walestrake

I also enjoyed the pix from the northeast gathering.

But I have to say I've been disappointed over the years with the number of BCC's I've seen that have not included a wood walestrake as Lyle Hess intended for these beautiful boats. Despite the recess molded into the hull, some owners have opted to simply paint it a contrasting color, put a single board at the top or simply ignor the indent all together and 'paint it out'.

I think this significantly affects the looks of the boat and is simply not a heavy duty maintenance area which I would think is the only reason not to include it on the boat. We have owned ours since 1977. The walestrake we had Sam Morse put on was mahogany and remained beautiful and varnished until 1998 when it was heavily damaged during hurricane Georges in Puerto Rico. We made emergency repairs there and sailed her to Trinidad and spent five months replacing everything in teak, including the sprit, bulwark and walestrake. We continue to vanish it but being teak, it could just as easily be left natural.

I don't know how much extra the installation costs but I can 't believe it's much of a percentage considering the total cost of a BCC. I wish Sumio would not even offer the option of putting a walestrake on but simply include it in the price.

Stan Roeder hull# 22 'Waxwing'

 



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