1988 Custom Schooner

A 62-foot gaff-rigged schooner built with hand-selected Honduran mahogany, white oak, and copper fasteners throughout. The hull was constructed in Morro Bay during the 1960s and finished in Orange County in 1988. Shipwright David Baxter built her using traditional carvel plank-on-frame methods with attention to classic details—Oregon pine masts and wooden blocks—that reflect the construction standards of sailing ships from a century ago. The boat features a topmast configuration and carries the graceful, elegant proportions characteristic of traditional schooner design.

The structural foundation is substantial: the mahogany hull planking is riveted with copper above the stringers and bronze-screwed below to laminated white oak frames spaced 10 inches apart. White oak floors run inboard, while the sheer strake is bronze-bolted to the frame heads. The clamp is fir at 2 by 4 inches, the shelf fir at 2 by 3 inches, and bilge stringers are doubled. The stem and keelson are hewn white oak at 7.5 inches.

A single 135-horsepower Ford diesel engine powers the yacht, with a cruising speed of 7 knots. The rigging requires completion to bring the boat to full sailing capability. Recently, the bottom has been repainted.