The beautiful white and blue striped hulled 1991 F-27, REHAB, is now owned by Ginnie Jo Blue! Congratulations Ginnie Jo! 

Late last summer, Ginnie Jo joined one of NWMA’s Zoom meetings and after taking some sailing courses, announced she was interested in a trimaran, and probably an F-27. Shaun Heublein and myself, Jessica Aarhaus, reached out to Ginnie Jo and invited her to come sail on our Corsair F31, Tri To Be Nice. Ginnie Jo did not hesitate to become a NWMA member. She did however, hesitate to come out to Tacoma for her first trimaran ride as her husband, Sol, was having surgery to remove his lung cancer and they needed to wait until he recovered, especially due to Covid. As soon as they learned that he was in remission, they set a plan to buy a boat, and Ginnie Jo started shopping. Oh, and of course, rushed over to Tacoma as soon as feasible, which was just in time for Tri To Be Nice's last sail before it's winter extraction. It was a blustery day and the F-31 highlighted how powerful it could be. Ginnie Jo soon decided that the smaller F-27 with its aft cabin was the perfect fit for her rock climbing family of four, which includes her two daughters, Ayla and Ari, ages 8 and 6.

The club recently learned that Ginnie Jo had found a boat in the Seattle area, was planning on coming over from her home in Leavenworth the first week of April during her spring break to look at it, and hopefully make a purchase. What we did not know is that she was coming to see REHAB and NWMA member, Todd Reinke! Todd had been entertaining the idea of selling for a while and hoped to find a club member as the boat has been in the NWMA Fleet its entire life (it formerly was Sibling Rivalry owned by the Markens) . How cool! The Blue family decided the name "REHAB" is fitting and plan on keeping it... for now.

Not only did Todd find an NWMA member to pass REHAB along to, but took the time to help Ginnie Jo learn the boat. They traveled to Vashon Island, the location of REHAB’s mooring buoy, where he showed her the boat in its entirety; from how to work the toilet to how to put the mast up, and everything in between. It was only a matter of hours for Ginnie Jo to pull the trigger. She was sold. Todd then sailed REHAB over to Tyee Marina in Tacoma while Ginnie Jo drove the trailer off Vashon and, as luck would have it, they both arrived at Tyee Marina at the same time! It didn't hurt that Todd got REHAB up to 15 knots on the reach across from Quartermaster Harbor. I bet that was a great last solo sail for him.

Shaun and I have moorage at Tyee and were able to greet them. I had been excited for Ginnie Jo ever since I heard she was getting her dream boat, and more than happy to help her plan some logistics. I also felt like I was “paying it forward” as NWMA was there supporting Shaun and I through our purchase process, raising the mast for the first time, etc. and is still there; answering our questions and helping us fine tune our boat. Clubs can be awesome, and this one sure is. Go NWMA! I was sure to take pictures of the boat, her new NWMA burgee, and bring champagne so that the three bows could be properly christened, as was done for us when we launched our boat. Thanks Diane Johnson! Ginnie Jo drove Todd home to West Seattle where she learned of all the extra equipment not on the "sale list" including several extra sails, an F-28 style fabricated Gin Pole, and even an extra daggerboard! 

Ginnie Jo invited Shaun and I out for her inaugural sail on Easter Sunday! Ayla and Ari's Easter baskets were found in the cockpit of our boat that morning. It turns out there are not a lot of places to hide things in a marina without touching anyone else's belongings! We had moderate winds and a great sail. Ginnie Jo saw some dark clouds heading our way and thought we better turn back for port. It was the right call as the steady 15 knots we had, turned into 25 knots by the time we hit the dock. 

Todd came back to Tacoma on Tuesday to help Ginnie Jo learn REHAB more thoroughly. She made video recordings of all his teachings. He asked if she would be making a YouTube Channel? Shaun said we could call it “REHAB-All The Things You Didn’t Know You Needed to Know About an F-27!". Todd went through the tackle box full of parts, the binder of manuals, and even took the boat out with her again. There was light to no wind but it was perfect for the day's activities and it felt like summer time. The main sail was up while Ayla and Ari tried to keep up on their SUP. We then towed them on the SUP over to a buoy outside of Brown's Point so Ginnie Jo could work on her maneuvering skills. 

