Brian:
I just joined the WOA tonight, saw your post and realize I have your answer. I sailed a Friendship Sloop on the Chesapeake Bay for 20 years until moving to La Paz, BCS, Mexico about 18 months ago. I missed being on the water and, especially my Friendship. So I bought a boat in February of this year. I found a Westsail 32 with the name of Tamarac II barely visible beneath the paint on the bulwarks. The boat had been on the hard for over 2 years so it took several months to get her ready to launch. She's been in the water about 5 weeks and I've sailed her an average of 2 times per week getting used to her. (There are some not-so-subtle differences between a Friendship and a Westsail: gaff v. marconi rig, no winches v. winches, 12' bowsprit v. 6', etc.) I hope to coastal cruise her in the Sea of Cortez in the future. She's growing on me. She handles very well, responds nicely to the tiller and moves unexpectedly quickly. Maybe it's because I'm used to a "slow" boat, but I don't understand where the Wetsnail nickname came from.
I assume Jack Francis is your grandfather. He did a great job building Tamarac II. His workmanship is high quality and it has stood the test of time. You should be proud of him. According to the USCG Vessel Documentation website previously mentioned here, I figure I'm the 6th owner of the boat. The 4 between your grandfather and me are Edward Foster, Terence Loose, Leonard Gibson. The 4th owner was Mark (not his brother Adam) Penny, a Brit who died and left the boat to his mother, Jayne Brydges, in England. Mark Penny had her under British registry. I bought the boat from her and she is now re-documented with the USCG in my name. Go to that website and, under "Search by Vessel Documentation Number," enter 574000 for this and other information.
I understand you'd be interested to know if Tamarac II would be for sale. If this email exchange were 5-6 months ago I'd have been tempted to say yes, for I recently learned that my old Friendship is up for sale! Alas, I have too much invested in Tutti Va Bene (her new name) and I still believe that the Sea of Cortez is the wrong place for a Friendship.
I hope I've helped you in your search. If you have any questions or other needs please respond to me here or my email address on file with the WOA (I'm too new to know how all of this works.).
Best wishes,
Tom Berry
