Peterson 26

[Paul B]

Originally Posted by CRM

This Hull and deck was layed up in San Rafael, @ Poseidon Marian, Carl Petersen's shop. The plugs were said to have come from a San Diego, shop.

The Poseidon boats were definitely Design #14. I think those molds produced hulls in at least 3 or 4 shops over the years.

Back in the mid-late 80s old Carl Petersen was again building Doug Peterson boats as the shop foreman at Pinnacle Design.

[CRM]

Yep, in 1986, I applied for work at his Santa Barbra shop- actually Carpinteria place., Petersen was explaining to Jeff Jones "the money man" at Pinnacle, why the inside lamination had gassed off the Balsa core. He was plaining to cut off the white spots to recover that half of the hull. And of all thing, I've recently meet a Chris Winnard on face book that sailed this boat in SoCal. He now works in the Seattle area and just brought a So
Cal Davidson MORC - 30 up to race in the sound.

[Paul B]

Originally Posted by CRM

Yep, in 1986, I applied for work at his Santa Barbra shop- actually Carpinteria place., Petersen was explaining to Jeff Jones "the money man" at Pinnacle, why the inside lamination had gassed off the Balsa core. He was plaining to cut off the white spots to recover that half of the hull. And of all thing, I've recently meet a Chris Winnard on face book that sailed this boat in SoCal. He now works in the Seattle area and just brought a So
Cal Davidson MORC - 30 up to race in the sound.

That delam hull would have been in '87 I think. It was put aside as scrap and later resurrected by someone who thought they could do a "cheap" project for the Internationals in Newport Beach. By the time Jim Betts had fixed the delam issues it wasn't such a good deal.

If you were in the shop in Carp then there is a good chance you would have run into me. I was working for Jones during that period and had an office upstairs. I was also Jeff's roommate at the time.

[CRM]

I do believe this world, a much smaller place than reported. Up stairs @ Pinnacle Boats I talked to a fellow very excited about the prospects of this Peterson boat and future possibilities of the company. At the moment there was not a an open slot with your shop, but I hired on with Terry Alsberg up in Santa Cruz revamping the Express 37. ----I had a photo album of my work at Bayliner and building my 'Poseidon- Pet-25, at hand during the work interview, and down on the shop floor I pointed out the kit project. This fellow called over Petersen and Jones to take a look. In general this line of work and focus in boats is addicting. I want to tell you I had a big laugh from Laurie Davidson talking about this are that boat at this are that boat yard all over Puget Sound. I told him, 'your a yard "rat" just like the rest of us,going from yard to yard. He frowned and said "of course I do."

[Paul B]

Originally Posted by CRM

I do believe this world, a much smaller place than reported. Up stairs @ Pinnacle Boats I talked to a fellow very excited about the prospects of this Peterson boat and future possibilities of the company.

I doubt that was me. More likely it would have been Seth (the sales guy).

Here are a couple of shots of the shop in Carp. You can see the deck mold on the rotisserie back in the closed room. That tooling was so nice. Too bad it was all destroyed after the company closed.

[CRM]

Oh yes, I recognize that layout. I do think the fellow I spoke with was in sales. I recall it odd I wasn't speaking with a builder. ------ Speaking about the Pinnacle shop I always mention how impressed I was seeing the professional tooling. At Bayliner all molds were piped and installed on spinners. To see this investment in such a small place, well it had weight. At Bayliner, the purchase of Chaser Marine,'Peterson 29, and 33's from Ontario, Canada.was less than impressive. Stiffened by plywood roller frames, not that bad however, a schedule of 1' balsa core and numerous passes of heavey 24oz. woven Roving on all the tooling was a print Thur headache, until conventional Bayliner molds were constructed. The old molds were cut up and hauled off. Ten years later I worked for a plastics company that bought all the San Juan sailboat molds which was a mix of piped solid glass,and wood stiffened molds. Upon revamping the San Juan sail boats in 1990 a constant stream of question about the SJ 30 half ton IOR boat lead me down to Renton and the old SJ shop. The building now serving a home construction builders warehouse, I found a fellow that didn't know of the old boat shop but said there were sail boats in a drainage ditch out back. I found the hull mold deep in the ditch and the special racing version deck in it, almost brayed, by now underground.

