Avoiding the slaughterhouse

We don’t know how many situations exist like the one below. It is not often that we receive a request like this, but maybe it is because folks think that we aren’t able to afford newsletter space for such a project. We probably can’t, and if we get a hundred requests similar to the one below, we will have a problem on our hands. However, most Scuttlebutt features result because of a need, so we will likely figure out a way to handle it. Until that time, here is letter from a group of people trying to keep a boat out of the slaughterhouse:

Dear Editor:

Acting upon the suggestion of several members of the Association for Yachting Historians (and yes, I am a member) I'm alerting you of the following opportunity to acquire a truly unusual and very special classic yacht. Venture, a 55-foot GL Watson gaff ketch launched in 1924, is available at the Gannon and Benjamin Yard on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, as a restoration project. Unfortunately the owner's plans have changed and he has given the boatyard instructions to demolish the boat unless a qualified new owner can be found to take on the project.

We are hoping that you will include this project (a welcome antidote to the machinations of the America's Cup and the ISAF) in your newsletters because time is running out for this boat. She's in a space that must be allocated to a new project if a potential owner does not surface in the next couple of days. Hence the urgency. The chain saws aren't running but the chains have been sharpened. Thank you very much. -- Virginia C. Jones

RESTORATION PROJECT
VENTURE, a 55' OD x 42' LWL x 12' B x 8'6" D GL Watson gaff ketch launched 1924 by Samuel White in Cowes is available at the Gannon and Benjamin Yard on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, as a restoration project. The boat has been disassembled to the bare hull and a detailed proposal prepared for the rebuild/restoration. Although this is a substantial project, there is a lot of the original boat remaining and she is an eminently viable project. Unfortunately the owner's plans have changed and he has given the boatyard instructions to demolish the boat unless a qualified new owner can be found to take on the project. G & B is uniquely qualified to rebuild her to yacht standards and she would make anyone seeking such a vessel a truly special and elegant Edwardian style yacht. Photos, references and further information are available at gandb@gannonandbenjamin.com, or contact Nat Benjamin at 001- 508-693-4658.