin' Meteor?

Bob

[Lew Barrett]

Bob,
I believe Meteor's conversion engines are being supplied locally. I spoke to a guy at the Jensen Christmas party last year who said he was providing the components. I believe he has a shop in town that does this work. I don't recall there having been mention of folks from out of town providing the motors.

[Lew Barrett]

The last two posts for me of this series shows a couple of works in progress and Jensen's shop as it always has been. This is a busy place that makes no excuses for it's work or it's place in the world.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/SS1.jpg
S&S Iro Lita, in for a lot. Beautiful, but again, hard to convey in the shop.
While I was waiting for "paint to dry" Arno, the owner and I pulled off the tailpiece where the shaft exits. It was frozen in place, with a long bronze lag having broken off. Heat, hammer and leverage. It was fun to beat on somebody else's boat, and Arno bought me lunch at Agua Verde. Good exchange!

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/OiBaglietto72.jpg
Painfully torn up Baglietto 72
The new owner bought her in Italy, but she needs more work than was hoped for. This photo hardly shows it.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/cuteorwhat.jpg
Just a cutie, maybe 23-24 feet? No details available.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/shop.jpg
Open the door and walk in. This is what you see.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/jointer1.jpg
Who wouldn't like one of these, and the room to use it?

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/vise.jpg
Original to the shop, no doubt.

[Lew Barrett]

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/mortiser.jpg
Likewise, I'm sure.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/oldmachines.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/bandsaw1.jpg
Crescent 36, one of many bandsaws in the place.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/leblanc2.jpg
One of two LeBlonds, this the larger, maybe 12 foot bed, maybe longer. It's big.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/more%20stuff/wood.jpg
Peter and Steve (Peter in the shadows) keep a lot of wood on hand, some of it stored for customers. Beautiful fir, teak, mahogany, sapele, a little purpleheart, AYC, you name it.

[boylesboats]

nice pictures Lew.. Some of us do need a break away from everyday living, and enjoy lookng at these...
Thanks for sharing.:)

[Nanoose]

Boy - a big place there, eh Lew? Looks like a "more work than we can handle" shop. Nice to see.

[Yeadon]

Good show. How long has Jensens been here in Seattle? It's all wooden boats in there?

That jointer brings big ideas to mind ...

[Lew Barrett]

They've been in that location for 75 years. Here's some history:
http://www.slomoshun.com/jensen.htm

Thery are very busy. You have to schedule months in advance and even then it's hard to get in. However, that seems to be true for most of the better people around here these days, but for nobody more than Jensens. And, it's all wooden boats, sail or power. That's what they do, and all they do.

The property they are on is very valuable. I have no idea what the shop, moorages and waterfront they have is valued at; many millions I'm sure. It's done in the old way, but it's a business nonetheless with all the imperatives of a going concern. They are surrounded by state owned (University) property, but they remain as firmly rooted family structure. Hoorah!

[C. Ross]

This is terrific stuff Lew! Can't say I've ever seen pictures of a shop and boats as perfect as those.

The Slomoshun web site is worth poking around. I love this magazine cover of Meteor.

http://www.slomoshun.com/PacificMB-Cover-Meteor.gif

[Lew Barrett]

Here's some more, Cris. Victoria, 2006

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/meteor2.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff76/LewBarrett/meteor1-1.jpg

[RGM]

Nicely done Lew.

[Ross M]

Epic thread, Lew.

Thanks for the time and effort.

Ross

[C. Ross]

What Ross said...

No disrespect but Meteor is a mullet of a boat -- business up front and party in the back. That stern is not to be believed.

[Northernguy59]

Lew,

Can you confirm that Neil Young sold his baltic schooner "WG Ragland" ?

Dale

[Lew Barrett]

What Ross said...

No disrespect but Meteor is a mullet of a boat -- business up front and party in the back. That stern is not to be believed.

Cris, I wouldn't be offended if you called it Monkfish! It's actually nicer in the flesh than it looks in my pictures, but she's an odd duck, no question. The bow shot lengthens the "nose" unnaturally, and the shot of the port side makes her look stubbier than she is in life, but there's no denying she's weird. I think it's part of her appeal, but with no head, no real cruising ability and a distinct design built for speed (never have heard how she does in a chop) she's not my cup of tea.

Northernguy, I don't know the answer to that but I would have kept the big boat if I were buying Meteor. I reckon he did too, but I didn't think to ask. It is interesting that the 3 of the 4 CSNY guys are into wooden boats.

Love ya' Rog!