[Paul B]

Originally Posted by CRM

Speaking about the Pinnacle shop I always mention how impressed I was seeing the professional tooling. At Bayliner all molds were piped and installed on spinners. To see this investment in such a small place, well it had weight.

Jonestown wanted to do everything first class. The tooling he built could have popped out hundreds of boats. Only 5 were built out of it (plus the original boat that was used as the plug for the production tooling).

I spent a lot of time talking to other yards about taking the tooling when Jeff finally decided to close the shop. We were offering it at no cost to all the production builders in California. They just had to come and pick it up. It sat in storage for more than a year before I heard Jones took a sledgehammer and saw to it.

The real reason no builder would take the tooling is directly related to your stories about the Chaser tooling. After having his designs stolen (no royalties) by so many builders after tooling changed hands, Peterson had a clause in his contracts that made the individual (not the corporation) personally responsible for the royalties. So after Pinnacle closed Jones was still on the hook for royalties for every boat popped out of those molds. Anyone who took the molds was going to have to sign a contract to accept the responsibility for the royalties going forward.

The industry was so used to the old way, where they could pick up old tooling and build boats without paying royalties, or sell the tooling onward, they were gun shy about getting into that sort of agreement. So a very nice set of tooling that could have produced a lot of parts was destroyed.

[CRM]

Very understandable. I know a few Soverel 33 were made at the SJ shop in Renton, south of Seattle. Along with the SJ molds bought by my employer I found boxes of the company's correspondence. The Clarks, San Juan boats original owners, were ten years distance but I found letters from many designers and principle, people offering a host of interesting boat models to the clarks to build there boats. Including Lief Baily, Garey Mull, and Carl Schumacher. The packages of info included many interesting drawings, such as "Summertime Dream" 1/4 tonner. My employer wasn't interested in all this stuff so I salted it away. When I retired and lacked any need to keep the drawings I posted all to Randy Browning of "The Sailboat Data" web site to us as he saw fit.----- As I have mentioned these different types of boats are interesting to me as a cabinet maker in a furniture store is compelled to pull that drawer open to check for dove tales.

[Paul B]

Originally Posted by CRM

I know a few Soverel 33 were made at the SJ shop in Renton, south of Seattle.

I never heard this.

As far as I knew the West Coast Sov 33 tooling went from Republic Fasteners shop (a room at Jake Woods aircraft fastener company) to Pacific Boats (George Olson's shop) to Ericson? Maybe when Ericson went under the molds found their way up to Clark? I personally saw them at the first two shops, but not at Ericson.

[CRM]

In the Cash of SJ correspondence, I read a letter focused on getting the 33 made at San Juan. It was mailed to the post Clark ownership. I must admit the actual construction was a 'here say event'. There are 4 are 5 - 33's in the lower Sound and 2 are 3 - 33's North in Canada. About this time builders became convinced the 33 foot range was the only viable 'profitable' size to build. I would not stake my life on them ever being made in Renton. The Clarks made a Dave Pedrick design called the Eagle 33, a redo of Aphrodite 101. Also, as you know, the luxury tax and High bank intrest rates converged to clamp down on west coast sail boat builders.

[Paul B]

Originally Posted by CRM

The Clarks made a Dave Pedrick design called the Eagle 33, a redo of Aphrodite 101. (

I recall seeing a marketing sketch of that boat. I didn't know they ever made them.

I think it was more of a re-hash of the Tartan 10 than the 101. I would guess Pedrick probably had something to do with the T10 when he was with S&S?

I do remember thinking that the world should not have been subjected to a boat like the T10 in the first place, so why was SJ playing copycat with such a thing?

[CRM]

Yep, It was an early effort of Pedrick's hanging out the designer's shingle. The 101's became an in crowd picnic boat. On race day the crews of the 101's would be all decked out in Black sweaters with embroidered 1 0 1 on the left lapel. The builder of this boat also made a narrow beam 40 foot lead mine model - 411, of the same elk. Also the black sweaters, now supporting the 4 1 1 code name. ----- The Clarks were big on the One Design concept. They started building boats back east, making Thistles, I O D 14's called the Sea Lark 14 and the SJ 21's. I suppose the Clarks were hoping, for lighting to once more striking with the 33's .