Dorothy — TONY GROVE

RESTORING DOROTHY

Dorothy wins classic boat magazine award for best international restoration under 40 feet

Link to Article

Dorothy in the SALTS boat shop, in storage for the last few years.

Dorothy departing storage, next stop repairs and then the water.

John and Eric on the right working for the BC Maritime Museum to make this restoration happen.

Driving off the ferry onto Gabriola Island, were she will be for the next stage.

Needing a little help up my driveway, thanks to Gordy’s backhoe.

Part 1

“Dorothy” is the oldest sailing vessel in the Pacific Northwest and also said to be the oldest vessel in Canada that has been in continuous use. She is a 30ft Gaff cutter (sloop) built in the James Bay Boatyard, Victoria BC, in 1897. She is British Columbia’s living West Coast heritage, built when most boats were either coastal work boats or dugout canoes - a vintage vessel built at the same time as the Victoria BC parliament buildings and shortly after BC was even part of Canada, and is a strong part of our Maritime history.

Designed by Linton Hope in 1894, a naval architect in England, who also was a skillful sailor and winner of an Olympic gold medal for sailing in the 1900 French Games. Her building commission was by F.H. Langley in 1896 who was a prominent lawyer and member of the Legislature. The builder was JJ Roberson an accomplished boatbuilder in Victoria, who built her to Lloyd’s approved standards, for around $1800. Her design was very common for that period with one of her striking features being a 6ft overhanging fantail, that no doubt at the time influenced similar designs of yachts being built around the BC waterfront. As a sailboat, previous owners have said she is a fantastic sail, that responds quickly with a feather weight helm and can cut tight to the wind.

Dorothy’s sizes and build: LOA 30ft, LWL 24.3ft, Beam 8ft, Draft 3.5ft, Displacement 5.86gross tones, she is carvel planked over oak frames with copper rove a rivet. She was originally not built with a motor, but in 1920 was fitted with a 1cyl Kermath engine, and today has a 10 horse Yanmar.

Over the many years Dorothy has had many owners, repairs and restorations, some good and some bad, she has won sail races, had a few name changes and luckily lived through a few fires. In 1991 she was professionally and extensively restored by Hugh Campbell for Kim Pullen. Shortly after the BC Maritime Museum, located in Victoria BC, acquired Dorothy to be part of their collection that represents BC and Victoria’s maritime history from the turn of the century. The Museum has kept her in stasis for about nine years, where she was kept dry but unfortunately out of the public eye, which they are now working to change.

Along with general old age, some time before the Museum had her there had been a few bad repairs, like the use of dissimilar metals, which are now causing problems and wood decay. Dorothy has now been moved to my work shop to be restored, with the plan to look at some historical restorations and primarily to get her back in the water.

John and I posing in front of Dorothy.

Dorothy at my shop work yard, look at that beautiful fan tail, indicative of that 1897 area, also its hard to believe she is that old. Next is to build a lit shed roof over her.

Dorothy moored in Victoria harbour

Plans of Dorothy

Gantry and Trailer

Dorothy in the shop

Part 2

“It has now been confirmed that Dorothy is indeed the oldest registered sail boat in Canada.”

I have been asked about and need to clear up a question regarding Dorothy’s age. As far as we have extensively researched, she is indeed oldest registered still-sailing vessel in Canada; that is, the oldest sailing vessel in continuous use. She is not the oldest boat (there are some older ferries and barges in eastern Canada that are still on the water, but they aren't sailboats) and there are older sailboats that are dry-docked (for example the Tillicum at MMBC that won’t see the water again, unless all the world’s ice melts at once) but Dorothy is the oldest sailboat in Canada that has been in continuous use on the water and is still going.

I was hired by the Maritime Museum of B.C. to restore Dorothy after a previous survey had been done that condemned her. I was searching to discover the reasons behind a gap on both sides of the hull planking between the keel and garboard (about 3/8”), to assess her general overall condition, and look for any electrolysis problems that would in turn reveal electrochemical decay. The end objective is to undertake the repairs that will make Dorothy seaworthy again.
Dorothy has been waiting all summer for her restoration to start, this winter she was moved from my outside yard into the shop to keep her safe from the winter weather and to commence the project.

