16' Young Poulsbo Boat (1946) - CHICKADEE

Chickadee
Year Built: 1946
Builder: Ronald Young
Location: Poulsbo, WA
Designer: Ronald Young
LOA: 16’
Beam: 6’
Draft: 1’
Motor: Electric Taylor Dunn
Western Red Cedar Over Oak Frames

The Poulsbo Boat-small wooden boats built by Ronald Young used primarily as fleet rental boats to fishing camps along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and
Puget Sound. A seaworthy and sturdy boat. Boats were built two at a time after the parts had been pre-cut. It usually took ten to twelve days to build them and most were sold unfinished because the shop lacked a suitable dirt and dust-free room.

Built of traditional plank on frame methods and originally powered with an air-cooled one-cylinder gasoline engine. Most of the boats were built in the basement of a waterfront service station-garage in the town of Poulsbo, Washington. About 900 were dragged up the ramp leading from the cellar to the street above. Ronald’s son Gordon was the only employee, starting at age ten and continuing until he left for college.

Young followed the ancient tradition of building his boats from half-models which he carved. Boats were sold at the shop on a cash-and-haul-away basis. Young would not knowingly sell a boat to anyone who had to borrow to pay for it. He didn’t like to feel that someone was taking on a financial burden in buying one of his boats.
Young built only open boats. It’s not uncommon today to see small cabins on Poulsbo Boat hulls, but Young was not responsible for them.

Metalwork wasn’t fancy–Young used whatever was available. Sheet brass, sometimes bronze, and in the early years 12-gauge galvanized iron, was used for the flat work. Many tillers were cross-arm braces from telephone poles. All bolts were ¼-inch galvanized carriage bolts with the heads pounded to a ½-inch square. Propeller and rudder shafts were standard ¾-inch marine bronze. The rudder shaft housing was ¾-inch i.d. galvanized pipe threaded on the outside and held with a locknut at the bottom end. The metalwork for the different sized boats was the same–one pattern was used for all the boats.
Ronald Young died in 1968, a native and resident of Poulsbo for all of his 76 years. His personal philosophy was, “A good boat and a good person are a joy.”

-The Jaunty Little Boat From Poulsbo by Tom Beard

Chickadee was found by a family friend in a quonset hut in Eastern Washington in the 1990’s. He brought her to Seattle and began an amazing restoration, from disassembled bare wood parts to a beautiful vessel. We purchased Chickadee in 2011 and have been enjoying her as a crabbing boat, tender and day cruiser in Puget Sound. The fourteen years we have been her caretaker we have successfully completed maintenance of replacing planks as needed, paint and varnish.