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An
8 year Odyssey — The Building of the
M.V. Oyster Catcher
By Robert Garvey
 Dana
and I were still living in Pittsburgh in the fall of 92. The phone
rang. It was Dana’s grandfather, Myron Hokin. "Robert, he said,
"You know something about boats don’t you?" Not waiting for my answer
he continued, "can I interest you in a project?"
The
Search for a Buy-Boat
He
had his eye on an old Chesapeake Bay Buy Boat that had been converted
to a river cruiser. "I don’t want to take you away from anything,"
he said. "But I’d like you to go down and take a look at this boat
with me. We don’t have to buy it but we’ll have fun looking at it."
So off we went.
Unbeknownst
to me, Myron had already made up his mind to buy the boat - he just
needed a partner. It was pretty clear I liked it so after a ride
around the Bay we sat down for lunch with the owner and began to
negotiate.
Myron’s
offer was a mere ten thousand dollars less than the owner was asking
and he said he would buy it without surveying it. I suggested we
start lower so we could negotiate. "Not necessary," he said. "You
wouldn’t leave the boat behind for ten thousand dollars now would
you."
"No,"
I said. "Ten thousand dollars at this price wouldn’t make much of
a difference."
Well
the owner was confident in his boat and wouldn’t reduce his price.
So we agreed to pay it as long as the boat passed a survey. That
said, we moved the boat down to a Virginia boat yard. Several surveys
revealed that the bottom would have to be replaced.
The
owner of the boat yard summed up her condition. He was an old time
Virginian gentleman with a melodic southern accent. He’d been on
the water and in boat yards since he was a kid. He was a short and
stocky man of seventy years. From his mouth hung what looked like
a jury-rigged smokestack. It was a pipe with a six-inch cigar stuffed
in the bowl and standing straight up.
"That
there is what we call a box boat. Nothing difficult about her. But
right now there’s nothing holding her together. She’s moving through
the water like a wet noodle. She’s working and working. Don’t know
what’s keeping her afloat. But don’t you worry we take good care
of her for you. Stiffen her right up. Drop that keel down, lower
the engine, put some stiffeners in her. She won’t move not a’tal.
You could drop her off a cliff, she wouldn’t move. But you can’t
tell the man nothing about her. One thing I got about advice. If
I tell a man he’s got problems with his boat and he don’t listen
— I don’t argue. It’s free. Don’t mean nothing to me. I just say
you right, you right and I walk away from it. I been building boats
some 50 years - I oughta know something about it. I ain’t charging
him nothing for what I know. You think the damn fool would respect
that."
Well
the owner didn’t respect it but I did. Months of negotiations brought
the price down considerably but Myron and the owner remained ten
thousand dollars apart.
I thought
the price had come down enough to pay for replanking the entire
bottom. I argued that the boat was now a much better buy than it
was before the survey. The only thing holding up the deal was the
ten thousand dollars. So I foolishly reminded Myron and said, "You
wouldn’t leave it behind for ten thousand dollars now would you?"
That brought a loud response.
"That
boat’s not worth what I’ve offered. And I won’t give him a God-damned
nickel more."
It
was time to move on.
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Myron's
initial sketch
of his River Cruiser
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1994
- We set out to find a wooden workboat hull that we could convert
to a river cruiser. I started chasing down old work boats from New
England to Miami. Each one had its own story and cast of characters
but at the end of the day it was the same story — the bottoms were
rotten.
Maryland’s
Vanishing Lives
I
was just about to call it quits when for Christmas
that year my wife, Dana, gave me the book, Maryland’s
Vanishing Lives. One chapter profiled the wooden workboat
builder Francis Goddard. The story concluded with the note that
Goddard’s workboats, Poppa Francis (an oyster buyboat) and
Connie Francis (a 1984 oysterdredging skipjack) were
for sale.
The
book had just been published so I figured he might still have the
boats. I looked him up, called and asked him if his buyboat was
for sale. "She sure is. You want her — she’s all yours." I was on
my way.
Francis
Goddard — Wooden Boat Builder
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| Hand
Cutting the Mast |
Francis
Goddard makes his home down in Piney Point
Maryland. He built his first skiff when he was eleven and hasn’t
stopped despite several announcements that he has retired. When
he’s preparing to build a boat he thinks about it at night before
going to sleep. He says he can figure the whole boat out that way.
"I know I got it when I can see the boat in my dreams. That’s when
I know its time to start building."
I met
Francis aboard the Poppa Francis — a 65-foot buyboat that he had
built a few years back. When he’s not building boats he’s out seeding
the Bay with Oysters.
He
liked the idea of building a cabin on the Poppa Francis. He drew
up a quick sketch of cabin that took up roughly two thirds of the
main deck and had a pilothouse and day room perched on top. We drew
up a contract and were ready to close the deal but there was a title
issue that didn’t seem like it was going to go away soon.