I was faced with the dilemma of moving a Folkboat out of my shop and Dorothy in and the thought of hiring a boat mover was an expensive proposition. So after thinking of options I came up with the plan to find a trailer that could take the weight needed and could be modified to carry a full keel sail boat. Luckily I came across and bought a second hand 7000 lbs capacity flat deck trailer. Now I had to lift the boats, a few years back I used a wooden gantry built into the shop to lift and turn over Prospector and knew a wooden frame system along with 4 - 2 tone chain hoists could work to lift just about any boat. So I designed and built a wooden gantry out of 2x6es that could be erected over any boat so now in the future I can move all my own boats I am working on safely as long as they don’t exceed around 5500 lbs.

Also this fall and winter a very interesting turn of events has happened, were a team has started the process of making a documentary film on Dorothy’s restoration. Tobi Elliot is the producer along with her partner in the project Kate Bradford and both have been working incredibly hard putting the initial trailer and website together. www.dorothysails.com

Exploration on Dorothy is next; this next stage will determine the extent of the work needed as well as how long it might take.

Tobi Elliot and Kate Bradford filming Tony Grove in the office.

Tobi explaining to me how things are going to work.

Me, John West and Eric Waal from the BCM Museum looking over Dorothy.

Showing the gap between the garboard and keel before the garboards are removed.

Bending a removed rivet to see how malleable it is.

A floor timber looking in very poor condition.

Gap between the lap joint that joins keel to stem.

Part 3

Dec 20, 2012

The first day’s task was to diagnose her ailments, beginning by removing parts and hatch covers from her cabin and putting them into storage. Knowing I needed to remove the garboards anyway, I started with the forward portion of the starboard garboard, made of cedar, and which only goes halfway to midship before ending at a butt. Under the garboard were signs of electrochemical decay (alkaline decay) and aged wood.

One of the first problems I found is a considerable separation between the stem, keel, keelson and the lap joint were they all meet up. Bolts that are being used to hold this area together are galvanized bolts, which look cheap (none marine) and improperly installed. There is iron slag, or rust, that has settled in this gap between the keel and stem lap joint, probably formed from those bolts rusting away.

For the planking, I was concerned the copper rove and rivets holding the planks in place were going to be hard to remove, but found they separated easily. The problem with the rivets is the peen over the rivets is a little light, which is why they were too easy to pull apart, but that said they have held together well all these years. The copper rivets were checked for brittleness by bending them, and seamed malleable and in relatively good condition; this shows whether electrolysis has been affecting the copper’s chemistry. There were also a later addition of #12 silicon bronze screws found in the planking that were randomly placed in an attempt at refastening.

Many of the frames have a sister (a partial or full extra frame next to the older one to support it) and in most cases have two, some solid oak and some laminated. Some of the laminated sister frames are showing signs of delaminating in the extreme bends. The film crew documented the process.

Dec 21

This day was spent removing the forward port garboard, which is of the same dimension as the starboard side with similar characteristics underneath and problems with the fastenings. There is a plank against the keel deadwood acting as a spacer plank between the lead ballast and garboard plank. This spacer plank on the boat, up forward of the deadwood about 10 inches, had cotton caulking hammered into its edge, the result of improper caulking. This plank is hard oak and not soft cedar like the rest of the planking, and probably why the damage is minimal and didn’t split the plank too badly. The plank above the garboard, which is cedar, developed a split/tear when the garboard was removed (because of the strong adhesion of the paying compound – or, “putty” in the seams) and had already been repaired back into position by gluing it with epoxy.

The caulking – which is a layer of cotton set in the tight seams, or the narrow bottom edge of a plank seam, then using oakum as the seams get wide – so far all looks in very good condition. According to the records she was recaulked in the late 60s, with no doubt spot caulking throughout her life.

The paying compound used to fill the plank seams is Portland cement, along with a thin layer of some other finer compound for fairing the hull, both of which have held up and adhere well but has already posed a problem with difficulties sanding and reefing. This is obviously a more recent paying material used, as she would have originally been filled with red lead putty. The use of cement for filling seams was a bad idea left over from old wooden fishboat days and I must say I don’t like straight cement being used to fill plank seems and have found it always causes problems and damage. The cement is hard and doesn’t work with the wood; also when the wood swells the plank edges are crushed by the cement’s inflexibility.

Another problem I have found is Dorothy’s interior furniture, which was according to the records was rebuilt in the mid-70s and was unfortunately installed improperly, mainly the builder used galvanised slotted screws – now rusted and the slot full of paint – making it very difficult to remove without wasting a lot of time or doing extensive damage. An alternative to gently removing all the furniture is to cut all out and not try to save anything. The floor timbers where the keelbolts come through are unfortunately hard to get at, being trapped under the cabin sole, and in turn under the furniture, and most look pretty good but some are suspect but some definitely need to be replaced due to their disintegration from electrochemical decay.

