San Francisco Pelican Sailboat - I started building these sailboats in 2002 after the acquisition of the Smith Brothers pelican
jig. I build the boats the way they did. A Smith built pelican is the defacto standard up here in the Pacific Northwest. The
pelican is a wooden sailboat, designed by the late William Short in the 50's, it's 12 feet long and 6 feet wide, sail it by yourself
or with a crew. You either love them and appreciate their funky esthetics and functionality or you hate them. Those that
love them, think there is no better boat. There are a number or articles and references to the pelican on the internet;duckworth magazine, duckworth magazine about the Smiths, and Muriel Short, Bill Short's wife. There are several fleets
of pelicans around the country. The one up in the Pacific Northwest is Pelican Fleet 3. The fleet conducts race regattas
in the fall and winter and then in the summer is the cruising season where boats take off to the San Juan Islands or local lakes for
camping and just plain goofing off. If you are interested in a pelican or pelican parts or you want to join the fleet, call
or email.
El Toro Sailboat - The El Toro sailabot is 8 feet long and about 4 feet wide with
snub nosed bow and high sides. They are a great one person sail boat or trainer, yacht tender or small fishing skiff. The boats I
build are identical to the Smith Built El Toros that were produced by the Smith Brothers from the early sixties through 2007. The
jigs, patterns, measuring devices and most importantly, personal mentoring, were acquired from Fred Smith and through this, I am trying
to continue the legacy of the Smith Built El Toro. All El Toros are built with 1088 okume plywood with spruce chines, keelson, mast
and boom along with an oak outer keel. Knees, rub rail and accent woods are meranti mahogany. Final sailboat sailing weight is about
80 pounds.
For information about my prices, see my El Toro Sailboat brochure - El Toro Brochure.
The boats I build -
Huffaker's Woodworks
Pelicanfeathers.com