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| Boat
in Tree |
"Well,"
he said. "Why don’t you talk to my son Wayne and buy the Connie
Francis. I know there’s no problem there." Francis and Wayne had
built the Connie Francis in 1984. To build her they bought a tract
of timber in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, cut all the trees themselves
and ferried the lumber to Francis’ house in Piney Point. "We built
her in my back yard. Upside down. Then I hitched her up to a tree
and turned it over."
They
hand cut the 80-foot tall long leaf pine mast. The 45-foot, 16-inch
thick Douglas fir keel was trucked in from Oregon.
We
had to rework the drawings but essentially came up with the same
design, and began work on the Connie Francis. We were a few months
into it, had opened up the hull and had begun adding in the new
timbers when we realized that there was a cloud on the title. That
shut things down quickly and it was almost a year before we could
continue the project.
But
this gave Myron and I plenty of time to discuss the interior layouts
and furnishings. We spent many days sketching on graph paper ideas
for the cabins, bunks and dining salon.
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| Exterior |
Lower-Level
Interior
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We
got to know each other through this process. Myron was very methodical.
He attended to every detail from the dinner bell that would hang
outside the dutch door in the galley to the height in the engine
room. I told Myron he didn’t have to worry about the engine room
because I was the one that was probably going to be down there.
But he insisted, "I don’t care who’s done there. I want headroom."
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| Double-Decker
Pilot House |
Upper-Level
Interior
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Fortunately,
all of our ideas were refined with the help of George
Zahn our Marine Surveyor/Engineer and Whitey
Laurier our naval architect.
When
we picked up the project again it was moving along quickly. Wayne
and Francis built a beautiful cabin. They worked liked artists often
making the woodwork more detailed than I expected. The handrail
on the main deck is a good example. I expected an oak rail with
steel stanchions but they built a work of art. It has several courses
of oak, copper colored stanchions and hammered brass fasteners.
As
could be expected, we made a few changes along the way including
shortening the trunk cabin to allow for more deck space and construction
took longer than we had planned.
At
about this time Myron’s health was beginning to fail. He missed
not having a boat. But he never gave up. Many nights when Dana and
I visited her grandparents for dinner he would look out the window
and gaze down at the docks. "Boy it sure would be nice to have the
boat down there tonight."
At
82 he was still one of the most active people I knew. He used every
bit of energy he had. On the day he made his final trip to the hospital
he had a difficult time deciding whether he should go to the hospital
or out to Comiskey Park and enjoy the ball game. He reluctantly
chose the hospital and shortly thereafter slipped away.
His
passing gave us pause; we were more than half way through the project
and after much debate the consensus was to finish the boat. Besides,
he’d probably come back and kick me if didn’t.
The
cabins were built, rooms framed out and paneled but now we needed
a closer. Someone who could finish out the interior, design and
build the furniture and solve a nagging problem we were having with
the trunk cabin layout.
The
Closer
That’s
when we met Clinton Midgett.
He put so many good ideas on the table in our first conversation
that I knew we had found our closer. Clinton had a yard down in
Virginia and off we went. He solved the trunk cabin layout in ten
minutes. I had wanted separate crew and passenger quarters and couldn’t
find a solution. Clinton built a settee around the main cabin, which
functioned as headroom for the crew, deck lockers and bench seating
and that left the entire trunk cabin for passengers. Perfect. Clinton
brought on a crew of six and worked all summer.
After
all this work I felt that we should launch her with a new name.
Many were tabled but none seem to fit. That’s when Dana’s father,
Richard, suggested we name her the Oyster Catcher. It had a nice
ring to it. The bird was found in the Bay area and since the boat
was a skipjack and was used to catch oysters, it seemed perfect.
She
was officially christened the Oyster Catcher on October 5, 2000
in Annapolis.
She
is now ready for charter. Join us. Have some fun. Jeff and Jeryl
will take good care of you.
Our
thanks to our Conversion Crew!
Francis
Goddard, Wayne Goddard, Clinton Midgett, Whitie Laurier, George
Zahn,
The
Team
Dana
Hokin, is the managing partner and director of the Bitter
End Yacht Club, an 85 room resort located on Virgin Gorda in
the British Virgin Islands. The resort has an international reputation
as a world-class resort and is considered a mecca for sailors and
watersports enthusiasts worldwide.
Dana
holds a BFA from Parsons School of Design and Lang College, both
divisions of the New School University. Prior to assuming full responsibility
for the Bitter End, she was on the pre-college faculty of Carnegie
Mellon University's Art Department. She was also co-founder and
director of a non-profit multi-media art and performance space known
as the Birmingham Loft.
Robert
Garvey is a marine engineer and president of Century Cruising.
He and Dana’s grandfather first conceived of the Oyster Catcher
river cruiser in 1992.
