How Captain Tim acquired the Skagit 31 Saratogan
Growing up in the Puget Sound area, I spent a fair amount of time on the water fishing in derbies. My dad, grandfather and great uncle were avid sport fisherman, and in 1954, I got a chance to go with them to Neah Bay for salmon fishing. That was when I first saw Orcas or Black Fish as they were called then. Still recall that first sighting!
In the mid 1950's we started seeing the first fiberglass boats and one in particular caught our attention, the Skagit 20 Express built in LaConner, Washington.
In the summer of 1957, we were boating near Deception Pass in dad's 14 foot Wecco Clipper (a wood runabout) and he decided to go into LaConner to get some lunch and see if we could get a tour of the Skagit boat plant. We did exactly that and although I didn't see the 31 footer there, I do recall seeing the 31 hull plug sitting upside down on the shore just south of the Rainbow bridge. It had a banner draped across it which read 'Skagit 31 World's Largest All Fiberglass Cruiser'.
November 1957 at the Seattle Boat Show, there was the 31 Skagit Saratogan. I was just 11, but thought it was the coolest boat I'd ever seen. I spent most of the time around the Saratogan, hoping to get a chance to go aboard. I asked dad if he could get us aboard and he did and we did go aboard. I remember feeling dwarfed by the scale of the interior. Some time later that evening I was walking at the stern of the 31 when there was a bright flash...
Dad bought me a subscription to Sea Magazine and I would occasionally see pictures of the 31 in Sea. Time went by, high school, military obligation, college, marriage, children & business. In 1987 I was in Anacortes, having just gotten off the Orcas ferry, gassing up my little Volvo wagon and was looking at the boats parked at a marine repair yard next door. One boat caught my eye, but it was parked behind several others. A month later, gassing up again, there was that boat again, interesting... but went on my way.
A month later, gassing up again, a few boats had been moved and I could see that interesting boat better. She had nice lines and I decided to take a closer look. To my amazement, it was a sister ship to the Skagit 31 I had seen at the 1957 boat show. She was in tough shape, but the beautiful lines held my attention. Next trip off island, while gassing up, I noticed there was a 'for sale' sign taped to the bow of the big hull. I thought wow! Here's my chance to own a childhood dream.
February 1988 I picked up the 8000 pound Saratogan, sliding it carefully onto a very large boat trailer. One of the three fuel tanks was missing, there was no machinery. Just a bare hull. But what a hull! I tied an oversize load sign on the stern and headed for the Orcas ferry.
I was building a house at the time, running a business and raising a family. The Saratogan just sat in the back yard. On close inspection, it needed a complete refit and new engines and I couldn't afford either. I did do some research on the company, met Cole Comings Sr. who worked for Skagit. Cole gave me some pictures from the Skagit factory. One was of the Saratogan, taken at the 1957 Seattle Boat Show. To my astonishment, I was in the picture at the stern. The bright flash I had seen at the show was a factory photo being taken. 31 years later I was given that picture...
I moved to Friday Harbor in 1997 and moved the Saratogan in 1999. I continued to do research on the boat and collect missing hardware. I moved the boat inside in January 2003 and real work on the boat began. My oldest son, Graeme, who was 11 when I bought the 31, spent several weeks in July building a new deck frame. He also rebuilt some of the interior.
New diesel engines, new tanks, new shafts, new struts, new props, new instruments, new new, new everything. Finally after thousands of hours of labor, the cool boat I saw as a kid is about to ply the seas again. It's a rare boat. Only three were built. A kids dream come true!
I want to make Close Encounters available to kids, to let them dream big dreams. I did and mine came true!
Captain Tim Jones |
