Angelique Come Eagle Borne Hull # 49
(from email 3/1/2010) Allen,
Our L-36, Eagle Borne, (sailed the last 5 years in Alaska) is a cherished craft that set the hook in my heart for sailing. However, my sailing goals are reaching over the horizon and I'm upgrading to a world-cruising Passport 40. Eagle Borne is in fine condition and ready for more rigorous adventures. From owning her, I want MORE, not less, sailing in my life.
Please spread the word that Eagle Borne, (Hull #49, circa 1960, ex Viajera, ex Angelique) may become available to a good home. I have not yet decided if I'll really sell her, but serious interest may help me make up my mind. Over the past 5 years, I've upgraded as follows:
New Mainsail New mainsheet traveller New running rigging New Dodger New heavy-duty full-length winter cover Rebuilt engine (Fresh water cooled Volvo MD11C) New high-output alternator New house battery bank and switching Smart trickle-chargers for both battery banks New Wallas diesel oven, stove, and cabin heater (Safe-Flame) New LED cabin lights New electric potable water pump and control New Dual bilge pumps with electronic float switches New composting head (this is a real jewel!) New electric winch, bow roller, and bullnose Upgraded ground tackle Good upkeep and maintenance on decks, cabin, topsides, lights, spars, and tiller. She has five headsails, (self-tacking jib on a rebuilt clubfoot, staysail, lapper, and 2 genoas). To any serious inquiries I will provide more information including known shortcomings.
Hull # 49 came to me by way of the Boy Scouts of America. The Western Alaska Council generously received the sailboat in the will of Mike Roberts. As an adult volunteer, I showed an interest in crewing on her.
After several years struggling to integrate her into the scouting program, the council executive decided that the population center of Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley were just too far from the sailing ports of Homer and Seward to engage a meaningful number of young adults in a sailing program. They approached me with an offer to sell. I bought.
Hull # 49 started life in the southern California shops of Chapman & Kalayjian. She was christened the Angelique on June 11, 1960, at 11:30 AM at the Rosan’s Coast Hiway Newport Beach by Bob & June Steffensen. Bob and June sailed and raced Angelique for several years in the San Francisco Bay Area and in coastal races to Mexico. They placed and showed many times; a good, long story in its own right.
After 14 years, the Steffensens sold Angelique to a fellow Bay Area sailor (name unknown), as they upgraded to another Lapworth design, the famous Cal 40. Angelique next surfaces (no pun intended) hauled out at Svendsen’s Boat Works, Alameda, CA, under the name Viajera in 1977 for a survey commissioned by Mr Glenn Brooks of Anchorage, AK.
Viajera was surveyed afloat in the Homer, AK, harbor in 2000 at the request of the Boy Scouts of America. Renamed the Roberts, she was used for scouting adventures, meetings, and promotions until purchased by Walter Heins of Anchorage. Renamed the Eagle Borne in honor of the Eagle Scouts in our family heritage, she now is home-ported in Seward, AK.
I’m making a perennial hobby of repairs, upgrades, and improvements to complement our joy of sailing. Much of Eagle Borne’s fittings are original as far as we can tell, and it is only reluctantly that we change out to more modern and less worn equipment. The first improvement was to refinish her from the toe rails down and fix a soft spot on the hull, amidships near the garboard.
Refinishing the Eagle Borne, 2005 |
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The day I bought her, April, 2004. |
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April, 2004 |
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April, 2004 |
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April, 2004 |
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On the hard,Seward, AK,
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Tented against the elements. |
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Stripping down to bare wood. Applying Peel ‘N Strip with a roller. It was dirty work, but at least the stripper is just caustic, not toxic. My “home” for the next dozen weekends is in the background. |
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Scraping the hull inch by inch is a good way to get to know her. Of course that is followed by sanding and fairing, followed by barrier coats, primers, and top coats all done inch by inch. |
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The bottom comes clean |
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That’s a lot of pretty wood |
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Fine joinery. Mahogany strip plank construction. |
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 Son Spencer on the sander |
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Son Grady on the buffing wheel. Corrosion pits show on the prop |
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Fairing with epoxy thickened with wood flour. It drooped a lot… |
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Topsides at the starboard toe rail, looking forward at how the finished wood will look. |
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Topsides at the starboard toe rail again. |
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Leading edge of he keel. |
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New stripes on the starboard topsides, abaft the cockpit. |
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Bottom & topsides nearing the end of this project. |
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I’m tellin’ you, she has a fine curve to her stern. |
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Ready for Resurrection Bay! |
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She turns heads. A job well done. |
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Her bow in the sun |
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She gleams in her last hours before refloating her. |
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Afloat with new colors and a dodger. |
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Relieved to be done. |
Materials used:
West System epoxy barrier coat. Same epoxy thickened with wood flour for fairing, especially for exposed wood grain and brightwork. Epoxy thickened with micro-bubbles were used for some other fairing and bedding work. Kirby primer under the bottom paint. West Marine BottomKote Gold bottom paint. Interlux Toplac for the top sides. All paint was applied with the roll-and-tip method.
Lessons learned:
Use a stripper formulated for boat paints. Peel ‘n Strip has several varieties; don’t use the one for house paint.
Use a fairing compound that doesn’t droop. I spent a great deal of time tending the fairing compound until the epoxy set. The micro Bubbles are better than wood flour, but there are even better compounds made just for fairing that I would use next time.
Get her back in the water as soon as possible. Eagle Borne’s joints opened up while on the hard, and she made about 300 gallons per hour upon refloating her. After three days that was down to a few gallons a day; now much less.
Don’t let your project encroach on the sailing season. I got very antsy watching the fleet enjoy our beautiful May weather while I was still putting in 18 hour days in a panic that I would miss the whole season.
Click Here for previous posting on hull #49
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