He
was instrumental in restructuring the marine operations division
of the Bitter End Yacht Club which boasts a fleet of over 120 small
recreational boats, work boats, a 72 mooring anchorage, outboard
and diesel repair shops as well as a full-time ferry service.
Robert
was a staff reporter for the Star-Democrat in Easton, MD. In addition
to the Oyster Catcher, Robert and Dana have formed (ADD LINK) Rocket
Turtle Enterprises a company that will produce educational entertainment
for kids of all ages.
George
Zahn
Engineer/Surveyor
George
has been on this project from the beginning. He surveyed the original
boat we left behind seven years ago. He has been a great help and
played a critical role in our acquiring the USCG inspected vessel
status.
George
Zahn is a graduate marine engineer with over 45 years experience
in the marine field. Since 1986 in private practice as a Marine
Surveyor and Marine Engineer engaged primarily in recreational vessels
and smaller commercial vessels. He is a Registered Engineer in Virginia,
a member of SNAME, SAMS, ABYC and numerous local organizations.
He has been involved in the reconstruction and certification of
numerous yachts and their conversion to USCG inspected small passenger
vessels, including the steel Miss Ann and the wood El Presidente.
M.J.
"Whitey" Laurier
Architect
Yorktown,
VA
M.J.
Laurier is a graduate of the Webb Institute with a BS degree in
Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He was a Sloan Fellow
at the MIT Sloan School of Management and holds a MS degree in Industrial
Management.
Mr.
Laurier was involved with designing and testing the first nuclear
submarine, the USS Nautilus. For 16 years he was president of his
own boat building, repair and marina business. His company built
the first fiberglass commercial fishing boat produced on the Chesapeake
Bay.
With
over 45 years of marine experience Laurier now specializes in services
for commercial fishing and pleasure vessels.
Wayne
Goddard
(Wooden Boat Builder)
Wayne Goddard
W.F.G
Marine
Wooden-Boat Builder, Lusby Maryland
Wayne
operates W.F.G Marine on the Hungerford Creek off the Patuxent River
in Lusby, Md near Solomon’s Island.
He
learned his trade of building boats from his father Francis. He
builds boats one at a time, each to the customer’s specifications.
Just this summer Wayne and his Father were honored at the Calvert
Marine Museum. The event was "Goddard Day, a celebration of the
Deadrise Workboat".
Clinton
Midgett
Boats
Etc.
Stump Point, VA
"The
Closer"
Sailors
who ply the waters of Cape Hatteras recognize the Midgett name from
local commerce and from bygone folklore of the Outer Banks of North
Carolina. Early stories associate it with piracy, but the turn of
the century brought the family recognition for boat building, commercial
fishing, and a prominent role in North Carolina’s Coast Guard Surfboat
Service.
Clint’s
grandfather migrated to Virginia’s southernmost coastal area. Coming
of age at the Virginia Beach ocean front in the 1960’s, Clint was
consumed by a passion for surfing. This took him to both US coasts,
to Mexico, and to Hawaii.
Clint
realized that surfing was a solo sport which had taken him away
from family. Boatbuilding was a family tradition, and boat rebuilding
was the vehicle for re-establishing strong ties with his father.
Together they found, bought, and restored a skipjack with a make~and~break
engine. That became the first of a succession of joint ventures
with wooden sailboats.
Meanwhile
Clint, who had bean trained first as a classical guitarist and then
as a jazz keyboard player, worked as a regional musician. When not
involved with his boats, Clint spent time playing in clubs, teaching,
repairing guitars creating tunes for television commercials, and
composing music for videos such as John Ford’s A World Sailing
Safari.
After
his father departed from sail and went the trawler route, Clint
himself found the project of his life: a Crocker designed 1921 motor
sailor. Because of her deteriorated condition, he purchased the
vessel for the price of her engine only. He proceeded to step through
a garboard, break a rib, mend, and seriously embrace his restoration
project. What lay ahead were seven labor~intensive years of research,
creativity, and skill-building.
In
order to sharpen his craftsmanship, Clint went to work in a yacht
yard in Gloucester, Virginia doing all phases of boat repair. Subsequently
he spent a year at the Hinkley yard in Southwest Harbor, Maine overseeing
the construction of Arion, a 67 foot C. Raymond Hunt motor
yacht. For the last several years he has been a free lance agent
involved in yacht restoration work specializing in interior joinery,
hull and systems refits.
Clint
and wife Betty own and operate BOATS ETC. INC. a Mobjack Bay based
company. Working on traditional type vessels they have completed
a number of large projects including fiber-glassing a 43 foot Clarence
Hiesler built Nova Scotian knockabout schooner, new bulwarks
decks and Trunk cabin on a 60 foot 1929 "buy boat" and
a continuing list of refinements rigging.systems and joinery on
the 75 foot 5chooner Leopard".
Finishing
off the "OysterCatcher" a 57 foot converted skipjack brings us
up to date.
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