Ginnie Jo was excited to learn more from experienced sailors who wanted to offer their insights, so we invited her to join us at Shilshole for the Blakely Rock Benefit Race. Shaun was gone for work through Friday evening so we invited Todd, aka Todd "Redundancy" Reinke, Eric "Do It All" Lindahl, Vince "No Shaky $#!+" DePillis, and Jeff "The Shadow" Oakleif, all of them F boat owners, to help us move/hopefully sail our boats up to Shilshole for the weekend. All the F boaters we invited were willing to help if their schedules allowed. Friday's weather forecast was calling for high gusty winds and 4 foot wind waves, so we left on Thursday instead. We were very fortunate to be able to have Eric sail with Ginnie Jo, Ayla, and Ari and Vince sail with me. It was a gorgeous sunny day but only a light SW wind when we left Commencement Bay. We motor-sailed over to the West side of Vashon so at least we would have the current with us and hoped for a funneling effect. It seemed we had exactly that. We had broad reaches all the way up Colvos passage and averaged 7 knots over ground. We met a SE wind once we got up to Blake Island, a hole near Seattle, and then some moderate Northerlies came and met us for the last bit of the day. Eric even helped Ginnie Jo run a reefing drill. Well, of course he did. You guys are the best! Perfect next steps for Ginnie Jo! Actually, she was a little on edge there at the end after a long day on the boat, and was not quite ready for the increased speed and wind waves. Once we reached B dock at Shilshole, she jumped off her boat and said, "I feel like I just climbed a mountain!" We were both giddy about having an epic day on the water. 

You may have noticed an every other day of sailing pattern here in this story but, for Ginnie Jo, it was every day with her new sailboat. As Todd had warned her, the trailer needed work. Quite a bit, in fact! She spent her "off days" driving the trailer around getting quotes and making calls while processing everything she learned from the day before, as well as keeping her girls going. It's a good thing Ginnie Jo is so energetic, is resourceful, and is able to activate her memory bank. She was able to find the right guy to fix her trailer. Even with all the work needed, she was able to pick it up on Friday! We met Vince and Kristin DePillis at the Shilshole boat ramp, where Ginnie Jo parked her 1991 Okanogan Camper Van, in preparation for retrieving her 1991 F-27, with her recently repaired 1991 F-27 trailer, and went to the playground at Golden Gardens. We then walked back to B Dock where we finally got to play the much anticipated game of Carcassonne. The game was one of our planned activities for the week and this was the first time we had a chance to play it since Spring had sprung and there was such good sailing to be had! Since I was the only one who had played Carcassonne before, it was more “learning” than “playing” the game. Oh no, more learning for Ginnie Jo! I was thinking her head was about to explode but nope, she kept on smiling. 

Saturday was race day. We had moderate winds, mostly sunny skies, and 90+ boats in the race. Once again, the perfect next step for Ginnie Jo. Yay! She had both Todd and Eric on her boat as she had invited them both for this particular day. She originally considered participating in the race but elected not to in the end. I am sure there were many other NWMA members who would have loved to join her but, Todd and Eric were eager to help. It worked out great. They all worked together to fine tune sailing efforts, enjoyed watching the race, managed to confuse the other multihulls (Freda Mae and Tri To Be Nice both thought Escape had somehow gotten ahead of us!), and got back to the dock in time for Ginnie Jo to video record Eric and Todd taking down her mast. They got it down in time to enjoy the NWMA Post-Race Dock Gathering. Ginnie Jo, as well as a lot of others, commented that they immensely enjoyed meeting others in person. Thanks to all those who were able to make it out. 

On Sunday, Todd came back, AGAIN! They successfully put her boom inside the boat, watched REHAB “self-fold”, got her on the trailer, out of the water, and road ready! Todd then jumped on Tri To Be Nice for a much deserved, and fantastic Spinnaker run down to Tacoma! Ginnie Jo is now back in Leavenworth, has the summer off (she is a school teacher), and plans to learn about her boat even more on Lake Chelan, with help from a friend of hers who is a former F-24 owner. She also plans to bring REHAB back to the Puget Sound and, therefore, is sure to become an expert at getting her mast up and down.

