| Nick Newell reports that "The guy who had her built was Alex Hamilton and the builder was Dave Folke. Alex built the masts and designed the boat but this vessel was built on a low budget and had a lot of troubles. For example they had install a used 6 cylinder white diesel which had seen better days in a fish boat. When they foamed the hull they got some of the foam into the cooling system feed water pipes and this vesselalways had over heating problems but they kept running her like that until they cooked that engine and then they tried to sail into a berth on Granville Is and managed to break the bowsprit; which, because it was attached to the fore stay, brought down the fore mast and almost the main mast. When we saw it they had managed too tie it up and had the mizzen secured again and were discussing how to sail off the dock at Granville Is. with a jury rig. I went down below and looked at the engine but it was seized and my recommendation was to scrap it . ,but I think because of money issues Alex was looking for someone to take it on and over haul it. I didn't see the boat again for a long time after that and when we saw her lately this vesselstill has the foremast down and the bowsprit broken. I can't say whether that is from the Granville Is. incident or broken again at a later date. Alex Hamilton as you know was the wooden mast builder and made good money building and installing wooden sticks in California during the Ferro cement craze of the 70s He was a nice guy but for some reason he and his wife split up and he got involved with a night club singer ""Shirley Granger" who sang in the Gas town nightclub scene. " |
