Skagit 31 Launch Today

[Helmar]

Yep, CNN at LaConner as you have one of three of these that was ever built.

I seen a lot of the structure work you had to do on her and was amazed all you did too.

Man, has to feel great and I bet you sleep with a smile tonight

Job Well Done Tim.

Can't wait to see running pictures and read all the little details about her.

[Lowell]

She is beautiful, what will her name be? I hope this means we will be doing more trips up north into the Islands to join you. Lowell

[Karl]

I've seen that there were only 3 of the 31' Skagits built. Does anyone know of the location and/or condition of the other 2?

Karl

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Skagit 31 sister ships

Hull number 1 (1957 red and white) was originally sold in San Diego and is still missing.

Hull 2 (1958 two tone green and white) is down on the Columbia and is hawled out and in about the same condition as mine when I started. I'll post some pics of her this evening....

Tim

I've seen that there were only 3 of the 31' Skagits built. Does anyone know of the location and/or condition of the other 2?

Karl

[GregJ]

Tim, Congratulations, absolutly fantastic. Can't wait to see her in person. Now maybe you can relax and reap all the rewards of 23 years of hard work that you deserve.

[Bigfoot]

What a site to see. You must be so proud. WOW!!! What a beauty you have there. Your work shop must seem lonely, oh well...Time to crank out another, lol yeah right...Enjoy this time with her. She should be in a magazine and on tv....Mike

[John Berg]

23 years!!!! What?

Tim, I have been following the progress on you boat for a long time. When I found out about (Fiberglassics), I bought the only 17' Skagit cuddy left on the planet. That Idea soon went away when I found out there were several more out there. Hope to finish soon. Have you really owned this boat for 23 years? I would love to see some pics from day one. You may have to develop those rolls of film in the junk drawer. Way to go. Beautiful boat. John

[Helmar]

Tim, I have been following the progress on you boat for a long time. When I found out about (Fiberglassics), I bought the only 17' Skagit cuddy left on the planet. That Idea soon went away when I found out there were several more out there. Hope to finish soon. Have you really owned this boat for 23 years? I would love to see some pics from day one. You may have to develop those rolls of film in the junk drawer. Way to go. Beautiful boat. John

He has a few pictures in his album...

http://www.classicboatclub.com/forum...php?photo=1742

See if that works for the link.

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

23 years! Yes it's true!

Yes, John, I bought the boat in February 1988. It was in rough shape, was being turned into a commercial fishing boat, was pretty much stripped. Had thee feet of water on board. The cockpit plywood was all rotted, hatches missing, full of garbage. Interior ply all rotted! About the same as the typical blackberry find!

I spent the first five years researching the boat and the company that built her. I met my friend Ida Rae McDonald via the boat and she and I did a lot of research on Skagit Plastics. I put Ida's restored red & white Skagit 20 in the 1996 Seattle Boat Show as a conversation piece. We took about 150 leads on Skagit and Bell Boy boats there and was pretty much the beginnings of the classic boat clubs we enjoy today.

I was looking over some pictures of the beginnings of the restoration this morning. Those pics are sobering to look at! I'll post a bunch as soon as I can get my head together. I'm still pretty burned out after the blitz I did for two months prior to launch.

I'm still having a hard time realizing the boat is actually in the water! One friend asked "Does the boat meet or exceed your expectations?" Definitely exceeds!

I have hundreds of pictures. 23 years worth and some from 1957!

Cheers,

Tim

Tim, I have been following the progress on you boat for a long time. When I found out about (Fiberglassics), I bought the only 17' Skagit cuddy left on the planet. That Idea soon went away when I found out there were several more out there. Hope to finish soon. Have you really owned this boat for 23 years? I would love to see some pics from day one. You may have to develop those rolls of film in the junk drawer. Way to go. Beautiful boat. John

Tim,

congratulations on finally getting her back to the water. I've been waiting to see this since I 1st saw your boat in a post from about 2002. I can't remember what it has for power, but it doesn't surprise me that it'll plane with one engine. If the hull is like my Skagits are, the stern has very little deadrise, & that provides a lot of lift at slow speeds. Both of mine plane as low as 13 MPH. Hope you recover from the "post restoration blues" I know that I go through that every time I complete a long term project - almost like "what now...." you have to get used to it & learn to accept it. My anticipation usually far exceeds to moment of truth.

Regards,

Bruce Gerard

[Ken]

Amazing!!

This has been an amazing and inspiring story to follow, Tim! I am dumbfounded by the sope of the work and talent that you've put into your masterpiece! I appreciate you sharing updates with us and look forward to seeing "the beauty" in the future! Thank you!
-Ken

[Andy E.]

What a beauty Tim. Looking forward to seeing your beautiful boat in person. Hope it is soon. What an inspiration. Andy

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Thanks for the link Joe

Thanks for the link, Joe.

Looking back! WOW! What a project!

He has a few pictures in his album...

http://www.classicboatclub.com/forum...php?photo=1742

See if that works for the link.

[SK Moldoon]

Tim,

What an amazing beauty! I have followed your resto for years and you did a marvelous job. I bet taking her in to the dock must be a whole other experience than driving the Tinker toys I have.

SK

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Thanks....boat handling

Thanks SK and everyone who has followed the Saratogan restoration.

As far as the handling around the docks is concerned.....maybe too early to make comment as I have only done that a couple of times. So far seems easy to handle as many twin screw boats are. Boat also has a substantial 20 inch deep keel (at the stern) that keeps the boat tracking and also prevents it from being pushed around by the wind. Also makes the boat very predictable.

Been a while since I've operated a twin screw boat, but from what I understand, once you get the hang of it, you can walk bow or stern either direction by setting the rudders and using the gears.... Big 4 blade propellers grip the water, so she answers the helm right now when shifting.

Moved the tie rod to the outer holes on the tiller arms today. Should make it easier to steer. Why didn't I think of that before?! I think I can eliminate the hard steering by adding a small trim tab to the trailing edge of one or both rudders.

Jeremiah, the guy that helped me launch shot a bunch of pictures and some video of the launch. He is going to edit the video together and hopefully will be able to make that available here on NWCBC.

Cheers,

Tim