No boat’s without faults, but for these owners the Bristol 24 is near-perfect
Issue 29 : Mar/Apr 2003
Dovekie
Mike Whitehead and Jeff Gove, sailmakers with Pope Sails and Rigging Inc., in Rockland, Maine, were in the right place at the right time. Dovekie, a just-restored Bristol 24 complete with mooring and dinghy, fell into their laps last spring at a bargain price. And the sloop sails much better than they expected.
“At first I didn’t want the hassles of ownership; I often sail on other people’s boats,” says Mike, 49, a relaxed, competent helmsman who raced Lasers on Long Island Sound as a youngster and never stopped sailing. “When my wife, Kate, was after me to buy a boat so we could get out on the water, we looked at an 18-footer, but it was too small. Dovekie is exactly right.” Kate, who sailed a Sunfish as a teenager in Ohio, is a delighted, enthusiastic mate.
When Mike asked Jeff, also 49, to buy Dovekie with him, Jeff considered it “all of 30 seconds.” Jeff learned to sail aboard his father’s daysailer but felt he couldn’t afford his own boat. His wife, Judy, a teacher of at-risk seventh- and eighth-graders, also embraced the idea. She joined a rowing team and began sailing lessons on a Bristol 24 at Atlantic Challenge Foundation. “She doesn’t want me to teach her . . . for good reason,” says Jeff.
The Whiteheads and the Goves take turns sailing Dovekie on spacious Rockland Harbor or Penobscot Bay, Maine’s premier sailing grounds, most weekends and after work. It’s only a five-minute drive from the sail loft to the dinghy dock — perfect for an evening cruise around the harbor.
Fast and nimble
Their 1966 24-footer, hull #29, is surprisingly fast and nimble, moves smoothly through the water in light air and handles well in heavy weather. “She’s no race boat, though the handicap is such that we’d probably do well,” says Jeff, who also crews for his boss aboard a Tartan 10.
“Dovekie’s extremely seaworthy, as I found out when we were surfing six-foot seas,” he says. “I thought ‘Wow!’ when the GPS registered 7.5 knots. My fastest time was 8.2 knots — maybe a world record for Bristol 24s. I felt comfortable, though it was a wild ride in mighty big waves. There are few 24-footers I’d want to be out on in that kind of weather.”
The boat needed little work, a big plus to Mike and Jeff. They bought a GPS and a Honda 5-hp four-stroke outboard, changed some blocks, varnished the mahogany interior bulkheads, and applied teak oil to the exterior trim.
“Patrick Rowling (the previous owner) redid all the structural parts inside and out, replaced the lifelines, added roller furling, and added really nice cushions,” says Mike. The two sailmakers plan to change the mainsheet system, add a spinnaker, and build new sails.
Dovekie’s full keel (with a draft of 3 feet, 6 inches) pleases Jeff in Maine’s lobster-pot-infested waters. The pot buoys slide right off and don’t get tangled in the rudder or prop, a constant worry aboard boats with fin keels and spade rudders.
“So far there’s nothing we dislike about our boat,” says Jeff. “Down below is well-designed, with lots of stowage, great space (eight-foot beam), six-foot headroom, and five very comfortable bunks.”
Casual planning
They operate their partnership on a laissez-faire basis. “I’d like to cruise next weekend,” is often the extent of advance planning. Partnership has another virtue: “We can sail farther because one couple can cruise Down East for a week, and the other can spend a week cruising back,” says Mike, who has sailed in the Caribbean. “The coast of Maine is a sailor’s paradise, as long as you keep a chart handy.”
Kate has more distant dreams. “We could sail down the Intracoastal Waterway in this boat, couldn’t we?” To Mike’s reply, “We could, but I can’t see any reason for it,” she instantly responds, “For fun!”
The Whiteheads and Goves agree that all the pieces fell into place — the boat, the price, the timing, the partnership, Pope Sails’ new property where they can store and work on the boat, everything. Mike speaks for all when he says “I’m very happy we bought it.”
