Lilibet Logs

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The subtitle reads Restoring a classic wooden boat to which might be added and learning to sail her . Jack Becker fell in love with this 42ft sailing boat that he found in Chesapeake Bay. It was to be a monumental task. Designed in the UK by Norman Dallimore, it was one of his 184 designs and clearly a classic. A paperback of 82 pages, this book is a good read. * The Little Ship * We've all seen them, those derelict wooden hulks stashed in purgatory at the edge of large boatyards or floating forlornly in a slip, a faded 'For Sale' sign suspended from sagging lifelines. In the age of fiberglass, a wooden sailboat has become something of an oddity, and the people who love owning them and doing the necessary maintenance are becoming as scarce as the dodo. Finding a match between an old woody and a buyer represents a major endeavor, which is why the Annapolis based broker who listed Lilibet, a 42-foot cutter built in England in 1937 that had fallen into disrepair, was cautiously optimistic when Jack Becker came along. Becker was one of those birds who loved owning wooden boats. As a commercial artist, he was used to working with his hands and seemed undaunted by the prospect of restoring Lilibet to pristine condition. It didn't matter that he was a powerboater and lived in Minnesota, where sailing is restricted to shallow lakes, with the exception of often-challenging Lake Superior. Thus began Becker's odyssey with Lilibet, a tale he recounts in a short and quirky memoir entitled, appropriately enough, The Lilibet Logs: Restoring a Classic Wooden Boat. The book takes readers on the journey through the buying and restoration process, and moves on to describe learning to sail the boat on Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka. The fact that Becker wasn't a sailor when he bought the boat reveals that the purchase was more for the enjoyment of the restoration than getting it out on the water under sail. What becomes clear from the start is just how difficult it can sometimes be to find a place where a wooden sailboat in need of TLC will find a warm welcome. Wooden boats and the people who own them, appear to be spurned at some upscaled boat yards, partly because as Becker writes, 'wooden boats might spell trouble. Projects and dreams go sour, sudden leaks and sinkings, old abandoned hulks left to rot.' It was tough for Becker to find a home for Lilibet , but he eventually did prior to trucking the boat from Maryland. The place which he calls Watchamajig Marina, was quite likely one of the strangest boatyards in Minnesota. Peopled with odd characters and boats, it provides the ideal backdrop for Becker's trials and travails as he relates his experience of restoring the boat, a job that took more than two years. Becker is not a professional writer and it shows throughout the book, but putting that aside the story is still mostly entertaining. It provides a glimpse into the world of wooden boats, and the culture and spirit of the wooden boat community that is likely unfamiliar to many sailors. * Sailing * Longtime powerboater Jack Becker falls in love with a 42-foot sailboat and hauls it from Annapolis, MD to Minnesota. Hard to put down, this humorous book chronicles his loving restoration of Lilibet and his learning to sail. * The Ensign *