After removing the garboards and viewing the inside, my analysis of her overall condition is that she is loose and open from simple old age, not due to just any single thing, such as a rotten keel. Despite a few things improperly done, it is obvious that many of the extensive restorations she has had over the last 50 years have been instrumental in her relatively good condition and is the reason why she is still alive and salvageable. The film crew documented the process.

Jan 2, 2013

Two trustees for the MMBC, John West and Eric Waal, arrived today and we began discussing Dorothy’s issues and repairs. I basically had two suggestions: the first, and the cheapest, would be to put Dorothy back together with some new wood and floors and some deliberate caulking below the waterline; the second is to wood the hull, reef all the seams, repair any planking or damage, refasten where possible and re-caulk her whole hull. The first option would allow her to sail away safely but is not addressing her age-born ailments and she would have to be redone again possibly in a few years, or at least have ongoing heavy maintenance. The second option, which I feel is the best for her and which John and Eric prefer as well, is wood the hull (strip of all hull paint), reef all the seams, repair any planking or damage, refasten were possible and re-caulk her whole hull. At the same time strongly support the stem and stern to help minimize hogging, and in the end when all put back together possibly help correct any hogging which has occurred over time.

Garboards removed for inspection.

Kate and Tobi filming all the action while crammed in Dorothy's V birth.

Filming an interview with John and Eric who are representing the BC Maritime Museum.

Using a heat gun to take the paint off.

Paint off the port side and just finishing the star side.

Tobi filming with a respiratory on due to the smelly paint fumes.

Pacific Yachting Aug article on Dorothy by Tobi.

Planking, Quarter sawn on left and flat sawn on right.

Part 4

Oct. 1, 2013

It has been a slow start to actually working on Dorothy, or I should say, to physically working on her. I have been taking on other work so that the documentary on her restoration ("Between Wood and Water") could work out details like technical and funding stuff. Most of the work done so far is related to opening her up and exploring her age-related issues. Along with producer Tobi Elliott, we have been doing a lot of press interviews, lectures and talks (ing), as well as participating in the annual series of boat shows, partially regarding Dorothy. Starting this fall and winter 2013-14 will be a bigger push to get things done on the restoration.

Postings of Dorothy’s media attention is under Resources, Media on this site.

For me as a shipwright who likes to specialize in restoring wooden boats, it is a great opportunity for me to be able to work on a boat of this age and see how things were done a century ago, compared to today. I have been trying to put myself in the shoes of the boatbuilders of the time and imagine how they built her: what were the tools used, what condition was the workspace, what wood was available? She was built for around $1,800 in 1897. What does that translate into today’s equivalent value money for work, or cost of living?

To date, I have furthered my archaeological studies on Dorothy by removing all the hull paint to reveal what has been hiding underneath. The exposed wood shows some small bad repairs as well as some extensive repairs that were properly done. Overall, it seems most of the hull is original and in relatively good shape. There have been many seams over the years that have been spot caulked (corked) – which I figured out when finding a mix of short sections of seams that have been caulked with different variations of cotton and oakum, as well as the paying materials (putty in the seams) which varies from cement, polyurethane caulking, epoxy, white and red lead putty, and good old sticky tar. A carvel wooden boat hull should be completely recaulked during her life and a good rule of thumb is after 30 years, then every 20 years to keep her sound. This is a light rule and a trained shipwright should be able to tell you when the time is right. Re-caulking Dorothy’s hull will help tighten her up which in turn helps minimise any fatigue between the fastening and the wood of an old hull.

A second interesting find is the original hull planking of red cedar has been scarfed over a frame (sometimes seen in old small boats but rarely larger ones) instead of butting the ends with an inside buttblock between frames, which is the most common way to do it. This was also done at a time when waterproof glues would not yet have been developed, which brings into question the strength of a scarf and why they would have done it this way. That said, despite a little chipping around the scarf on the odd one, they are holding strong after all these years.

Another interesting thing with the planking is most of the original planks are flat-sawn instead of quarter-sawn (or edge grain) wood. Again, the ladder is typically done on almost all contemporary wooden boats. My assumption is that this was just the wood available, and for many reasons this could be a better way of planking. The main reason why we don’t use flat-sawn planking is because of the contrast between soft and hard grains makes it hard to fair the hull (make smooth) and often the grain pattern telegraphs through when paint goes over it. More work is starting and updates will be more often, if you have any questions just send me a note.

