Schooner "Arctracer" History

The schooner "Arctracer" was designed by Howard I. Chapelle. He was one of America's best-known marine architects. He worked for many years at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and wrote a number of books about early American boats, boat designing and building. One of his maxims was that traditional boats embody considerable wisdom about what really works in practical situations, since those designs were refined over many years to provide the best results for people who relied on them for their livelihood. His "Corsair" design for a 40' wooden schooner was patterned after the famous Gloucester fishing schooners which used to work the Grand Banks of the Atlantic. It won a magazine contest for best cruising boat for a couple to sail. The first boat built on those lines was "Heart's Desire," and more than 40 have been built altogether. Bruce Chadwick saw the magazine article and asked boatbuilder Dan Sheler to build one in steel. In translating from wood to steel, 5' was added to the length, but the maximum beam of 10' 2" and the rig remained the same. "Arctracer" is easily recognized as a "Corsair," and is often mistaken for a wooden boat.

Construction of the hull is 3/16" mild steel. Hull plates are overlapped and welded inside and out to effectively create stringers which add to hull strength. Steel bulkheads plus L-shaped steel frames every 20" form an exceptionally strong hull. The deck is also steel. The hatches and deck trim are solid teak. The masts are keel stepped, solid wood. The mainmast is laminated, while all other spars are single sticks. The bowsprit extends about 6' beyond the stem. The main boom came from a Great Lakes schooner and is well over 100 years old. An additional wooden 20' yard is normally not crossed, but can be hoisted on the foremast to fly a 20' square sail.

The sails include a gaff mainsail of 350 square feet, gaff foresail of 266 square feet, staysail of 80 square feet, and "yankee" roller-furling jib of 210 square feet. There are also both fore and main topsails, a fisherman, a gollywobbler and a squaresail. A spare foresail (which could also replace the main in an emergency) and a hank-on jib are kept in the sail lazarette, along with a storm jib and storm trysail. None of the sails are large, so sail-handling is relatively easy, and optimizing the sail configuration for the prevailing conditions is one of the delights of sailing this boat.

The shrouds are 3/8" galvanized steel, with deadeyes and 1/2" polyester rope in place of turnbuckles ("rigging screws"). These are stronger than the original design, and contribute significantly to the boat's traditional appearance. Bobstay and whisker stays are 5/16" high-tensile galvanized chain. Our primary anchor was a 60 lb CQR mounted on a bow roller, and there were also two fisherman-type folding anchors and a 45 lb CQR. The primary rode is 350' of 5/16" high-tensile galvanized chain. A Simpson- Lawrence 555 "Seatiger" double-action, two-speed, manual windlass with chain gypsy is mounted on the foredeck above the chain locker. A nylon rode uses a second hawsepipe and the rope drum of the same windlass.

The boat was originally launched in 1967 in Travers City, Michigan with the name "Charlotte Jean," the name of Bruce Chadwick's wife. It stayed in the Great Lakes for four years, then came through the Erie Canal and down the Hudson River to the Atlantic Ocean at New York City, and down the east coast of the United States to Florida. Bruce, Jean, and their children lived aboard for many years in Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. For a while they took paying passengers on day sails out of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. In 1981 they sailed to Bermuda, across the Atlantic to Spain for a stay of several months, and back to the Caribbean in 1982. The logs of those Atlantic crossings are still aboard. For most of the next ten years the schooner was based in Daytona Beach, Florida. In December 1993, 72 year old Bruce reluctantly sold his 26 year old schooner to us and moved back to a house in Michigan.

When originally launched, the schooner had no electricity at all, but used oil for all lamps and kerosene for cooking. Bruce eventually added batteries for lights and radios. We added a second battery bank and some additional electronics, including GPS, SSB and depth sounder. We also added a starter for the engine, wind vane self-steering, and replaced kerosene with propane for cooking. We replaced the wooden toerail around the edge of the deck with welded steel pipe. The emphasis has always been on strength and reliability, minimizing gadgets which increase cost and maintenance. The boat has never had refrigeration or pressurized water, for example, but was built with components such as steering system (Lunenburg Foundry, Nova Scotia) and blocks (bronze sheaves with bronze roller bearings in lignum vitae) which are stronger than necessary and can be relied upon in any conditions. Protective coatings have always been the best available, including two-part polyurethane topcoat paints, exterior marine varnishes, and the latest ablative antifouling (Micron CSC.)

The interior of this boat was carefully made from solid American cherry. The wood was cut on Bruce and Jean's farm. The folding table is solid walnut. The flooring was solid pine, a little lighter color than the walls and furniture. All this wood was varnished, and presented a beautiful, traditional appearance. The bed in the aft cabin was not quite double width, so we increased its width for more comfortable sharing while retaining its original cherry ‌siding.

Bruce initially installed a traditional wood/coal stove, which provided a heat source for chilly northern weather as well as a cooking surface and oven. There was an outside hatch with a coal chute to a storage bin. The outside hatch deteriorated and we replaced it with solid steel decking. Since we prefer living in the tropics, we eventually took out the wood stove and the kerosene stove, and installed a gas stove which had an oven. We added storage and shelf space in the galley where the coal stove sat.

We renamed the schooner "Arctracer." This name is so distinctive that we have never encountered another boat with the same name, except our catamaran "Arctracer." Wherever a boat travels on the sea it must follow the curve of the earth and trace an arc, so this is an appropriate name for a boat which travels the oceans. We took it up the East Coast of the United States from Florida to New Hampshire in 1994, and moved aboard in July. Then we cruised up to the Canadian border and back to Florida in 1994; down through the Bahamas to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in 1995; through the Caribbean islands to Trinidad in 1996; returned to Maine in 1997; sailed offshore past Bermuda to Barbados in late 1997; to Trinidad, the Venezuelan Islands and the Panama Canal in early 1998; through the Galapagos Islands, Tuamotus, Society Islands and Cook Islands to New Zealand in 1998; Tonga, Fiji and back to New Zealand in 1999; and finally Fiji, New Caledonia and Australia in 2000.

The schooner took good care of us throughout our seven years of living aboard. It always seemed safe, whether in gales or among coral reefs. It was very interesting to learn to use all its various sails in different combinations to suit conditions. It has enough room inside for a couple to live comfortably and have occasional guests. Bruce and Jean lived aboard with several children for many years. It is immediately recognized when people see it a second time, and it is constantly photographed by people who appreciate a beautiful traditional boat. It is a boat which we were very proud to own, and we parted with it reluctantly.