Newporter owners are the “Caregivers” and the Newporters are the
recipients of the care given. All of you are amazing people in my mind,
for I have seen some amazing things done at your hands.
I got “involved” by responding to an entry in a forum somewhere way back when and I left my email address in the response. From that innocent little action of mine I have had the pleasure of emailing with several people around the world that at least had an interest in Newporters. But my real joy came from owners in the New World; British Columbia, Texas, and Tennessee. These three owners each had their own problems and questions so what I said to one did not necessarily answer the others’ questions. But it got me involved in first one boat and then another.
It has been through this involvement that has caused me to think that the advanced technology of the beginning years of the Newporter was so far ahead of its time that it wasn’t realized it was missing something. These boats were well built. I base that on what a visiting naval architect said at the end of his visit where at the time I was the foreman: “This is where I want my boats built. I have never seen such well built boats.” I tend to take his word for that.
Experience has shown that the Newporters could take a beating. One, from the Stowman yard, on a demonstration trip before my time at the yard, was knocked down to the point that the taffrail was under water, and she came right back up. I was on bow watch one night looking for an unlit buoy while rounding Montauk Point coming out of Long Island Sound into the ocean, in a blow that had our bowsprit punching holes in the seas ahead, and though I was standing astraddle the stays’l boom with each hand clutching a lifeline, the seas were lifting the bow high and dropping her into the trough so quickly that my feet were leaving the deck. She took it without a whimper; she did; the crew was sick as seadogs to a man. You get a lot of confidence in a boat in things like that. That was the wind we sailed in all night long and into the morning. Never saw Atlantic City looking so good.
So, they were soundly designed and built. But the years have taken their toll. Many owners maintain their boats to look good. Few seek for weak spots. A good paint job hides a lot of problems, and these problems remain hidden until they allow too much water access to the bilges. Therefore, because my recent involvement with Newporters always includes questions of how they were built, and what goes here and what is there, the boats I “see” have problems, drastic problems at times. Leading me to think that a very thorough survey is always a good thing to do, because, it seems, these boats all have problems. (That’s how they appear to me, not having seen a boat without rot somewhere caused by the fiberglass giving away somewhere else.) But I have also learned something else.
I have learned that though one of these boats is found to be in bad condition, bad enough to think that the end has come, they are only asking for help in their time of trouble. My cardiologist told me that the heart gives us pain in the time of trouble because it can’t speak English. Pain is its only means of communication. These boats are also lacking in the ability to speak. When we finally hear them, they are not saying “I'm dying,” they are looking for a new lease on life. At present, my best example of a Newporter at death’s door that is being resurrected is “Wilson,” the Newporter in Tennessee. “Old Willie’s” (as I call her) owner is Bob, the owner and operator of Newporter 40 Together. Take a look at what he has done on his boat. He, like so many of you, saw the boat, loved it, bought it, then found out some things he didn’t know. He didn’t buy her blind; he knew right well she needed help. He just didn’t know how much. But he was willing to learn and he put her on the hard and took her apart so as to put her back together in a good way. This led him to completely remove a very rotted apron and replace it new. He did it while the boat was sitting on the apron. Many of the frame pieces were replaced in the process. He has finished his planking job and with that he built a new transom. Find his “page” by clicking on his “icon” any place you find it on his site and read his collected writings that describe what he has done. It is not only filled with good information, you will find it inspirational. He didn’t take on this job as an experienced boat builder; he took it on as a way to learn boat building. While I have been keeping an eye on Bob's progress I have looked as some other Newporters that had a lot of rot, and some of them were broken up and discarded. None of those discarded boats were in as bad condition as was Bob's, yet almost by himself he is getting his boat sailing again.
I got “involved” by responding to an entry in a forum somewhere way back when and I left my email address in the response. From that innocent little action of mine I have had the pleasure of emailing with several people around the world that at least had an interest in Newporters. But my real joy came from owners in the New World; British Columbia, Texas, and Tennessee. These three owners each had their own problems and questions so what I said to one did not necessarily answer the others’ questions. But it got me involved in first one boat and then another.
It has been through this involvement that has caused me to think that the advanced technology of the beginning years of the Newporter was so far ahead of its time that it wasn’t realized it was missing something. These boats were well built. I base that on what a visiting naval architect said at the end of his visit where at the time I was the foreman: “This is where I want my boats built. I have never seen such well built boats.” I tend to take his word for that.
Experience has shown that the Newporters could take a beating. One, from the Stowman yard, on a demonstration trip before my time at the yard, was knocked down to the point that the taffrail was under water, and she came right back up. I was on bow watch one night looking for an unlit buoy while rounding Montauk Point coming out of Long Island Sound into the ocean, in a blow that had our bowsprit punching holes in the seas ahead, and though I was standing astraddle the stays’l boom with each hand clutching a lifeline, the seas were lifting the bow high and dropping her into the trough so quickly that my feet were leaving the deck. She took it without a whimper; she did; the crew was sick as seadogs to a man. You get a lot of confidence in a boat in things like that. That was the wind we sailed in all night long and into the morning. Never saw Atlantic City looking so good.
So, they were soundly designed and built. But the years have taken their toll. Many owners maintain their boats to look good. Few seek for weak spots. A good paint job hides a lot of problems, and these problems remain hidden until they allow too much water access to the bilges. Therefore, because my recent involvement with Newporters always includes questions of how they were built, and what goes here and what is there, the boats I “see” have problems, drastic problems at times. Leading me to think that a very thorough survey is always a good thing to do, because, it seems, these boats all have problems. (That’s how they appear to me, not having seen a boat without rot somewhere caused by the fiberglass giving away somewhere else.) But I have also learned something else.
I have learned that though one of these boats is found to be in bad condition, bad enough to think that the end has come, they are only asking for help in their time of trouble. My cardiologist told me that the heart gives us pain in the time of trouble because it can’t speak English. Pain is its only means of communication. These boats are also lacking in the ability to speak. When we finally hear them, they are not saying “I'm dying,” they are looking for a new lease on life. At present, my best example of a Newporter at death’s door that is being resurrected is “Wilson,” the Newporter in Tennessee. “Old Willie’s” (as I call her) owner is Bob, the owner and operator of Newporter 40 Together. Take a look at what he has done on his boat. He, like so many of you, saw the boat, loved it, bought it, then found out some things he didn’t know. He didn’t buy her blind; he knew right well she needed help. He just didn’t know how much. But he was willing to learn and he put her on the hard and took her apart so as to put her back together in a good way. This led him to completely remove a very rotted apron and replace it new. He did it while the boat was sitting on the apron. Many of the frame pieces were replaced in the process. He has finished his planking job and with that he built a new transom. Find his “page” by clicking on his “icon” any place you find it on his site and read his collected writings that describe what he has done. It is not only filled with good information, you will find it inspirational. He didn’t take on this job as an experienced boat builder; he took it on as a way to learn boat building. While I have been keeping an eye on Bob's progress I have looked as some other Newporters that had a lot of rot, and some of them were broken up and discarded. None of those discarded boats were in as bad condition as was Bob's, yet almost by himself he is getting his boat sailing again.
So, what am I trying to say? Just that you are the caregiver. Give her some care. You don’t need to be experienced now, but you will be when you are finished. These are good boats, even when in poor condition. They, as Bob says on his site, should sail forever.
