Shanachie: Building 1979-1981

Building Shanachie 1979-1981 [Scroll down to view photos, below] Boatbuilding is well beyond the scope of this website. However, building Shanachie was such a huge part of the dream (and Joe's vision—definitely a road less taken) we are including this brief overview section of original building photos from 1979 to 1981, when Shanachie was launched. Joe McKeown formed his boatbuilding company Bakayaro Boatworks (bakayaro means "idiot" in Japanese), brought ace boatbuilder David Blair up from New Zealand for the project, and then spent 12 months (spread out over 18 months) and 13,000 man hours building Shanachie in the mountains of Santa Cruz at his Happy Valley boat shop. She is a 46-foot cold-molded wood boat—meaning the hull is laminated in layers using the West Epoxy System for the highest strength-to-weight ratio—and triple planked with Alaskan yellow cedar and mahogany for a total hull thickness of 1-1/4".
	These are New Zealand yacht designer Paul Whiting's original line drawings for the Reactor 45, a cruising racing sloop later known as the Whiting 46. The boat was initially designed for Paul's father, D'arcy, to race in the 1972 Sydney-Hobart race on Shanachie's sister ship "Tequila." (Sadly, Paul was lost at sea while returning home across the Tasman after racing in the 1979 Sydney-Hobart race.) Bakayaro's first task was to literally draw these lines to scale on the boatshop floor to begin lofting.
	The backbone is epoxied into shape along the lofting lines on the shop floor.
	The finished backbone is visible above the first temporary station frames.
	The first layer of Alaskan yellow cedar planking is fastened to the frames and stringers. The backbone is visible under the planking. The hull is built upside down because it's much easier to work on a convex shape. This photo was shot from the belvedere, about 25 feet overhead.
	Nearly finished with the first of three layers of planking: two are 3/8-inch Alaskan yellow cedar, and the last is 1/2" mahogany (1-1/4" total).
	The hull showing the final layer of 1/2" mahogany planking, completed skeg, and a 10-oz. layer of fiberglass to facilitate the application of LPU paint.
	At this point, the hull is flipped right side up. The boat shop was specially engineered and built to take the unusual load.
	Now that the hull is right side up, work is begun on the interior.
	Pouring the keel into the ferro cement mold buried in the ground (at what is now Circuit City!) to accommodate the 13,500 pounds of molten hot lead. The keel was later bolted onto Shanachie's hull with 12 custom 1-inch diameter Monel bolts of varying lengths—some as long as 6 feet.
	Toni Shea of Mad Duck Signs in Sausalito adds a finishing touch by hand painting Shanachie's name on the hull in the original typeface, Garamond (because it seemed so elegant!).
	A boat is born! Shanachie emerging from the boatshop. Over 1,000 pounds of lead bricks are placed on the bow of the boat and the back of the truck to aid with traction.
	Shanachie trucking through the redwoods of Happy Valley, on her way to the Santa Cruz harbor where she was launched. Boat shop to harbor: 2 days down a narrow, curvy and steep driveway. Thanks to Doug Kilner for calculating the logistics: before even starting to build, Joe and Doug actually walked the route with string and poles to be sure it would be possible to get the boat down the hill when it was finished. Doug was shocked to get Joe's call 18 months later to "bring the truck." His response was an astonished, "You were serious!"
	Shanachie hanging in the Travelift sling, about to be launched for the first time. Will she float?
	Christening of Yacht Shanachie, August 22, 1981 at Harbor Marine, Santa Cruz, with more than 200 friends and other assorted pirates there to witness the feat. (Of course, the bottle Nancy is breaking across the bow is one of premiere aged Irish whiskey—only the best!)
	Yes...she floats!
	And...she sails! First sail from Santa Cruz to Monterey, December 1981.

Building Shanachie

1979-1981