PROLOGUE
Ever since I saw Tim Jones' Skagit Saratogan in 2011 at Blind Bay (Shaw Island, in the San Juan Islands of NW Washington State), I've been interested in the boats made by Skagit Plastics, a company based in La Conner, WA. They produced a variety of models from 1954 to 1961.
The funny thing is, I hadn't been drawn to motor boats until I saw Tim's and did a little research on Skagits. My passion is sailing, and I've been actively racing and cruising sailboats for 25 years. There's just something about the look of these boats that appeals to me. A brief history of the company can be found here.
I had been very casually searching for Skagit boats on Craigslist for the last six years. Given that they are around 60 years old, a surprising number survive and are occasionally offered for sale. I wanted a project, but most of them were either restored or badly deteriorated. In August 2017 a local guy very knowledgeable in Skagit boats put his three vessels on sale. With a combination of eagerness and trepidation, I bought his 1958 Skagit Offshore (with a questionable trailer) for $350.
This is my first blog, where I aim to document the restoration of this once beautiful boat. My last big project was the restoration of a 1974 Lotus Elite and conversion to an electric vehicle. I wish now that I had kept a blog of this endeavor, but an overview can be found here, and more technical information here.
My initial goal for this project is to make the boat seaworthy and serviceable by this spring. I may do some cosmetic work to the exterior also, since it is currently quite shabby. Then I'll see how much my wife and I use it during the summer. The freedom of beaching a boat is quite appealing, as our current boat has a 7' keel.
FIRST ENCOUNTER
The gentleman I bought it from picked it up in Reedsport, OR, six or seven years ago. At that time it looked like this.
The full cover saved the interior, as the floorboards seem fine and the only significant rot is in the aftermost part of the port bunk in the cuddy cabin. Those sliding side windows are pretty cheesy, in my opinion. Also note that the original glass windshield, which Skagit Plastics touted in their ads, is long gone.
The rotten transom accounted for the bargain price. I'll be showing lots of pictures of this later. When my friend Jack and I picked it up on August 10th, 2017, we evaluated the trailer for its ability to travel the 10 miles to his house for storage until I could prepare a place for it on our property. We found lots of surface rust, but it seemed structurally OK. Shooting grease into the bearing buddies produced fairly fresh-looking grease and no water, so off we went and had no problems. Here are a few more pictures of the first encounter.
For those of you familiar with Skagit boats, you will note that the interior of this boat is unusual. The seats were typically perched on a pedestal, without the storage beneath the seats and the footrests. Skagitplasticsologist Bruce Bridwell thinks the added cabinetry on my boat may well have been from the factory, as the aluminum trim matches other boats he has seen. Also, the paint is consistent with the rest of the interior. I believe it is well known that Skagit Plastics was willing to customize boats at the owner's request. We may never know if this configuration was from the factory, but I like the storage and the comfortable seating, so plan to keep it (but replace all the mild steel hardware with stainless). I'm also planning on locating the fuel tanks beneath the footrests for better weight distribution, but now am getting ahead of myself.
NOTE TO THE INVOLVED READER
I think most blogs are written temporally: do one, then other, etc. I have been editing various previous postings as progress has been made, so may be breaking the rules (sorry). From now on I'll be letting you know the changes in posts right here. For instance, I just updated the Painting page, and will soon update the Miscellaneous page expanding on the cabin window rebuild. So, here this begins.
5/26/2018
Updated the Painting page
6/18/2018
Updated the Transom Shelf and Painting page
7/25/2018
Updated the Offshore Outboard page
8/13/2018
Updated the Painting page
9/24/2019
Created Painting The Hull page
7/15/2020
Created the Interior Refurbishing page
Ever since I saw Tim Jones' Skagit Saratogan in 2011 at Blind Bay (Shaw Island, in the San Juan Islands of NW Washington State), I've been interested in the boats made by Skagit Plastics, a company based in La Conner, WA. They produced a variety of models from 1954 to 1961.
 |
| Skagit 31' Saratogan, owned by Tim Jones |
I had been very casually searching for Skagit boats on Craigslist for the last six years. Given that they are around 60 years old, a surprising number survive and are occasionally offered for sale. I wanted a project, but most of them were either restored or badly deteriorated. In August 2017 a local guy very knowledgeable in Skagit boats put his three vessels on sale. With a combination of eagerness and trepidation, I bought his 1958 Skagit Offshore (with a questionable trailer) for $350.
This is my first blog, where I aim to document the restoration of this once beautiful boat. My last big project was the restoration of a 1974 Lotus Elite and conversion to an electric vehicle. I wish now that I had kept a blog of this endeavor, but an overview can be found here, and more technical information here.
My initial goal for this project is to make the boat seaworthy and serviceable by this spring. I may do some cosmetic work to the exterior also, since it is currently quite shabby. Then I'll see how much my wife and I use it during the summer. The freedom of beaching a boat is quite appealing, as our current boat has a 7' keel.
FIRST ENCOUNTER
The gentleman I bought it from picked it up in Reedsport, OR, six or seven years ago. At that time it looked like this.
The full cover saved the interior, as the floorboards seem fine and the only significant rot is in the aftermost part of the port bunk in the cuddy cabin. Those sliding side windows are pretty cheesy, in my opinion. Also note that the original glass windshield, which Skagit Plastics touted in their ads, is long gone.
The rotten transom accounted for the bargain price. I'll be showing lots of pictures of this later. When my friend Jack and I picked it up on August 10th, 2017, we evaluated the trailer for its ability to travel the 10 miles to his house for storage until I could prepare a place for it on our property. We found lots of surface rust, but it seemed structurally OK. Shooting grease into the bearing buddies produced fairly fresh-looking grease and no water, so off we went and had no problems. Here are a few more pictures of the first encounter.
 |
| Transom, with some of the rot and splashwell shelf whittled away by the previous owner |
 |
| At one point it had twin outboards, which partially accounts for the many holes in the transom. SEE TRANSOM I FOR AN EXCITING HOLE UPDATE. |
For those of you familiar with Skagit boats, you will note that the interior of this boat is unusual. The seats were typically perched on a pedestal, without the storage beneath the seats and the footrests. Skagitplasticsologist Bruce Bridwell thinks the added cabinetry on my boat may well have been from the factory, as the aluminum trim matches other boats he has seen. Also, the paint is consistent with the rest of the interior. I believe it is well known that Skagit Plastics was willing to customize boats at the owner's request. We may never know if this configuration was from the factory, but I like the storage and the comfortable seating, so plan to keep it (but replace all the mild steel hardware with stainless). I'm also planning on locating the fuel tanks beneath the footrests for better weight distribution, but now am getting ahead of myself.
NOTE TO THE INVOLVED READER
I think most blogs are written temporally: do one, then other, etc. I have been editing various previous postings as progress has been made, so may be breaking the rules (sorry). From now on I'll be letting you know the changes in posts right here. For instance, I just updated the Painting page, and will soon update the Miscellaneous page expanding on the cabin window rebuild. So, here this begins.
5/26/2018
Updated the Painting page
6/18/2018
Updated the Transom Shelf and Painting page
7/25/2018
Updated the Offshore Outboard page
8/13/2018
Updated the Painting page
9/24/2019
Created Painting The Hull page
7/15/2020
Created the Interior Refurbishing page
Hi are you - or do you know any Skagit fan that might be interested in a '58 Skagit convertible 20, sound hull, on a trailer, for $500 u.s.? thanks a lot, I'm Jeff at warmbreathofspring@gmail.com
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