Thank you so much to everyone who supported Ginnie Jo during her purchasing process and adventurous week. Congratulations again Ginnie Jo! 

Here is a link to some photos that were taken during the week. Rehab Slideshow - April 2021

Best regards, 

Jess

P.S. I heard Ginnie Jo is planning to take Rehab over to Lake Chelan this coming weekend and sail it two months earlier than originally planned. Those mast raising and lowering skills might be mastered sooner than later. You go girl!

Written by Jessica Aarhaus and Shaun Heublein - April 15, 2021

A beautiful blue hulled 2002 Corsair F31.  Last October the club learned that Shaun and Jessica had found their boat.  They have been investigating this model for a while and low and behold here it is. It was a western boat likely to have been originally named “Nice Tri” from Salt Lake. Then it was sold across the country to New York, then to Connecticut and most recently to an Arkansas man who had 3 daughters, thus the name “Tri to be Nice…To Your Sisters”.  Shaun and his dad trailered it back to Seattle in November. 

A few hours before the launch Jessica and Shaun let a couple of us who had helped them early on, know that they were going to be launching the boat. They mentioned that if we happened to be walking the dog near the Ballard 14th Avenue boat ramp, we might run into them.   As it turned out Vince was out on a bike ride, and this writer, as well as Mark and Diane, were looking for a bit of air and some exercise.  Whaddaya know soon there we all were.  I figured the fresh gusty south wind helped with our social distancing but we still were aware to maintain 6 feet in the damp breezy afternoon.  Shaun’s parents were also there so the 8 of us got busy getting the boat ready for its first launch. 

An hour or so later, after enjoying some home-made sailboat cookies, and making sure all the parts were in the right place, including new masthead tac tic wind instruments, the boat was backed down the ramp and splashed.  Then the business part of unfolding the ama’s and putting up the mast commenced.  After triple checking all the lines and shrouds by the captain and the other 2 experienced F-boaters, we undertook the delicate operation of raising the ~200 lbs 42’ mast with the Farrier gin pole system.  It’s always a bit nervous doing this, there is so much leverage and force involved as the mast is lifted off its aft support.  All went well except a minor problem with breaking part of the jib furler housing. Still, the boat is sail-able, and the housing can be fixed later. 

A NW Multihull Association burgee was presented to Shaun and Jess with instructions on the proper orientation for hoisting it (not upside down).  Then the 3 bows were christened with champagne while we commenced celebration their new baby. The sky was transitioning from occasional sprinkles to an earnest light rain, so we quickly got them ready to shove off.  The plan was to transit the locks for an overnight at Shilshole and in the morning head on down the Sound to their slip in Tacoma.  It would have been fun to go thru the locks with them but we oldsters were keen to maintain our distance so we bid them adieu for home.  Here are a couple links to the pictures of the day:

2020-03-28 Tri To Be Nice LaunchWeekend We look forward to sailing with them soon when this Covid virus blows over.  Congratulations!!! 

Submitted by Eric Lindahl

Here's Eric Lindahl's write up of Joel and Patty’s Marples 35 trimaran open house of Oct 27, 2019. --  They have been working on it for 2 years at a friends property in Woodinville.

The build began on Vashon Island several decades ago by David Vinson.  David was a long time NWMA club member and good friend and coworker of Wayne E.  He’d built a couple boats, including getting Wayne interested in multihulls by building 3 Meters with him.  Sadly David got sick and passed away way too soon, before he could put the hulls together.  A few years back the project was offered for sale and Steve M, a rescuer of multihulls, bought them & trailered it all down to Reno.  

Joel and Patty had started coming to our NWMA meetings about that time in search of a cruising multihull.  Wayne was a good friend of David and knew the boat would be a perfect fit for them.  He urged a serious look at the project.  Joel went to Reno and found that nearly all the rigging and material, including 5 new sails, winches, rigged mast and boom, the works, was already accumulated by David and it was of the highest quality.  The deal was made and Joel trailered it back to Washington.  He and Patty got the main hull livable sold their house and have been living aboard on the hard since May in a concentrated effort to get it finished.  They are now ready for assembly of the 3 hulls and they will do that in drier and warmer Napa California beginning in Mid November.  

