The “Save a Classic” Page

One of my goals for as far back as I can remember has been to save good wooden boats. I don’t like waste, and devising ways to recycle worthy old boats became a role I seemed to have a knack for. So, when WoodenBoat Editor Matt Murphy offered me the back page of every issue for spreading the word about needy boats that I felt were worth saving, I jumped at the chance.

Thus, “Save a Classic” has occupied WoodenBoat’s back page for more than half of the magazine’s life—beginning with issue No. 148 in 1999. On those 152 pages, I’ve described 207 classic wooden boats that I felt were at risk or had already become near derelicts. The results of a recent accounting show that more than half of the classic boats whose owners replied to my recent questionnaire have been saved or are well on their way. While the page can’t take complete credit for all the major restorations of all the featured classics, since word-of-mouth was also at work, I believe it raised awareness generally as well as specifically.

The very first back page brought results when Brian Pope acquired the 48' Sparkman & Stephens yawl TOMAHAWK and shipped her overseas to his Ocean Yacht Company in Cornwall, England, where she received a full restoration. She continues to sail and race—primarily in Europe.

Our stated goal at the beginning was that the page would “put potential buyers in touch with present owners for the good of the boats.” While “Save a Classic” brings the magazine no direct revenue, it surely keeps the passion alive besides being a key step in saving the kinds of wooden boats that we so treasure.

In the pages that follow, I’ll tell of success stories that have been particularly gratifying.