Hello and welcome to the Island Eagle home page. Island Eagle is 61 foot trawler designed by Arthur DeFever, built in San Diego and launched in 1964. I've owned her since May 2003, and I'll be posting regular updates here. If you have any questions at all, just drop me a note, the address is scott@firstclass.com . By the way, you can click on most of the images for a high-res version.
The summer of 2007
We managed to spend nearly the entire summer of 2007 out on the boat. Terri sold he house in Nanaimo at the end of May, and after Devon finished school we al headed out for the summer.
One massive change is that "we" now includes not only Scott, Terri and devon but also Kara Lou:
Having a cat onboard was mostly fun, although there were a few tense moments. Shhe only went missing twice, but that was about 2 times too many. She certainly did find things to occupy her time though:
Of course it was not all cats, we did manage to get some cruising in.
For the first time we went up through Seymor Narrows and then up to the Broughton Archipeligo:
Scott's mom & dad m
May 09, 2008
Breanna Goes Aground
What happens when a 70 footer hits a rock doing 8 knots? It happened about 250 feet from our dock.
We knew that leaving Island Eagle out in the sun, snow, rain and wind was not the best thing to do, but we were still shocked at how quickly finishes deterioriated. So, we decided to get a whol boat cover.
We decided that we needed a new tender, and felt that a fancy fibreglass one just wouldn't do. Instead, we decided to go for a throwback: Lapstrake mahogany, rivet fastened, and a 7 HP diesel inboard. Designed by Tad Roberts and built by the Silva Bay Boat Building School, the result is perfect.
It's a question we've asked ourselvs a few times, and it's a question we've been asked even more. We've jotted down a few things that we particular like about the design of Island Eagle, and that we think are missing from so many production boats.
How's this for a story: The original owner, Joe Coberley, was on a cruise down into Baja, heading for the Sea of Cortez, but one on his crew expired onboard from an apparent heart attack. Rather than go through the hassles of Mexican customs and explain, he turned around and returned 500 plus miles to San Diego with his crewman on "ice." That deep freezer and Ice make did come in handy!
After a month of hard labour, "Island Eagle" has a new electrical system. And did she need it. The wiring ranged from quaintly vintage to downright dangerous.
Along with the electrical system, the plumbing was pretty funky as well. Two new toilets, half a dozen pumps, and one big holding tank later, we're over the worst.
We had a few small underwater jobs to do, and we also needed new bottom paint. But the largest Travelift near us was still not big enough. So we got to do it the old-fashioned way, on Nanaimo Shipyards marine railway. It went flawlessly.
Island Eagle
