"Haole Sampan"

[ChiefD]

Well Brian,
I guess Ill be the one to kick this off.
Currently I have 5 boats in the yard, 2 are fully functional and the other 3 are in various stages of resurrection. I am considering a GA in my future but we'll see, should finish a couple more of my current inventory prior to starting another build!
Before we get into any of the current boats I would like to show you my favorite boat from the past.
The "Lori Ann" was a 42ft plank on frame single Cat diesel Haole Sampan built in 1959 in Honolulu Hawaii. Its an interesting story on how I got her and restored her over a period of about 8 yrs.
The first pic is after her first of many dry docks under my ownership, this one was 9 months. Only the hull had been addressed in this shot, she's anchored on a dive site.
The last 2 pics show what she looked like later on in life. My wife, twin sons and I have many fond memories of working on her and fishing this vessel.
Do you want to here about it? I also have many photos but I have to scan them in as this all happened back in the 90's.

[ChiefD]

Sorry, this is the first pic I spoke of above.

[Brian.Dixon]

Got pix of the interior and restoration work?

bd

[ChiefD]

Brian,
I'm still looking, so many boxes of pics, nothing's organized, maybe I need to take this on as a retirement project.......nah!

[Brian.Dixon]

No hurry!

[ChiefD]

Back in 95 I saw an add somewhere regarding an upcoming auction being held by the state harbors division. Listed in the add amongst the usual stuff was one 42ft Haole Sampan.
My dad was heading to Oahu that week where the boat was located and I asked him to take some pictures for me.
When he arrived at my house with the pictures I was like a kid on Christmas morning. He laid out the pictures and I said "WOW, she's beautiful". Dad thought he deserved some kind of prize for his excellence in photography because his exact words were "I must be a darn good photographer son because believe me, she's anything but beautiful!"
Here's a few shots of how she sat prior to my purchase....the love affair begins.
More to come....

[ChiefD]

Somehow I manage to dig up the money for the 1K cashiers check you needed in order to participate in the auction. At the time I was a Firefighter 1, my wife was a full time nursing student and we had two 7 yr old boys. I was the only one in favor of buying this boat.
On auction day no one bids on the boat and I decide to also not bid and take my chances. After the auction I find the head guy "find out later he's the head of the harbors division for the state" and explain why I was there and ask what happens now? He informs me that the boat would be destroyed as no one bid.
Using some tactful pleading he finally agrees to let me check the boat out and if I was still interested I could buy her for 3K which is what was owed in slip fees. After my inspection I hand him the 1K check I brought with me and ask for two weeks to dig up the balance, he agrees.

I think I took a cash advance on my credit card for the 2K, show up two weeks later and hand Mr. Thompson the check. He was a very nice man and extremely patient and helpful "hard to find sometimes in government". Mr.T looks at me and ask what my plans are, I reply that I'll get her running and pilot her back to Maui "close to 100 miles of open ocean" as soon as possible. He shakes his head and says "when you run to Maui please pick a very nice day".
We shook hands and I was off and running!

After several weeks of going back and forth between Maui and Oahu by plane I get everything checked out and serviced. Credit card debt is rising..... finally my best friend and I take off one morning and after about 10 hrs we arrive safely on the island of Lanai where he lives. A couple of weeks later we run her across the channel to Maui, all of this was mostly uneventful, she ran perfect!

The first pic is of her tied up in a slip awaiting a dry dock trailer. 2nd shot is bringing her onto the trailer for her first drydock with some dunnage I scored sitting on the bow. Notice the upper section of her outer stem missing.

[ChiefD]

When I purchased the sampan she was named "Nee Yun". The original owner had her built in 1959, one day he walked off the boat and never came back. His family didn't pay the moorage fee's and that's how the State ended up with possession. When I first boarded her it was like walking into a time capsule, the previous owner's coffee cup still sat at the helm. It was obvious he used this boat for commercial bottom fishing throughout the state.

As stated before the first drydock was 9 months. This involved removing her 3160 Cat engine, fuel tanks, striping her hull to bare wood to inspect the planking and removing all caulking. Her planking was in great shape but her frames and floors not so. Complete frame sets were made for the bow section and all frames and floors aft of the bow from the chine to the keel were replaced. The entire hull was refastened with silicon bronze screws, re-caulked and painted. Her engine, fuel tanks re-installed with a little freshening up and a new dry stack exhaust made.
Luckily my wife was occupied with school.....it was still hard on our marriage as I was either at work or at the boat 7 days a week for 9 months. Future drydocks were purposely much shorter!

The first pic is her coming up on the trailer after scrubbing the bottom. Second pic she's all blocked up and bottom paint removal beginning. Third, I'm painting her hull sides. Fourth her hull painted, caulked, re-fastened and ready for bottom paint.

[ChiefD]

First pic is of her engine room hatch open with new frames installed below, I'm bent over in the bunk house. She had four full size bunks forward of the helm. Second, I'm standing in the bunk house working on frames, you can see the full frames replaced in the bow section.

Forward of the bunk house was a head to Port and a shower to Starboard. The generator sat forward of that just aft of the Sampson post where the tar can is sitting, the gen also drove the hydraulic system for the bottom fishing reels.

[ChiefD]

Well........this past weekend my wife, my son and I were on the island of Oahu. My son was taking a physical agility test for firefighter.
While winding down in the evening walking the docks near our hotel we come across this beautiful 45 ft sampan for sale, one of the few remaining. As we're checking her out a guy on the boat next door pops his head out and ask if we want to buy her? I said I may be interested, he takes us aboard.
What a beautiful boat, built in 77, twin 471's, well maintained but needing a little paint and clean up. The wife loved it, full galley, a real head with a full sized shower, you could have 10 people on the fly bridge and not feel crowded, much much nicer then my old boat!
I told myself a long time ago.....never again, stick with a trailer boat.
Oh boy.........what to do!