Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2026

R.P. Elmore is the oldest vessel of the remaining Puget Sound Mosquito fleet.
Originally built as a freight and passenger vessel for the 1890s Port Townsend to Yukon gold rush. Maybe 1st diesel engine vessel in Puget Sound. After a 1922 fire and burning to the water line, she was then converted from a passenger vessel to a tugboat. She was active working Puget Sound tug, hauling barges, logs, and fish. She was restored a decade ago and is now currently hauled out in Port Townsend, looking for a new stewardship.

Carousels have been around for a couple thousand years. After the invention of the wheel the carousel also arrived for military and recreational uses. It traveled by caravan and boat from the Middle East to Europe to the Americas. My family was part of this story. There have always been riders available to keep this wheel turning but economies and politics have made it a challenging journey.

Preparing a small boat for big adventures takes creativity. Joshua Wheeler shares practical, sometimes unorthodox solutions he used to ready his Flicka 20 for offshore cruising—offering thoughtful, outside-the-box, and affordable approaches to keep you sailing. As seen on Latitude 38 and Small Craft Advisor.

Restoring a Classic:
Your Dream: Romance, Fascination and Nostalgia of a Unique Classic Yacht
What to Look For and What to Look Out For:
– Hand Craftsmanship, Quality Materials and Beautiful Lines
– Value: Collectability, Rare, Name Recognition, Reputation, Previous Ownership
– Harsh Realities: Maritime Rules and Legalities
– The Value of a Good Survey
– Restoration Process: The Good the Bad, the Ugly and the True Costs Involved
– Preserving an Era: Your Role as a Steward

Launched in 1930 as a luxury yacht for Hollywood icon John Barrymore, serving as a patrol vessel in WWII, and eventually becoming the world-famous flagship for the Northwest's most iconic towing family, the 120-foot Thea Foss is a living monument to Pacific Northwest maritime history. Keeping a 96-year-old classic viable and efficient requires a careful balance between preserving her heritage and upgrading her capabilities.

In this seminar, we profile the fascinating lineage of the Thea Foss and dive deep into her latest upgrade: the installation of a massive lithium battery bank and a Victron 3-phase inverter system. We will pull back the curtain on the engineering challenges of retrofitting advanced energy technology into a vintage vessel. From balancing large AC loads and managing automation logic to achieving the ultimate onboard luxury—complete silence at anchor.