BBY Restores a 100+ year-old Winter Harbor Knockabout

The Winter Harbor Knockabouts, also known as Winter Harbor 21s, are believed to be the oldest complete fleet of one-designs in the country. They spend their summers together racing along the Schoodic Peninsula at the Winter Harbor Yacht Club in Winter Harbor, Maine.

Brooklin Boat Yard currently cares for two of the seven Knockabouts, one of which is Zephyr owned by Tom Kirchoff. Tom says of his decision to bring Zephyr to BBY for maintenance, “They have a great reputation and are better suited to tackle the serious issues.” Indeed, since Zephyr is 100+ years old and still actively raced every summer, there were issues that needed to be addressed to keep Zephyr in shape for competition. We were up to the task!

Zephyr had been leaking badly, so it was clear some exploratory work needed to be done to identify where she needed to be shored up. Haddie, the craftsman who has worked on Zephyr these last months, says, “As much as we can, we need to repair but also restore… that’s always the consideration. How much should we do?” Haddie explains the “setting the cotton” process that he used in order to pinpoint problem areas. “We have to gently tap the caulking iron in all of the plank seams. If there’s no resistance, then you know there’s a leak there.” What he found was some compromised plank seams in the cotton caulking. Through further investigation in the forefoot of the stem to keel joint and garboard seam, he found some rotted areas that required thoughtful removal and replacement of wood throughout the intersection of the stem to keel joint, frames, and plank hood ends. Still, it’s Haddie’s goal to keep the integrity of this special wooden boat intact while still giving her new life on the water.

Haddie has grown fond of Zephyr during his time caring for her. “This boat is phenomenally strong, and she’s really old. Just a fascinating shape. I love to consider what they were thinking when they made her that way.” The Knockabouts were designed and built by Alpheus A. Packard (1871-1948) and William Starling Burgess (1878-1947) of Marblehead in 1906. They were delivered to the yacht club in 1907.

The Knockabouts are still raced every Saturday from July 4th through August at the Winter Harbor Yacht Club. With any luck, we will go see them in action this summer with Zephyr boasting her newly-restored hull!

You can read a complete history of these extraordinary boats at the Winter Harbor Yacht Club’s website and in the book, A Fortunate Fleet: A Century of Sailing in Winter Harbor Knockabouts by Victoria Goldstein.