Buttercup returns to Pender Harbour
Pender Harbour Days: July 9, 2017
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A highlight of the third annual Pender Harbour Days (July 7-9) was the return of an Allen Farrell boat to the Harbour. The 18’ dory, Buttercup, originally named Peace and Quiet, arrived at the Madeira Park dock on Sunday, July 9, sporting her distinctive junk-rigged sail.
Using only hand tools, Allen Farrell built over 40 wooden boats of his own design, including Buttercup, his “last but one”. The transfer of Buttercup from the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives to the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society on July 9, 2017 honours the close ties Allen and Sharie Farrell had with Pender Harbour, and continues a celebration of their lifetime of graceful boats and a simple way of living. The Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society excitedly accepted Allen Farrell’s sailing dory into its care and looks forward to sharing more of the legacy of the Farrell boat building family. For more information, please contact the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society. View our Digital Collection to see archival photos of more boats built by Barrie Farrell and his father Allen Farrell. |
Allen Farrell and Peace and Quiet. Photo by Corlynn Hanney.
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Buttercup's Journey July 6-9, 2017
from Gibsons to Pender Harbour in Photos
Allen Farrell's Buttercup Returns to Pender Harbour
Shendra Hanney/Cathy Jenks - Harbour Spiel (pp. 14-15)
July 2017
...The transfer of Buttercup from the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives to the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society honours the close ties Allen and Sharie Farrell had with Pender Harbour and continues a celebration of their lifetime of graceful boats and a simple way of living. But what is particularly poignant about Buttercup is that its genesis encapsulates an important part of the history of Allen and Sharie Farrell. Read more...
Buttercup Returns to Pender Harbour
Jan DeGrass/Coast Reporter
July 6, 2017
When the dory Buttercup is rowed into Madeira Park on Sunday, July 9 during Pender Harbour Days, she will be coming home. The Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society (PHLHS) and the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives (SCMA) who initiated this event, will be delighted. Shendra Hanney will be there to greet the boat – she was friends with the original owner, the late Allen Farrell, who built the boat himself. Read more...
Shendra Hanney/Cathy Jenks - Harbour Spiel (pp. 14-15)
July 2017
...The transfer of Buttercup from the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives to the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society honours the close ties Allen and Sharie Farrell had with Pender Harbour and continues a celebration of their lifetime of graceful boats and a simple way of living. But what is particularly poignant about Buttercup is that its genesis encapsulates an important part of the history of Allen and Sharie Farrell. Read more...
Buttercup Returns to Pender Harbour
Jan DeGrass/Coast Reporter
July 6, 2017
When the dory Buttercup is rowed into Madeira Park on Sunday, July 9 during Pender Harbour Days, she will be coming home. The Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society (PHLHS) and the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives (SCMA) who initiated this event, will be delighted. Shendra Hanney will be there to greet the boat – she was friends with the original owner, the late Allen Farrell, who built the boat himself. Read more...
Buttercup's track travelling from
Gibsons to Pender Harbour,
July 6-9, 2017
Buttercup departed from Gibsons Harbour on Thursday, July 6, 2017 with perfect weather and a crew of three (Punk, Bingo, and Slim). They made good time, stopping at Davis Bay for a break and some photo ops and then arriving at Sargeant Bay for the evening.
Unfortunately, on Friday, July 7, the wind picked up and was too strong for Buttercup and her crew to continue. They made two attempts to get out of the bay but it was just too choppy and they didn't want to risk it. On Friday evening, crew made the tough decision to drive Buttercup the rest of the way up to Pender Harbour rather than be late for the Sunday event.
On Saturday, Buttercup and crew enjoyed some leisurely sailing and rowing around the calmer waters of Pender Harbour, and then arrived at noon on Sunday at Madeira Park Government Dock for the welcoming ceremony.
Gibsons to Pender Harbour,
July 6-9, 2017
Buttercup departed from Gibsons Harbour on Thursday, July 6, 2017 with perfect weather and a crew of three (Punk, Bingo, and Slim). They made good time, stopping at Davis Bay for a break and some photo ops and then arriving at Sargeant Bay for the evening.
Unfortunately, on Friday, July 7, the wind picked up and was too strong for Buttercup and her crew to continue. They made two attempts to get out of the bay but it was just too choppy and they didn't want to risk it. On Friday evening, crew made the tough decision to drive Buttercup the rest of the way up to Pender Harbour rather than be late for the Sunday event.
On Saturday, Buttercup and crew enjoyed some leisurely sailing and rowing around the calmer waters of Pender Harbour, and then arrived at noon on Sunday at Madeira Park Government Dock for the welcoming ceremony.
Buttercup in 2003 being Given to Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives
Corlynn Hanney, who was given Buttercup by Allen Farrell in 1997, donated the dory to Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives in 2003 for safekeeping. Here she is preparing for the transfer.
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Corlynn Hanney fitting the leeboard. (2003)
Leeboards serve the same function as deep keels, centreboards, and daggerboards by preventing the boat from blowing sideways downwind (making leeway) instead of sailing forward. Very shallow and light boats such as Buttercup require something extending deep down into the water to prevent leeway. Some leeboard-equipped boats have double boards, one each side, that stay where they are. Buttercup has a single shifting leeboard, which is moved to the new lee side whenever the boat tacks.
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Corlynn Hanney maneuvering Buttercup for transfer to SC Museum. (2003)
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Museum group moving Buttercup onto a truck for transfer to Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives in Gibsons. (2003)
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Buttercup 2003-2017 at Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives
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In the care of Larry Westlake and Mike Clement of Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives, Buttercup was well-maintained and often toured around and put on display.
Though she had not been in the water since being donated to the Museum, Buttercup travelled around the coast to take part in many boat shows, and sun does take a toll on paint even under cover. Buttercup has been repainted in part or in whole three times since 2003, most recently in preparation for this journey to Pender Harbour in 2017. A wooden boat in constant use usually requires painting once a year, with ding and damage touch-ups frequently done between full repaintings. |
Boat builder Larry Westlake refurbishes Buttercup.
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The photo above and at right show off the extreme simplicity of the rig. The mast is freestanding without any wire or rope bracing (shrouds or stays) as used on modern rigs. The only ropes used are for hoisting, furling, reefing, and controlling the sail. The angle of the leeboard shown in the front view is about the angle it would be at when sailing. Because the boat heels when sailing, the board then
becomes nearly vertical. The bar across the stern mounts a long steering oar on one side, and a belaying cleat on the other side. (2017)
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Hand made fittings at the head of the mast. The oval-shaped objects are called “blocks” by sailors, but most of you will know them as pulleys. They are carved entirely from wood, sheave (wheel) and all, with a metal pivot pin. The streamlined shape prevents them from catching on things, or things from catching on them and fouling. One block hoists the yard, the other runs a sling to support the boom. (2017)
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Detail of the attachment point of the main halyard to the yard. Note the very carefully hand-sewn, double-seamed patch in the sail. (2017)
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Detail of the end of one of the battens that cross the sail. The radiating reinforcing hand-sewn stitches around the holes prevent them from fraying out and tearing. Like big fat buttonholes, but no buttons. (2017)
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Detail showing the crutch that supports the boom so that it does not drop into the boat when the sail is lowered or reefed. It is cut and formed from a crooked branch that had the desired shape. Note the lashing that holds the sail to the boom. A theme throughout this boat & rig is that metal hardware is avoided. Wood, rope, and string is used instead wherever possible. (2017)
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