DAYDREAM
to keep her so, and go forward to gather the tack and
clew before lowering the sail. One reason for the yawl
rig, as opposed to a cutter, was to be able to fly a mizzen
staysail. It can add considerable speed on beam and
broad reaches and gives me a chance to fly more canvas!
As one can see, quite a bit of exercise and energy, plus
good balance in a seaway, are needed to sail her alone
with her several sails, and that is exactly the idea. I
cannot think of anything more gratifying than using
one’s brain and body in conjunction to practice
seamanship at the highest level of which one is capable.
About the time I started building Daydream, Brad
Pease from the local wooden boatyard [now First Light
Boatworks] called to let me know there was a ketch built
in the 1930s practically sinking at their dock – would I
be interested in the bronze hardware? You bet! In the
end the owner paid me to take the boat away; I stripped
her of wood and bronze blocks, portholes, gooseneck
fittings, turnbuckles, cleats and pad eyes, all bronze.
These were complemented by two lovely bronze winches
and a bronze compass I had kept from another vessel.
Yet more bronze hardware was procured from another
source, at which point I realized I could build the boat
with no stainless fittings whatsoever.
I fashioned Herreshoff-style mast tangs from bronze
plate (when finishing the round mast I left flat areas onAbove: the
original sheerline
was tweaked, the
stern kicked up a
little and bow
lowered, while
the cabin is lower
than that on the
original boat.
Below: cast, plug
and finished
bowsprit fittingwhich to mount the tangs), and carved wood patterns for
casting the gammon and cranse irons, rudder fittings and
propeller strut. Quite some hours were spent puzzling
over how to allocate the many salvaged blocks to satisfy
the requirements of the complicated rig, but in the end
every single block was used to advantage.
Shortly after I started construction I came across a
picture of the original boat, Crystal ll. She appeared on a
2006 web page, but with little information. My English
friend David Grainger located her particulars; she was
launched in 1929, built by AM Dickie and Sons of
Tarbert, Argyll, Scotland. Despite David’s efforts he could
not locate the current owner. However, Michael Palmer,
the great nephew of Edwin Kerr, who owned the boat
from 1954 to 1981, saw my request online for
information, and sent pictures and stories of Crystal II.
This was followed by more information and pictures
from Roger Thwaites, who sailed with Edwin Kerr and
subsequently bought the boat and sailed her until 1997.
And then in August 2017, Michael Palmer finally located
the original boat, for sale by brokers MJ Lewis and Sons,
Malden, Essex. She looks to be nicely restored.
Mr Palmer informs me that his great uncle Edwin
took the boat up the east coast of England and through
the Forth and Clyde Canal to the west coast of Scotland,
first based at Tighnabruich and later Oban. Although he
sometimes sailed with friends, he also took long summer
cruises along the west coast alone. At some point he
added a doghouse (later removed), to help deal with
Scottish weather. Other changes were noted: a wheel was
added, then later deleted, and the bowsprit shortened.
Now that the original Crystal II has been located and
will almost certainly sail again, and my own boat is
sailing, I feel the story of Fred Shepherd’s Crystal has
come full circle. I have a large stock of information and
pictures of the original, which tie Daydream to her past.
I am clearly honored to be a part of this rich and
interesting yachting history. And now Daydream, newly
built and in company with Crystal II, should carry this
history forward for many years to come.