I’ll add one more tidbit of club connection in that Wayne had been talking to long time club member Harry A. recently.  Harry had cruised the South Pacific a lot but had sold his boat some time ago.  Just recently he’d found a spinnaker in his attic.  He happened to tell Wayne about it and Wayne knew the perfect recipient.  So another bit of club history will sail with Joel and Patty as they head off into the Pacific sunset sometime in 2020.  Its nice to see so many people will have lasting connections to this wonderful vessel.

The open house was a chance to see the wonderful craftsmanship of David, Joel and Patty before it left the area for who knows how long.  The interior is essentially finished and it is beautiful.  Patty is an artist and has an amazing eye for design and decoration.  Interesting painted designs and figures under varnish on various clear wood surfaces abound inside.  Her choice of colors, curtains, fabrics, bath fixtures really set off the natural wood of the interior.  She did a great job to preserve the natural clear epoxy finish.  The result is you can see the beautiful laminated woodworking that David did to build the hulls.  A nice, enduring testament to Davids vision and dream.   

Joel’s craftsmanship is outstanding as seen in his construction of the ama’s and other structures needed to put it all together.  (I did a newbie mistake and labeled the amas in the pictures below as akas.  Maybe thats why Ian Farrier preferred the terms; main hull, floats and beams rather then get all confused with amas, akas and vakas).  Joel’s buildout of the furniture and mechanical systems is excellent.  It doesn’t hurt that his shop landlord, friend and former employee, Steve, works at a laser metal cutting company and is a tool junkie, (his huge shop was full of large machine and woodworking tools, including a handy 20’ scissor hoist).  Steve has cut beautiful stainless steel bits and pieces for the boat.   I want to be Steve’s new best friend when Joel moves to California.  (Steve is also a 1950’s Nash Metropolitan junkie and I was smitten by the 5 or 6 restored and parts cars around his property).

It was a beautiful sunny day with the fall colors to set the mood, and it  made even the drive out to the rural site most enjoyable.  When I arrived 12 or 15 club members were in the shop where the main hull and one ama had just been dry fitted.  It was cool to see the 2 pieces together and imagine the sleek hulls slicing through far off seas.  Tours of the cabin were given by Patty but it was all boat shop talk among those inspecting the fine workmanship around the outside of the hulls.  Joel even had the full set of plans out for us to pour over.  Mounds of boat parts and gear and large wood and metal shop tools around and under the boat added to the boat shop talk ambience.  Joel and Patty had a nice spread of munchies for all to share to top it off.  Marilyn and I spent a couple hours munching, chatting and oogleing the vessel with the others.  I saw Jeff, Todd, Dan, Martyn, Linda, Wayne, Anne, Vince, Kristin, Mark, Elke, and heard Bill and Clive had been there earlier.   Joel and Patty had some non boat acquaintances there as well.  I probably missed a few attendees and I apologize for my aged brain.  

Below are some pictures that I took a few days later when I went back to see Joel.  I didn’t think to bring my camera at the time to show all the celebrants, dang.  They have a site that shows a lot of build pictures as well:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/QujfUKzUJagFB3Qx5   

If that doesn’t work try this: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPewiEkFNB37qGU3-9ibQ9rr43JpQDHScJvcT4a9_2owH7MzFhvOjPBz5nkC6XAtA?key=YWhuSHZ2TlRtY3BlWnA5Smw1UHkxNTdYeHZfWFp3

If you’d still like to see the project Joel did say that he would be happy to show others around if you didn’t make it Sunday.  Hurry though, they’re planning to be gone to Napa by mid Nov.  Here’s his contact; joelnsmith@me.com or  206-372-0559

The EPA has established a No Discharge Zone (NDZ) for Puget Sound and certain adjoining waters. An NDZ is a body of water where boats may not release sewage, whether treated or not. The NDZ will help protect public health, water quality, and sensitive resources.