Sanding the remaining paint on cedar and thankful for the efficient dust collecting
with the Festool vacuum and sander.

Global TV, one of many news and life style media outlets covering the story.

"Dorothy" Finished painting of Dorothy. I had already stretched a canvas and drawn the image of Dorothy, ready for painting, when I was approached by a past client who was looking for artwork as he ended his term as head of the Law Society of British Columbia. The piece was delivered in January, and will be a permanent art piece in the downtown Vancouver building.

Rubrail being cut in sections and cut away from the boat using a Fein tool.

The gap between the plank seems are too wide from years of reefing and spot caulking the soft cedar wood planks.

Reefing seams: me in the foreground with David Baker, one of Dorothy’s previous owners who came to Gabriola to help reef her seams, in background.

Photo Credit: Byron Robb

Small plank on the aft starboard side from an old repair was rotten from decaying iron fastenings and removed, luckily was isolated to just that plank.

Part 5

Dorothy’s repairs are still ongoing, and although this winter was supposed to be a big push to get her hull largely put back together, things had to slow down because of a car accident just before Christmas. Not to worry; I am ok and will be able to pick up the pace again by mid-February.

The documentary is still on course, and Tobi Elliott (the producer) and I have been giving several talks through local museums and wooden boat organizations about the documentary and Dorothy’s restoration. Dates of any of these talks are on the Home page side bar under “Public appearances & exposition”.

While removing the rubrail one of the interesting things I found (although not uncommon) is the different beddings used behind the wood from different repairs. The older section of rubrail was set onto the boat with what looks like Dolfinite, a name-brand bedding compound that doesn’t adhere like other commonly-used compounds. On one more recently repaired section Polyurethane (5200 or Sikaflex) was used, which basically glues the wood on so strongly it had to be cut off.

This raises the debate as to whether to have something so strongly affixed (in combination with fastenings) that it won’t ever fall off, but which can make something so hard to remove that it potentially can create a lot of damage when having to take it off for repairs. The ideal process would be: use mechanical fastenings to grip the wood in place, then use the bedding compound just to keep out the water that can creep behind the wood due to capillary action, that without which it would cause problems. I have seen it too often that someone who does not really know what they are doing tends to misuse these modern ‘boaty’ products out there, forgetting that one of the main ideas behind traditional construction is that any damage or rot is localized and can be easily replaced and repaired. So a wooden boat needs to hold together strongly, but yet be able to be easily dismantled for future repairs.

Working on older wooden boats for as long as I have, I’ve noticed a trend in that the older products – which were invented at a time when all boats were made of wood – along with the experience of their proper usage, is disappearing, replaced with contemporary products that are not favourable to an old wooden boat’s construction. I could go on and on about this but will stop my rant here, and just hope to encourage people to do there research first before just listening to that young kid in the hardware store trying to look like he knows what he is talking about while selling you the wrong thing!

All of Dorothy’s seams have now been reefed out confirming the spot caulking (caulking spot sections instead of the whole plank) that has been going on over the many years. Because of this patchwork seam-caulking, both by professionals and no doubt a few novices, many of the seams are in terrible shape. The planking is cedar, a very soft wood, and you can imagine that every time the planks are reefed (prying out the caulking with a reefing iron) a little bit of wood is also taken away, which over the years creates ragged, wide seams that now need to be repaired. I am holding to my belief that I would like to preserve as much of the original boat as possible. So the next step on the planking is to repair their edges by gluing on new material, instead of replacing the whole plank as might typically be done.

On the back starboard side there was an area that concerned me when I first looked at Dorothy because of the obvious rot in the plank and under the rubrail. This small plank was about two feet long and an obvious old repair that was not done very well. The fastenings holding it on were galvanised nails and screws - at least I think galvanized as they were very badly corroded. The iron decay was destroying the wood and but luckily it was localized to just that area and very contained and will be an easy repair. Also, an advantage to removing that small plank is that it allowed me to see inside the back area of the fantail, were I found no problems to be concerned about.

If you have any questions about the work, please contact me.

Another recently found old photo of Dorothy and her beautiful rig.

The old floors and strap/frames are in rough shape and are being replaced.

