Classic Racing Schooner Boats Review and Specs

Year: 1928  
Manufacturer: Classic Yachts
Price: US$225,000  

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Built for beauty and speed in 1928, Kelpie is still winning races today. Kelpie holds many records and is often referred to as “the fastest schooner on the West Coast”. With extensive refits over the last 20 years and continual maintenance, Keplie is as fast and elegant today as when she was first launched. Be sure to click on “full specs” above to see the additional pictures and specifications.     The 1928 Gamage-built classic has an interesting pedigree and a rich history. During the heyday of Harvey Gamage’s shipyard in South Bristol, Maine (now over 150 years old), craftsmen there built a series of famous Alden schooners, as well as sloops and lobsterboats, boats for the Gloucester and New Bedford fishing fleets, and even wooden minesweepers for the U.S. Navy during World War II.   The 65-foot (82-foot LOA) staysail schooner Kelpie, built of longleaf yellow pine, was one of the first yachts to come out of the Gamage yard in 1928, built for a New York stockbroker on the on the eve of the Great Depression. She was designed by the firm of Ford, Payne, and Swiesguth, based in New York. Francis Sweisguth had designed the Star-class sloop in 1910 when he was working in the office of naval architect William Gardner, and in 1933 went on to design the Interlake dinghy. Both Star and Interlake remain popular today as top competitive one-design classes, just as Kelpie endures as a testament to inspired original design, fine construction, and meticulous maintenance and restoration.   During World War II, Kelpie became part of the famous Coastal Picket Patrol, also known as the Corsair Fleet or the “Hooligan Navy,”started by officers of the Cruising Club of America and overseen by the U.S. Coast Guard. These private vessels, many of them CCA sailboats, patrolled the 50-fathom curve off the U.S. Atlantic coast year-round in fair and foul weather during World War II, on the lookout for German U-boats. Kelpie’s beat was off the coast of Maine.   After the war, Kelpie sailed to Mexico, Hawaii, and the Pacific. She eventually settled in California, where she became known as the fastest schooner on the West Coast, sailing against other legends like the 71-foot Alden schooner Dauntless, topsail schooners Alcyone and Spike Africa, and the Fife-designed Astor in the America’s Schooner Cup, the Newport-to-Ensenada Race, and many other events.   “In big winds it was like driving a runaway freight train,” said Mike O’Connor, owner of Mariner’s Yacht and Ship Brokerage in Dana Point, California, and Kelpie’s captain for 10 years. “And when we were doing charters it was like giving pony rides on a thoroughbred. Under pretty much any conditions it was a well-mannered boat – one of the best boats I’ve ever driven.”   O’Connor broke a 54-year-old record aboard Kelpie in the Newport-to-Ensenada Race in 2000, when Kelpie took first in the Anc

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Fuel  Hull Material  Beam  Max Draft  Engine Make  Engine Model  Length Overall  Engine Hours  Number of Engines  Max Bridge Clearance

Diesel Wood 16 ft 6 in 9 ft 8 in Izuzu 6 cyl 6BB1PW01 82 ft 2600 1 85 ft

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Contact Information

Phone: Fax

(510) 814-0522 510-748-0739

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