Interlude being sailed on Mission Bay

Interlude gets restoration work from dedicated group of volunteers

Over the winter break, a group of dedicated volunteers put more than 350 man hours of work into Interlude, MBAC’s 1939 gaff rigged cat ketch, to restore the boat to classic form.   The vintage 23-foot wooden hull represents a labor of love to the small group of devotees, consisting of ex-MBAC employees who have been working on the vessel since it was donated in 1972. 

Interlude, a gaff rigged cat ketch, is an antique wood sailboat with two masts with only mainsails, and no jib sails.  It is built with an oak wood frame covered by spruce planks.  Prior to boats of this type, sailboats were designed primarily for commerce and war, which needed to be fast and required a lot of crew to handle.  This boat was designed to be easy to sail, where you could focus your attention on talking and socializing; and was one of the first type of sailboat built specifically for this purpose.  It was a boat where you could put on your Sunday dress, and enjoy a relaxing sail on the ocean, without having to work on sailing the boat.  It therefore represents the origin of modern recreational day-sailing. 
 

2009 Camp tshirt featuring Interlude

If you’ve been to the MBAC you have probably seen the vessel, or images of the vessel, without even knowing it. If you saw the 2009 camp t-shirt you have seen it.  The shirt has an artist rendering of the boat being sailed by Ron Byrd, a former MBAC Maintenance Manager who has worked on the boat since it was donated.  If you have ever looked at the artwork in the MBAC lobby, you may have noticed the line art image of the boat, drawn as a memento to the wedding of a couple who met at MBAC and were later wed on the vessel.  You may have even seen its beautiful cloth sails skimming the bay during an evening sail, skippered by one of the dedicated volunteers.

Due to the rapid deterioration of wooden boats, and availability of skilled craftsman, boats of this type are rare, especially outside of a museum setting and still being enjoyed on the water.

“There is maybe only ten or so of these types of boats on the whole west coast,” Ron Byrd explained during a recent break from arduous work.   “To see one in this condition, still being used is a rarity.”

The hours of restoration were spent repainting and resealing the boat from top to bottom, re-varnishing the interior and spars, rebuilding deteriorated ribs, oiling the teak, and cleaning the sails and rigging.

Artist renditon of Interlude

Inevitably, the boat will end up in a museum setting someday, when the deterioration begins to outpace the ability, availability and willingness of the volunteers to fix it.  But for now the groups efforts keep the boat looking and sailing great, and keep this bit of history alive at MBAC.

When asked about his motivation for investing his time into the boat, Ron answered, “I’d like to see the boat continue her life on the water as long as possible.  I need to see something older than me still being useful."