The mast step is positioned just over the lap joint that connects the keel to the stem.

Tobi filming the steam coming out of the makeshift steam box.

Steamed white oak clamped into a new shape on the workbench and left to harden.

Bolting in the new oak frame/strap.

Part 6

Dorothy has been patiently waiting for me throughout the summer of 2014 as I took on other jobs such as building a small boat, a door for a fish boat and putting a new mast in a Folkboat. The filming of Dot's repairs for the documentary is also moving about the same pace, as Tobi the producer took on other filming work and odd jobs. And life, also, happened: the BC Maritime museum of Victoria, which is Dorothy’s custodian, is preparing for a major move later in 2015. As the move was hush-hush until only recently, they asked if I could move Dot's launch date by up a year which was the reason I ended up taking on other projects.

As she sits in my shop, taking up a good part of it, I sometimes accidently bump my head on her hull as I'm trying to move too fast and not paying attention to her, at which point I then calmly say "that'’s okay Dorothy, don't worry. I haven't forgotten about you."

But this winter it was time to get working again. For the last few weeks I have been pushing ahead working on her forward lap joint, which holds the keel and stem together, and I've replaced a bunch of floors timbers, frames and frame straps. The lap joint was pulled apart in its length by about 3/8" and I didn't like the idea of leaving it so far apart. So I devised a way to pull it together by temporarily installing a 3/4" ready rod at either end of the lap joint with a 3/4" shackle eye threaded on to it, to which I then attached a come-along. Then, while carefully listening for any cracks or pops, which would have told me to stop, I was able to pull it back together. It was a pleasant surprise and a bit of a eureka moment when the components inside, like the old frames and floors, all fell back into their rightful position where they had originally been.

The lap joints' original iron bolts had rusted away and I replaced these with silicon bronze, which I upsized from 1/2" to 5/8" because the iron had decayed the wood around the bolts. This lap joint, with all the bad repairs I found around it, must have been apart and leaking for a while. My other thought was there wasn't much holding that area together in the way of keel bolts and fastenings, and with the mast stepped right there and chain plates not far away and the ballast (lead on the bottom of the boat) just below, I figured one good bump on a log or rock would have easily busted that area open. The latest work I've done was to remove a bunch of furniture and sole to get at the old floor timbers and frames, and I’m now working on sistering frames and building new floors.

While working on this mid-ship bilge area, pulling out old wood and visualizing how it was built, why it was done one way over another and contemplating her evolution of repairs, an interesting thing happened. Perhaps an epiphany, or old ghosts planting thoughts – now, please don't think I'm being goofy – but when thinking of these men who built Dorothy I had always pictured them in black and white like the old grainy photos or films of the past, but at this point it hit me: I realized that these were men no different than me, probably even close to my age and I suddenly saw them in true colour. It was quite enlightening and hard to explain but opened my thoughts to seeing those men who built her and Dorothy herself in a whole new way.

The old floor has a huge hole burned into it from electrochemical decay, sitting alongside is the copied new one almost ready to go in.

Using a come-along to pull the lap joint back together, it all fell back into position nicely.

The new forward floors and straps are bolted in place; the orange colour is red lead primer.

The old benches had to come out to get at the floors timbers that were under the sole.

The lap joint connecting the keel and stem was spread apart and had nothing holding it together.

The hidden floors under the sole with rusted away bolts were not providing
any structural support at all.

Dorothy: Back in the shop - Top view

Dorothy: Back in the shop - Lower view

Now ready to work on Dorothy

Dorothy lifted and trailer taken out

Video of lifting Dorothy

Part 7

For those who have been interested in the Dorothy documentary, the filming will resume, as an ending to her restoration is now happening. Since it’s been a while from when I last worked on Dorothy we just have to find someone who can CGI my face to make me look as young as when we left it off.

This letter was supplied to the board and staff of the BC Maritime Museum.

RESTORATION WORK ON ICONIC WOODEN YACHT DOROTHY IS UNDERWAY

The MMBC Board has given the green light for Shipwright Tony Grove to resume work on Dorothy at his boatyard on Gabriola Island. This 30-foot (7.41m) gaff cutter or sloop has been at Tony’s yard for several years but restoration was suspended during the uncertain period after MMBC was evicted from Bastion Square. Dorothy was built of red cedar on oak frames at a small boatyard on the site of today’s Laurel Point Inn. She quickly established a reputation as a fast racer, had several local owners over the decades and was donated to the museum in 1995. The museum has extensive documentation about Dorothy, which has held unbroken official registration since first built.

