home

‹ previous page  1  2  3

In the late 1970s, the same company that produced the Cordoba and the LeBaron got into the boat building business. For a few years, Chrysler produced a line of small sailboats with model names like the Privateer, Buccanner, Mutineer and Man o War. What Jeff ended up with was one of Chrysler’s biggest designs – the Chrysler 26.

A boat intended for trailer-sailing, it displaced 5,000 pounds, 2,000 of which took the form of internal ballast and a steel swing keel. Keel retracted, the vessel drew just over 2 feet. Lowered, it needed 6 feet of water.

“She was designed by Halsey Herschoff” Jeff notes, alluding to the naval designer whose grandfather was Nathanial “Capt Nat” Herreschoff, was known for designing a string of America’s Cup winners. He credits Halsey Herschoff with drawing the vessel’s fair underbody and wineglass-shaped aftersection.

When he bought Windward in 2004, she was in no condition to win any races. In fact, when first took possesion of her, she was filled with “ruptured cans of generic soda and boxes of Stove Top stuffing”. Also, the centerboard case, which houses the steel plate that can be lowered to improve the vessel’s windward ability, was broken. Then there was the roller furler. The extrusion around which the jib sail were furled were held together with a drill bit.

Early days: Windward on a launch ramp in the early days of Jeff’s ownership (Jeff Arnfield photo)

Over time he rebuilt the boat. Once the major faults were repaired, he tackled the secondary improvements. To improve the cockpit’s rigidity, he expoxied a large piece of plywood to the underside of the footwell. He also bought new sails, replaced the motor, motor mount, standing rigging and added a mainsheet traveller that allows fine tuning of the mainsail. The once faded hull was painted bright red making the vessel “colorful as a Cheap Trick album”.

Looking forward: Windward’s deckhouse extends almost to the bow, making for a roomy interior. The centerboard trunk, which Jeff has reinforced with Kevlar, supports the drop leaf table.

Looking aft is the galley. Under the cockpit, where the inboard would normally be found, is a large storage area. When not using sails, Jeff uses an outboard to push Windward.

These days, after hundreds of days of use, Windward shows the effects of thousands of miles of fresh and saltwater sailing. Her hull sports a few scratches. The interior, at the end of her latest trip, sports what Jeff calls a “delightfully lived-in look”. Regarding her long distance voyager look, he notes “there are better looking boats that never leave the dock”.

Heading back to Tennessee

Following Jeff’s cruise, he motored Windward back to the state Wildlife Ramp, lowered her rig and loaded her onto a trailer. From there, he drove home. Back in Tennessee, he plans to relaunch Windward on Lake Watauga, where he plans to sail all winter. While the thought of keeping a boat on the North Carolina coast has crossed his mind, the long commute bothers him as much as he “hates the idea of only being able to sail a few weeks per year”.

Which, for a man who manages to sail almost 52 weeks out of the year, is a pretty good reason to keep his boat close to home – and still cruise hundreds of miles annually out of Oriental.

‹ previous page  1  2  3

Posted Wednesday November 10, 2010 by Bernie Harberts

email this story | back to top