Fisher-Smith Wooden Boats

10/07/2020

Almost a year later, finally the news we've been waiting to see:

https://classicsailboats.org/no-5-elbe-returns-to-hamburg-on-its-own-keel/

10/24/2019

Finally, some news from Hamburg about the fate of our revered 'ELBE 5" --

Press release 23.10.2019 – Hamburg Maritim Foundation – Loading the pilot-saver No.5 ELBE Transportation of the pilot-saver No.5 ELBE to Hvide Sande The pilot schooner No.5 ELBE, which crashed on the Elbe on June 8, 2019, spent many weeks after the incident at the Peters shipyard’s slipway in ...

12/31/2017

Have you discovered this marvelous story unfolding from a side-yard on the coastal plain of Sequim, WA? The videos are worth a good look, and which of us hasn't wished to do something like it ourselves? I can say that I have.

Become a patron of Sampson Boat Co today: Read 12 posts by Sampson Boat Co and get access to exclusive content and experiences on the world’s largest membership platform for artists and creators.

07/23/2017

We've been deeply saddened this week by the loss of a big part of Tomales Bay's working waterfront community in the person of Tod Friend, owner of the Tomales Bay Oyster Co. on State Hwy. 1, a couple of miles south of the village of Marshall, and a loving, devoted father and grandpa. Tod was one of the hardest working men I'll ever know--a seven-days-a-week, charismatic leader of the TBOC crew whose approach to inspiring was to cajole and then simply outwork those of a third or half his own age. He was an ambitious and committed soul who believed in the nature of his work, often fueling himself on the oysters he grew as he toiled amongst them. After his boat was discovered last Tuesday afternoon without him onboard, his family and close friends mobilized, searching nonstop in and around the bay for four days until they succeeded in finding his remains--an act of commitment and devotion in itself, and such a thing of beauty. Tod's last and lasting gift to us all was an intimate, intense involvement in the nature of this bay, some alone and others in the company of those they love. It is taking awhile to comprehend the empty spot Tod has left here.

01/09/2017

A Story in Several Chapters...

01/06/2017

The Near-Demolition of 'HOYSTER' and Her Gradual Recovery: Part Two--

11/22/2016

05/25/2015

An unexpected small gathering of the clan.

05/25/2015

May 23, 2015, sailing in historic SF Bay Master Mariners' Regatta aboard 'PURSUIT',the only functioning M-Class boat still in existence. Built 1928 by Abeking & Rasmussen in Germany for US east coast club-racing. At the 'diminutive' scale of just over 80 feet in length and around 50 tons displacement with a 103-foot spruce mast, the 'M' class was developed with the intent of being "more affordable" to campaign than some other classes, such as the better known 'J' class of Vanderbuilt fame. However the class did not gain wide popularity (due in large part to the Wall Street crash and ensuing Depression of 1929) and there were only a handful built. FSWB led a total deck-replacement in 1998, working with long-time owner Ron MacAnnan and his maintenance team. Ron bought the boat around 1960 and raced her twice in the TransPac to Hawaii. Relegated by necessity for over 20 years to the function of floating residence while Ron and his wife made their living, he retired in the 1990's and has doggedly restored her to her 1950's ocean-racing configuration. He now sails her actively out of her Sausalito berth as she approaches her 87th birthday and he, his 90th. After lavishing all of his energy and attention she demands, working up to seven days a week over most of the past two decades, Ron (foreground of first photo, black cap and jacket) is now thinking about the person who might want to succeed him in her ownership and use. Well-known San Francisco Bay sailor and retired boatbuilder Harry "Hank" Easom (light blue jacket with white hat) drove the boat around the racecourse this day and others; race results TBD, Master Mariners' Benevolent Association, www.mastermariners.org).

03/25/2015

Joel White (son of "Stuart Little" author E.G. White) redrew the original "H-12 1/2"--an iconic 1914 gaff-rigged keelboat drawn by Herreshoff the Elder, Nathaniel G.--to create this "Haven 12 1/2", a centerboard variant. This immaculate specimen, built by an east coast boat school and lovingly maintained by a local resident, graces our Bay for three seasons of the year.

In past, boats were often described by their waterline-length (WLL) rather than length overall (LOA); hence the "12 1/2" for a boat just under 16 feet long.