Restoration Log, H-28 Twinkie

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11/18/05

Thank you for the great site. As it grows, I am sure it will become a
phenomenal resource for people like me who have absolutely no idea what they
are doing, but have a passion for saving wooden boats.

Below you will find a write-up about my restoration project. I have also
include a re-print of an article about the boat "Twinkle" that ran in 1951.
I have included only one picture--as I found her last November. If you would
like more, just ask and I will send them along.

As of this writing, the boat has been covered for the winter. I am leaving
later this week to go down to Trinidad where I will manage the overhaul of
S/V Allegiance--a 65' Hinckley ketch.

The Restoration of Twinkle

Russell U. Dyer built Twinkle in Freeport, ME. He used the plans that were
published as a monthly series in the 1943 Rudder Magazines. The construction
of Twinkle began in 1946-she was launched in 1949. Twinkle was built
completely with hand tools. Much of the material used in construction was
acquired in the local Freeport area. According to Russ's son, the white oak
used for the keel was cut in Freeport and towed to the building site on a
makeshift trailer that was chained to the rear bumper of Russ Sr.'s car.

Russ and his family sailed Twinkle on Casco Bay until 1952, when she was
sold to "Bud" Nickerson of Bustin's Island. While Russ and his family owned
"Twinkle", they took a number of trips up the coast, including several to
Vinalhaven.

After acquiring "Twinkle" In 1952, Nickerson renamed her "Moana". The
Nickerson's sailed "Moana" ne: "Twinkle" until about 1982. That summer, her
main mast broke while sailing off Bustin's Island. Although she was put in
the water the following summer, she would not sail again. Around 1982 she
was hauled into a cradle on the shore the Cousins River at Even Keel
Boatyard in Yarmouth, ME where she would languish until 2005.

Moana was given to a young sailing enthusiast who intended to repair here
and get her back on the water. Unfortunately, that was not to be, although
he apparently did take the steps that would eventually save her from rotting
by removing most of the caulking, especially below the waterline. This
allowed any water to drain out and the air to blow through, keeping her
relatively dry.

During 2002-2003, I was working with Russ Dyer, Russell U. Dyer's son, on
Carrus, a 21-foot Phil Bolger designed Chebacco. While we were working, Russ
would frequently talk about two of the boats that his father had built,
Twinkle, the H-28 and  a ten-ton cutter. I was intrigued by the H-28 and
determined to find her-or what might be left of her.

In the fall of 2004, I started looking for her in earnest. I visited a
number of boatyards, inquiring about the existence of an abandoned H-28.
After several misguided trips to the wrong boatyards, I finally stumbled
onto her in November 2004 at Even Keel Boatyard on the Cousins River in
Yarmouth, ME. I asked one of the yard workers what was going to happen to
her. He informed me that if someone didn't haul her out of there, he was
going to set her ablaze.

After some negotiations, I secured ownership of Twinkle (aka Moana).
Included in the deal were both booms, the mizzenmast (there were rumors that
the broken mainmast was in a barn on Bustin's Island), a 4-cylinder Palmer
M-60 engine, six--sails-a full set of new sails, a drifter, a storm jib and
what appears to be an old jib (possibly the original).

In April 2005 John Marsh and his crew from Paul's Marina cut her off her
cradle and transported her to Bowdoinham. After arriving at Brant Miller's
farm she was set on blocking and jack stands. And then began the inspection
to see what I really had on my hands, and how bad it really was. The more I
inspected her, the more amazed I was at her condition. It seemed impossible
to me that a vessel that had set outside on a cradle for nearly a quarter
century could be in such good shape. I then began the restoration process.

I removed all exterior cabin trim, removed the rub rails and toe rails and
all deck hardware. The next step was to remove all the old canvas covering
the decks. I removed the canvas with a good deal of apprehension. I felt
that when the canvas came off, I would find significant rot. But that was
not to be. Her decks were sound.

To date I have stripped all her trim, toe rails, etc. Her interior has been
gutted and her paint stripped to bare wood. I have saved everything that
appears the least bit salvageable-with the idea that she will go back
together as closely to the way the original builder created her has
possible. I have also removed the aft 2/3 of her shear planks that showed
significant rot.

Currently she is covered and will stay that way until May or June, 2006.
When I return from Trinidad, I will remove the cabin and enough of the deck
planking to facilitate replacing the shear planks. After that it will be
re-fastening and caulking the hull and then onto the deck.

This is a reprint of an article about Twinkle and her builder that ran in
the August 12, 1951 Portland Press Herald.

There are few craft afloat today that were built completely by the owner.
That is, even to the extent of cutting and seasoning the lumber, shaping the
keel out of scrap lead, molding the hardware and sewing the sails.
The craft is a 28-foot Herreshoff-designed ketch. And the builder is Russell
Dyer, Freeport maintenance engineer.
She is a trim and sturdy craft, and Dyer got a "big kick" out of building
the boat. She sails so well he's hesitant to install an auxiliary engine
The ketch only cost $568 in cash. But she's worth $5000 on the market, Dyer
says.
He built a 12-foot skiff at 12 years old. Little did he dream then of the
ketch he would have today. The former Portland resident sold the skiff and
obtained enough money to built (sic) a 16-foot V-bottom sloop. He won a race
with her in Portland and traded even for a 25-foot motorboat. He wasn't
interested in power, but at the time he was a skipper of a group of Sea
Scouts at Freeport, and he wanted transportation for them.
Eventually, he sold the powerboat and built a 20-foot motorsailer. This
craft he sold, too, and used the funds to build a 19-foot sloop.
He suspended his boat deals and building in 1941 to build his own home.
Likes ketch Plans
In December, 1946, Dyer saw the plans of the 28-foot ketch designed by L.
Francis Herreshoff, Marblehead, Mass., and they jibed with the craft he
always had dreamed of building. It didn't take long to make a decision.
He got out the lumber to dry. He made the keel out of an old lead keel from
a boat which had sunk off Freeport. The lead weighed a ton and a half and
cost him $18 to produce the keel.
Dyer spent a lot of time in the building. To use his words, "Whenever I got
discouraged with life in general, I headed for the boathouse." Even his wife
had a hand in the boat. She painted out the trim in the interior.
He drew the sails to scale and sewed them himself, a project he described
"as quite a job."
He planked her with hard pine, one and an eighth inches thick, below the
waterline and white pine above. The sheer strake is oak, a material he used
extensively for trim.
Has Comfortable Cabin
She has a comfortable trunk cabin, which is fitted out with four berths and
a galley. The decks are white pine. To tongue and groove the decking he used
an old tool of his grandfather for such work. All fastenings are galvanized.
The cockpit is five and a half feet long. Her standing rigging is galvanized
and running rigging, stainless steel.
In making his spars, Dyer used vertical grain fir. It is glued and hollow,
34 feet in length.
Her waterline length is 23 feet 11 inches, draft three and a half feet.
It's a project that takes some time and effort when all the work is done by
hand, much of the material directly from logs, commented Dyer.
He wrote frequently to report his progress to the designer, and in one of
the replies, Herreshoff said, "It must have been quite a job to make the
sails yourself, and I have no doubt you are the only H-28 owner who has done
that."
Dyer plans to take a cruise Down East with his wife and three children, who
love to sail, too.

(Reprinted from the Portland Press Herald August 12, 1951)



Mike Haskell, Captain
S/V Allegiance