Berkeley Marina (Mike’s boat)

Trip date: July 19, 2018

This was a huge and exciting day for Mike and his then partner Gregg to bring the boat into the Marina for some major attention.  Mike fulfilled a lifelong dream of boat ownership by buying this 1947 Monterey Clipper which were renowned fishing boats up and down the California Coast.  It is the quintessential boat in San Francisco’s historic Fisherman’s Wharf and the mainstay of the sardine fishing fleet during Monterey’s Cannery Row heyday.  It is the logo for the Noyo Harbor at Fort Bragg. Joe DiMaggio’s family had one in San Francisco that he used to work on with his brothers to bring fresh fish, shrimp, and crab to the family restaurant.  It is about as famous a boat as you will find on the West Coast.

 Mike and Gregg agreed to a purchase price of $500, for which Mike got a wooden boat which needed a lot of work on the wood surface and on the engine, and an unknown amount of work below the water.  This day was the day Mike and Gregg braved the unknown to sail her from her berth in Alameda to the Berkeley Marina Dry Dock where she would be pulled out of the water, inspected, and then evaluated for what needed to be done to get her back in shape.  As exciting as it was for us, I am sure Mike was somewhat terrified at the prospects.

They made the trip without incident and Bill, Steve, and I were at the Marina to greet them.  It was a glorious day, and everything went according to plan.  When she was washed off, her hull was not as deteriorated as some may have thought.  All in all, she looked pretty good.  I don’t recall exactly how long she stayed in dry dock, but it was 6 weeks or so.  Much of the hull and keel were replaced, and a lot of decking was repaired.  While expensive, and certainly more than Mike had hoped, it was totally worth it.

Since this time, Mike has had work done on the diesel engine and electric controls, and continues to finish the decking and paint.  It really looks great now.  I should get over to Alameda to take some current photos to get the story up to date.  Well done brother.

Mike’s boat Berkeley Marina Photo Gallery