Marie-Anne

Marie Anne is a Friendship sloop fairly true to their design, except that as a pleasure boat she has a proportionally large cabin and an ample self-bailing cockpit. The original fish boats had a tiny cubby and a large open cockpit.

She was built on the North Shore of Massachusetts by a talented woodworker; her owner, recently deceased, assisted in the building. She was launched in 1976 and sailed in the Boston area and later down to Annapolis. She sailed and motored to Michigan — up the Hudson and through the canal — and sailed on Lake Michigan while the owner was in graduate school. She was later trucked to Seattle and has cruised the San Juans (Washington), the Strait of Georgia (Canada), and up to Alaska.

The boat reaches very well. Hull shape — classic Friendship — is handsome and efficient. Dimensions are 28 feet on deck, roughly 35′6″ over spars. Rig is main, foresail, jib, and topsails. The topsails are two colors with some symbolism, and having the topmast looks wonderful. The mast is solid spruce — a surplus spar from the USS Constitution. Steering is Edson worm with a wheel, bronze with teak handles. Most of the hardware is bronze. Ballast is external lead with a few lead pigs in the bilge.

The engine is a Yanmar 2GM, two cylinders, which had been reliable but has not been run in some time. Fuel could use a cleaning. Planking is mahogany (Philippine). Frames originally were steam-bent white oak; they have since been sistered with epoxy-laminated oak of larger dimension and refastened. The seams were splined with yellow cedar about twenty-six years ago. The hull is very tight; leakage is almost entirely from above.

Inside, the cabin is really nice with a V-berth long enough on one side for a third person. White with mahogany trim. There is a diesel stove/oven, alcohol cooktop, icebox, and bucket sink; all cushions are included. Fresh water is by foot pump from a tank in the stern. Head is a porta-potti. Electronics include a VHF and fish finder for depth.

At present the bowsprit, jib boom, and main boom are stored in a basement, mostly freshly varnished. The topsides have had some repairs — scarfed Dutchmen and planking replacement in the transom — all done with yellow cedar fastened with bronze. The transom may need additional plank work from the outside. The deck is teak over quarter-inch ply, fairly worn, but serviceable.

The boat has been stored in salt water at Shilshole Marina in Ballard, Seattle, under a full tarp, for more than ten years. This boat will need a good amount of work — mostly sanding and paint, and some structural — but is basically sound and has strong appeal as a classic to those who love gaffers and old workboat styles. It will need to come out of the water for repairs and a new survey.

The price is very flexible and includes a nutshell pram dinghy. Our primary concern is finding a good home with someone who can take care of her and who appreciates traditional boats. She would be free to a qualifying 501(c)(3) organization.