Agassiz
John Keefe, of Windam, Maine, has a Bristol 24 that he keeps in Portland Harbor. “Exhilarating, riding the waves in 15 to 17 knots of wind,” he says of a recent cruise in Maine’s Casco Bay. “I took spray over the whole boat — the first time I’ve ever done that.”
John simply casts off from his mooring and broad-reaches into Casco Bay. Then wind and tides determine where among the more than 300 islands he’ll sail that day or weekend.
“I bought this boat three years ago because I liked its lines and full keel,” says the 44-year-old FAA aviation safety inspector who lives about an hour inland. “I singlehand a lot, and she’s stable, safe, and easy to handle.”
John named his 1969 sloop Agassiz, after Mt. Agassiz, New Hampshire, where he owns property. In both places he can find solitude away from the rat race.
“Casco Bay is a wonderful place to sail, because of the variety,” he says. “The sea breeze comes up almost every afternoon by 1 p.m., but conditions are always different, often perfect. Light air can be discouraging because she’s built heavy, of prehistoric fiberglass, so she sails best in lots of wind.”
Though John often solos, coworkers join him on Wednesday evenings, and he gathers friends for weekend cruises. “Saturdays and Sunday mornings can be a zoo on the water, but Sunday afternoon through Tuesday, few people are sailing,” he says. “It’s wonderful then.”
Laser sailor
The sailing bug bit John when he was in his 20s and first sailed in Lasers on Cape Cod. “I kept my hand in by sailing with friends, watching, and asking lots of questions, until I bought this Bristol. I still crew occasionally on other people’s boats. But usually they come with me.”
He has little trouble rounding up a crew, for he keeps his 8-foot Walker Bay dinghy at Portland Yacht Services, a cruising-boat-oriented marina run by former circumnavigators Phineas and Joanna Sprague. “The people here are real friendly,” says John. “And some neat boats from all over the world come in here.”
On paper, his boat sleeps five (in a convertible dinette double berth, a double V-berth forward and a starboard quarter berth). “Really, it has rustic cruising accommodations for two with good headroom,” says John. “The solar-powered fan provides good ventilation when the forward hatch is closed.”
The cabin has a vintage look with mahogany trim, varnished sole, and starboard galley with Formica counters, mahogany cabinets, sink, water system, icebox, and new stove. The V-berth conceals a Porta Potti.
The sweet sheer, aluminum mast, and 269 square feet of Dacron sail reveal hull #390’s age. The bulkhead-mounted compass and GPS are easily seen from the tiller.
John replaced the topping lift, added a GPS, and picks up fenders that float past his mooring. “When I haven’t gone to the marine store in a week, I consider that good,” he says.
Mixed blessing
Maine’s normally cool summers make the dodger “a good deal, though when it’s up, the boat’s harder to sail,” John says. “The sidedecks are hard to reach, and the dodger tie-downs interfere with the winches.
“I’m not fond of the outboard in the lazarette, because the controls are inconvenient, and it overheats if I motor a long time,” he says. Hence, he often powers with the lazarette hatch open. “I’d rather have a diesel inboard, but it would take up too much space.”
John likes the Bristol’s solidness, seakeeping ability, and ease of handling but has succumbed to three-foot-itis. “I’m looking for a second-generation Bristol 29.9 or 33.3 (built in the 1970s or ’80s) with an inboard engine,” he admits.
Meanwhile, he’s saving his vacation time for a cruise to Maine’s mid-coast region. His job as a maintenance inspector of balloons, helicopters, and small jets in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont often runs more than 40 hours a week, allowing him to accumulate enough compensatory time for the 150- mile round trip.
After a solo cruise, he deftly noses Agassiz up to the dock and competently secures the lines by himself. “You have to get creative when you sail alone,” he notes.
Once John puts his boat away for the season, he works weekends on Mt. Washington’s (New Hampshire) ski patrol. “Sailing all summer, skiing all winter. I have the best of both worlds.”
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
