Freda is ready for her shutter plank

The Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito has reached a milestone with the impending completion of the hull of the historic gaff sloop Freda, built on San Francisco Bay in 1885. She is the oldest active private sailboat on the west coast of the United States. A traditional “shutter plank,” also known as a “whiskey plank,” celebration will take place at the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito on Saturday, June 5 from 4pm to 6pm. Refreshments & appetizers will be served. E-mail info [at] spauldingcenter.org if you wish to attend.

A shutter or whiskey plank party is a time-honored custom among boat builders. According to tradition, a libation of whiskey is poured on the shutter plank before installation, hence the name whiskey plank. More information about Freda can be found at our main Web site and at www.sailfreda.org.

We’ve launched a new Web site devoted to our 1885 gaff sloop, Freda. Find it at: Freda, Matriarch of the Bay.

The site is devoted to the history and ongoing restoration of this historic boat built on San Francisco Bay, and includes over 100 photos, videos and a lengthy history of her adventures. Freda’s story brings to life the people and boats who sailed San Francisco Bay and the west coast in the last 125 years.

Our goal is to make Freda as ship-shape and Bristol fashion as she was in the days when she was the flagship of the Corinthian Yacht Club and competed in numerous Master Mariners Regattas on San Francisco Bay. With the help of the many people who’ve already contributed to her restoration, she’ll sail again, taking guests out on the Bay and giving them a chance to recapture what it was like to sail on a wooden sloop in days long past.

We’ll be adding more information to the site in coming days, including a few surprises, so stay tuned and return often. If you like, you can subscribe to updates so you know all about the work being done to return Freda to the waters of San Francisco Bay.

We need more help in completing Freda’s restoration. If you would like to support the restoration of Freda and her return to the Bay, there’s an opportunity to make a contribution.

Freda, Matriarch of the Bay Web site

We’re close to completing the replanking of Freda’s hull so this was the last opportunity to put a camera through her ribs and capture this viewpoint.

Looking towards the bow

Looking towards the stern

These photos were taken on February 16, 2010.

Freda is a gaff sloop built in 1885 on San Francisco Bay and is the oldest private sailboat on the West Coast. Read more about Freda

Freda, our 1885 gaff sloop, began the next stage in her restoration today at the Spaulding Center. Framing has been completed and planking her hull has commenced.

View forward

View from the bow

Apprentice Matt Pool lays out one of Freda's sheer planks

Matt Pool, in photo above, is an apprentice at the Arques School of Traditional Boatbuilding, located at the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito. Matt will become a journeyman when he graduates next month from the Arques School’s professional boatbuilding program.

The wood for Freda‘s new planks was donated by the Master Mariners Benevolent Association. Read more about Freda on our Web site at Freda.

The Spaulding Center has completed the framing portion of Freda’s restoration. Frames were cut from black locust hardwood, selected for its hardness, resistance to rot and longevity. The wood was not bent, but cut from stock chosen for its shape. See previous post Using Nature’s Design in Building Boats.

Freda is our 34′ gaff-rigged “pumpkinseed” sloop, built in Belvedere on San Francisco Bay in 1885. She is the oldest survivor of hundreds of similar boats that used to sail on San Francisco Bay, and, as far as we know, the oldest private sailboat on the West Coast.

The next step in restoring Freda to the Bay is to replank her hull. We’ve already begun, but we still need help financing the work. Won’t you please become a member of the Spaulding Center or consider making a donation to support these efforts? » Please take part «

With your help, Freda will once again fill her sails and thrill sailors, young and old, on San Francisco Bay.

This animated walkaround was photographed on May 7 and shows Freda under restoration at the Spaulding Center. Freda, a 32′ gaff sloop, began her life in 1885 in Belvedere on San Francisco Bay, and is the oldest private sailing yacht on the West Coast. You can read more about Freda on our Freda Web page.

You can view another Flash animation photographed from a lower angle on the Restoring Freda page on our Web site.

Note:  The Flash photo animations require Adobe Flash and JavaScript and could take a few moments to load depending on your Internet connection.