Preview: RICOCHET, A Kettenburg Pacific Cruising Class (PCC)

13 Responses So Far to “RICOCHET, A Kettenburg Pacific Cruising Class (PCC)”

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  Frederic Pichon says:

  Great Story and beautiful boat!

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  Derrick Burry says:

  Beautiful!

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  David Dickson says:

  Great video as always OCH. 👍 So glad to see a rebuild of such a gorgeous local boat that could’ve disappeared forever. Such 💘 & dedication to wooden boats is the only reason they can be brought back to life. Hope to get back to PTWBF this September & see Richochet up close.

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  Wayne Bartow says:

  this is such a nice story and out come given the initial sinking and ultimate rebuild. The owner gives great details on the rebuild and did a fine job in the process. Wonderful! Thanks for this. WB

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  David Webb says:

  I bought a sistership, Lark, in 2000 in a Marina lien sale and rebuilt her. I had to first remove six inches of growth from the hull, it took the diver five hours to do this. I then managed to get the Gray marine engine going and got her to the local boatyard, hauled her out and repaired some minor worm damage. The hull had been refastened about ten years before so was in reasonable condition. When I got her back to her mooring I had the mast hauled and rebuilt and fitted it with all new rigging, I also reglued the seams that were coming loose, and totally reglued the boom which had come apart. I recoated the decks and got them waterproof and had some second hand sails recut to get her sailing. I also lived aboard so had all of the cushions replaced and did some painting and tidying up on the interior. After using her for a year the side of the crankcase on the engine rusted through so I had to replace the engine. I managed to locate a three cylinder, 20 horsepower diesel engine and fitted that. I raced her in the Wooden Hull Yacht Club races and ended up selling her in late 2002 when I moved to New Zealand.

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    Brent Ash says:

    Hi David,
    Great to hear about another dedicated Kettenburg restorer. Where were you located when you owned Lark? And do you know where she is now?

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  Jen & Peter Bates says:

  Brent. Such a beautiful boat and so much work! I had no idea she sank when you gave me a tour last boat festival! Not trying to toot my own horn here but Varya was Kettenburg built in 1940 and the similarities to the PCC’s are striking. Off Center Harbor made a video in 2022. Not sure if you’ve seen it: Synthetic Rigging the Rhodes 27 – A Brion Toss Legacy Project.
  I hope we get to sail together again next year! All the best.

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    Brent Ash says:

    Hi Jen. It was a great pleasure to meet you and sail in company with beautiful Varya last fall – truly a highlight of the festival for me. Varya and Ricochet certainly seem to share more than a little of that classic DNA. Fascinating to see the similarities and subtle differences. We are hoping to make it down to PT again this fall and look forward to seeing you both then, if not before. Cheers!

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      Jen & Peter Bates says:

      I feel very fortunate to be part of the PNW wooden boat community. We are thinking of going to the Victoria show this year as well. Hopefully we’ll see you there too!

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  Chris Martin says:

  Great story, lovely boat and really well done video. Love it.

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    Brent Ash says:

    Thanks Chris.
    It was a long haul to get to this stage. Good work takes time, especially if you don’t have a lot of cash. But it was totally worth it in the end.

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  DGK says:

  Beautiful restoration.
  It looks like you used a CAD programme or similar to redesign the interior and coachroof?
  Did you do that yourself. I’m curious as I’m considering a similar task.

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    Brent Ash says:

    Thanks DGK. No, I didn’t use any CAD software in the reconstruction – most of the design work was done on site with a traditional woodworkers sketchpad, any scrap of wood that came to hand.