Mike Bailey's deep blue pocket cruiser,
the Patricia Ann, is an eye-catching little pocket-yacht based on the graceful
lines of a traditional Friendship Sloop. But what impresses a bystander
more than its looks are the ingenious features specially built into the
boat. Complex electrical systems allowing variable lighting to suit the
mood, custom engine mount, multiple bilge pumps, handy deck lockers for
stowing running tackle, and custom-made hardware, are a few of the one-of-a-kind
features that set the boat apart stem to stern, from the off-the-shelf plastic
sailboat you can buy. You can tell in a few minutes someone has put a lot
of thought into this boat. In this case the someone was fourteen years old.
The Patricia Ann was built from the plans for the Weekender,
shown here."I didn't touch a screwdriver.
He did the whole thing himself with no help from anybody," his father
admits with a hard-to conceal grin of pride. "On a project as big as
this, things are bound to go wrong, All we supplied was moral support. He
did the rest. He stuck with it and now he's skippering his own boat that
he can go cruising in. I wonder how many guys fourteen years old can say
that?"
Getting the job done on a 14 year-old's budget often involves the fine old
American art of scrounging, and Mike is fast becoming a master.
On a visit to his grandparents, Mike's roving eye spotted what many would
think of as throwaways, but which were obviously supplies and material that
would be perfect for the boat project. On the way back home, his luggage
was bulging with treasures bound to start a new life as part of his new
boat. His grandmother's tarp, destined to become a set of sails, was his
carry-on. The trailer for the boat was spotted at a yard sale. Mike got
it for $45, a little more than the cost of the boat's registration fees.
In Shop, when the rest of the class was yawning its way through the usual
pipe racks and jack stands, Mike was quietly using the facilities to grind
out turned posts for the ship's wheel and casting up his own cleats in aluminum.
(The capable Mr. Bailey is the fellow in the hat)
After a few turns around the Patricia Ann, it
was obvious she was the product of one savvy young skipper. The only criticism
we could come up with was over the name, and we took Mike aside and explained
to him the folly of naming a boat after a girlfriend, considering the variable
nature of human affections, and the high price of paint.
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