PORT TOWNSEND — The Rat Island Rowing Club is restoring a 62-foot-long wooden classic racing shell and is using an Internet crowdfunding site to raise money to preserve a piece of maritime history.
Kathy was donated to the club in 2013. Rowers used the boat throughout the 2014 season before discovering it needed repairs.
Built in 1976 by Pocock in Everett, the boat accommodates up to eight rowers with two oars each, providing a speed and stability beyond that of other craft, according to club member Francine Rose.
Restoration is being done in the boat shed at the Northwest Maritime Center at 431 Water St., Port Townsend.
“These boats take a lot of money to repair and are like rescue dogs,” Rose said.
The club has a $9,000 goal, of which half had been pledged by Thursday afternoon on the crowdfunding site at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-rat-island.
The campaign closes at 11:59 p.m. March 31.
The club will use the pledged money for the restoration even if the goal is not met.
Kathy and her Pocock siblings, eight of which are owned by the club and stored at the maritime center, are not just boats, Rose said.
“This is all about harmony, balance and rhythm,” Rose said.
“Rowing is an easy thing to do, but it is hard to do well, like playing the bass.
“These boats really are musical instruments, they are so beautifully put together.”
Rose said many of the boats constructed by Pocock need more repair than their owners can afford, leading to their disposal or donation.
Restoring Kathy, then, helps preserve history and saves the vessels from a potentially embarrassing fate, she said.
“A lot of people on eBay pay money to use them as salad bars,” Rose said.
“There have been a few of those that have been rescued and restored or put on display.”
Kathy is special, she said, because the Pocock company no longer builds wooden boats, using fiberglass for its current product line.
“These [wooden] boats feel much better on the water than fiberglass. They are more comfortable and stable,” she said.
“When you get a group of people rowing together, it makes the boat come alive. It’s a very organic feeling.”
Renovation includes replacing rotting wood, varnishing and redecking the inside of the boat, and varnishing the outside.
Sanding the entire boat, including a complicated lattice structure inside, is the most time-consuming and detailed part of the process, Rose said.
The 60-member club owns several wooden and fiberglass shells and operates out of the boat shed at the Northwest Maritime Center.
The club has a yearly budget of around $20,000, with the largest expense the rental of the facility.
The enclosed boat shed is a necessity for the wooden shells, as they must be kept inside when they are not in use, Rose said.
For more information, see www.ratislandrowing.com.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