Tony has already done extensive repairs to the boat’s stem/keel, installed several new floor timbers, and replaced several keel bolts. He also fitted several “sister frames” where the old ones had deteriorated (see picture). All the paint was stripped off the hull and caulking material removed from between the seams (“reefing out the seams.”). Tony then repaired several of the plank seams; from finding different caulking and paying materials he could tell that Dorothy’s seams had never been completely reefed and re-caulked, but rather “spot caulked” over the years where problems had occurred.

Dorothy is now back in Tony’s workshop where over the next several months he will be caulking the seams with oakum and cotton and “paying” them with putty. He will be doing several other tasks including installing and varnishing a new rub rail, fitting and chain plates (metal plate on deck to take shrouds), inspecting the bowsprit, sanding, priming and painting the hull including the toe rail, preparing and repainting the cockpit, and refinishing and varnishing all exterior bright work. Dorothy’s interior was always spartan; Tony will be fitting two bench seats in the cabin and suitable floorboards. The work is planned to bring the boat to top-notch static display condition.

Dorothy is a window on local wooden boatbuilding more than 120 years ago and a living link to the early years of yachting in our area when Queen Victoria was still on the throne. She had been designed by a well-known British yacht designer ad later Olympic sailor, Linton Hope. MMBC is fortunate in having a fund allocated for Dorothy to pay for the restoration. It has been built up over the years thorough targeted donations and a lumpsum received from a volunteer group in Ontario who had hoped to restore a wooden yacht built in New Brunswick a few years before Dorothy; when their project faltered they generously turned their remaining funds over Dorothy. Long-time museum members will remember how John West assisted by Eric Waal spearheaded the current restoration that was paused when the museum encountered heavy seas.

Tony Grove is a well-known expert in building and repairing wooden boats with a passion for these examples of skilled design and construction- and in particular our Dorothy. We can look forward to periodic updates on the progress of the restoration.

Dorothy in my shop ready for caulking

New caulking for Dorothy from stem to stern

The last few days of Dorothy in my shop

Backing into Dorothy’s new home in Ladysmith

Dorothy in Ladysmith's shop

Part 8

Dorothy Restoration and Returns to the Water VIII
Well, after over 10 years on my property and shop I have a few more gray hairs, and Dorothy has left and is well on her way to being the beautiful boat on the water she is meant to be. The time had come for her to move from my shop after I had done the hull repairs. There was a new group of people ready and willing to take her on at the Ladysmith Maritime Society; to finish her exterior, interior, and rig her for sailing. This new enthusiastic group of volunteers lead by Robert Lawson in Ladysmith BC, are a group that had and continue to have the enthusiasm needed to finish her.

The Maritime Museum of B.C., the boat’s owner and custodian have had her since 1995 after celebrating her 100th anniversary in 1997. With no place to store her or any maintenance plan, the boat was put into dry storage and nearly forgotten for over ten years. She was moved to my shop on Gabriola in 2011 to assess the extent of her repairs needed, and it was decided for me to proceed. At the time, the MMBC Board debated making her into a static display, but a ‘Friends of Dorothy’ group kept the vision alive, seeing the significance of Dorothy as a working and sailing vessel. After the boat’s structural repairs were completed in 2023, the Museum brokered an agreement with the Ladysmith Maritime Society to undertake the remaining work.

The Dorothy: A Langley Family Legacy

Four generations of the Langley family attended the re-launch with family members. The original owner of the Dorothy, W.H. Langley, had the sailboat from her launch in 1897 until 1944. Judith Branion had never set foot on the boat her grandfather had built.

Along with Langley’s great granddaughter, great-great-granddaughter, and a great-great-great grandson, Judith Branion got her chance to finally sit in the cockpit. She commented about seeing the boat in her restored state for the first time, “She was so regal, I almost expected her to wave like the Queen as she went by!” The family also donated a winner’s cup from 1899, older than any the Museum had in their collection up to that point.

Dorothy will be a floating exhibit in the care of the Ladysmith Community Marina until the BC Maritime Museum finds dock space for the boat in Victoria, B.C. The Board’s priority is finding a home for the Maritime Museum, but the arrangement with LMS will allow the boat to be accessed by the public and shown at classic boat shows.

Information about the plan and funding for the Dorothy’s future can be accessed at: http://mmbc.bc.ca/Dorothy/