Boats in the Yard - USA 16 - Folly

I was over at Svendsen's getting a thing or two, was hanging out with Patrick and noticed a Folkboat out in the yard. A white boat with a wood transom... Hmmm, could it be Folly was being worked on?









I walked a little closer and... yes, it was Folly. I know this boat very well. This was my father's first Folkboat he bought in 1962. I was practically born on this boat. It's distinctive cabin with no windows is another dead give away.









Jason Roe bought her off Chris who bought her off of John, who had bought it off another guy named John, who had bought it off another guy named... John, who bought it off my dad. He bought it off a guy who last name was Seward, hence the name Folly. For those who don't know their expansionist history, Seward's Folly is what they called the purchase of Alaska from the Russians for I think it was 7.2 million dollars in 1867. That's 1.9 cents per acre. In retrospect a great deal.



This boat too is a great deal not because of her history in the fleet, but because of how well she's been cared for. The keel was re-bolted, if I may use the term, in 2005. And the rails are new, the cabin was stripped and refinished and I believe the boom is new also. Jason has repainted the bottom, is refinishing the transom, repainting the deck and also repainting the hull above the waterline.





A serious amount of work no matter how high your enthusiasm level is, was, would have been if you had any idea how much it would cost to do all the things necessary to keep up a wooden Folkboat. But the youth movement is strong in our fleet in SF. There are several of these projects going on right now and this one, when finished, will be out racing once again! That dream I had of 20 boats on the line may become a reality sooner than I thought.




The interior work will have to wait... a Svendsen bill tends to get larger the more time you spend out in the yard so close to that chandlery with everything you do and don't really need.










I found some of my dad's old handiwork down below. What's this you may ask?












It's called a, "Go fast goodie." Top secret stuff when you are 8 years old and ask you dad the same question. In reality it's a way to adjust the jib halyard tension from the helm's position without having to ask your crew to do anything because as we all know, if you have to ask it's already too late.







Mostly used down wind and very illegal from what I understand, it allows the skipper to extend the jib out from the deck about a foot and a half. I'm not sure how or why this is useful, but I'm working on it. It's hard to see, but the red line is connected to a wire that comes up where the tack of the jib connects. The line feeds aft to within arms reach of the skipper down wind.







Oh the stories I could tell about this boat and where she's been and what she's done... Let's just leave it as she's a good boat with a great history.