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 Looking for escape from the rat race? Do you like small boats? Do you like hanging around the water, and just shooting the breeze with friends? Have you already built, or ever considered building your own small boat? Do you like laid-back non-competitive people? Do you like to do things with your family? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you should check out the possibility of becoming a Scuzbum.
 Scuzbums ? - The name of our group officially is Southern California Small Boat Messabout Society, or SCSBMS. If you try to read the initials, it says "scuzbums", and we feel the nickname is both fun and fitting. We are a wholesome family-oriented group of friends who have in common our love of small boats and just messing about on or near the water in a relaxed and unstructured setting.
 Our burgee is a conversation-starter. It is affectionately known as "Three Seats to the Wind." If you are interested in finding out more about Scuzbums, email kapel@Exchange.FULLERTON.EDU .
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Who says cats don't like water? Cliff Vaughan's beautiful cat is purring like a kitten now that she's in her element.
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After years of work, Cliff's beautiful and BIG cat will soon be in her element, and out of her backyard element in Santee. This is a real adventure machine!
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Boatyards in San Diego usually have a collection of huge boats up on the ways for maintenance and reworking. Sixty to one hundred fifty feet, they are fishing boats, jet-set power yachts, tugboats, Navy boats and large workboats of various kinds. The days of the elegant wooden pleasure yachts appear to be waning, as wooden masts and gleaming varnish are becoming a rare sight on the water and in the boatyards of southern California. Something deep inside most mariners recognizes the graceful hand-built wooden yachts as something historical and classy. Movie makers and advertisers use them in their productions for this very reason.
In early June such a boat was spotted sailing downwind under jib only in a strong chilly wind, heading for Knight and Carver boat yard in south bay. The diminutive yacht, designed in 1937, is a mahogany and teak cutter-rigged sloop with varnished white-tipped mast and mahogany trim over a graceful white hull. Built by guitar craftsman Sam Radding in a private garage in San Diego around 1979, PRECIOUS has been owned for the past 24 years by Annie Holmes, a local author. Mike Alvarez, manager of Knight and Carver, was on the dock to help Annie tie up. Nineteen foot PRECIOUS looked like a little toy out there, waiting for her turn to be hauled up.
Delicately perched on the straps hanging down from the huge Travelift, PRECIOUS looked even more like a toy, evoking the model yachts hobbyists once took years to create. Slowly and gently, the giant machine’s operator placed PRECIOUS on blocks of wood and supporting stands in the midst of the power and muscle boats, where she shone like an elegant little alien.
Other customers were drawn to walk over and ask about the new arrival, and Annie was happy to give the pertinent information and accept appreciation. Knight and Carver managers and yard workers made a point of getting close to the new arrival for a look. They walked around her - smiling, stroking the smooth curvy hull as if she was a pet or a mascot. Sergio, the guard at the entrance waved Annie through the gate each morning, saying, “Ah, little PRECIOUS!”
After two weeks of Annie’s hard work, and with the help and guidance of wooden boat expert George Vehanen, and the painting expertise of Mike Alvarez, the restoration of the mast and the hull shone like new. Knight and Carver had completed their part, the new bottom paint and zincs.
Early one morning, restored and gleaming, PRECIOUS was set gently on the flat calm water, where she slowly motored west into the morning mist, fading from view, a cameo of a gentler time.
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| POLUNU MAKES IT TO THE WATER more...CLIFF VAUGHAN'S POLUNU HEADS FOR THE WATER! more...PRECIOUS visits the boatyard more... |
