Malabar II (sister ship to TAO)

Bill Ramsden, a master carpenter and a director of LISEC, will see his dream come true in 2006. His 42' wooden gaff-rigged schooner, the TAO, will be under sail in Port Jefferson Harbor. He has been building it for ten years in his back yard in Centereach, Long Island, doing everything himself step by step. The TAO was launched in 2005. Some fittings and the rigging of the sails is all that needs to be finished in 2006.

"My wife threatened to divorce me if I didn't get it done last year," he says. She says, "It would be more fun to be sailing than to see you constantly working on it!" They both are extremely proud to add this classic sailing vessel to the harbor and friends are lining up to join them on board.

The graceful schooner is a sister ship to the Malabar II designed by renowned naval architect, John Alden in 1922. Ramsden acquired a copy of the plans from Wooden Boat magazine in 1993, built the shelter for it in 1994, and spent the next two years building the hull, upside down on a series of molds. It consists of three overlapping glued layers of thin Douglas-fir planking.

Once he had the keel laid he righted the hull and was "ready to begin." The next step was to create the ballast for the keel out of 9,000 lbs. of scrap lead found in New York City. It had to be melted, poured into a mold, cooled, then moved on pipe rollers into place under the boat and bolted into place. Next came the creation of the 57' mainmast and the 48' foremast. They were 'barrel staved' with more than 24 16' planks of spruce in each, all intricately cut and bound with epoxy. Only then could Ramsden move 'top sides' to start laying the decking, building the cabin, and fitting the interior.

Ramsden, who once specialized in restoring Brooklyn brownstones, says he seems to have been born with a love of boats in spite of being city bred. One sees his artistry in every detail of his project. The rudder is made of oak sheathed with mahogany plywood and edged with bronze. His decks are of teak planking laid over marine-grade okoume plywood. His handrails are of beautifully curved ipe, also a tropical wood. Only the teakwood hatch covers are thickly varnished, as the rest of the decking is meant to be left untreated as it turns a silver-gray. Inside, the cabinetry is made once again of Douglas-fir. With 6' headroom and three double bunks, a full 'head' with hand shower, gimbaled stove and ice chest, it will make a roomy home away from home.

The boat is 11 1/2 ' in width, 41 1/2' on deck, and has a sparred length of 52'.

The TAO will sport two gaff-rigged, four-sided sails and two triangular staysails. Its 55 HP diesel engine can provide a hull speed of 7 to 8 knots when needed. The sails have been made by Wilson Sails in Maine. In 2005 the rigging was completed, which included the 'standing' or wire cable rigging to support the masts, and the 'running rigging' and blocks used to control the booms and sails. Ramsden still has to complete the interior cabinetry, the plumbing, and wiring of the boat. When launched, he plans to moor the TAO in Port Jefferson Harbor where it will surely attract a lot of attention.

"I didn't realize it was such an ambitious project," he says modestly. "Now I am 10 years older and 10 years wiser. I'm not sure I would undertake another like it. It has consumed so much of my life. No wonder my wife is looking forward to having more of my time as we enjoy it together."

Ramsden estimates that if he sold the TAO at top dollar and subtracted the $60,000 to $70,000 in materials cost, he would recoup about $1 per hour for his labor. "Ship builders do this for the love of it," he says, "not for the profit.