I guess old boat aficionados are a lot like old car buffs. We love
(If your club or community sailing organization wants some coverage, email me and let’s get it going.)
The UW Husky
By Kenneth Howe
In 1950, the new University of Washington sailing club needed racing dinghies and they wanted to call them Huskies. They needed six boats to sponsor competitions and teach sailing to a growing membership. Previously, club sailors had been sharing their own personal boats for instruction. After the old Shell House on the Montlake Cut was remodeled, the club was offered space to house boats and gear in the building. A design competition was held by the club asking local boat builders for a dinghy that would be stable enough for teaching and also be competitive in intercollegiate competition. The University agreed to loan the new club $3000. Bill Nightingale of Olympic Boat won the competition and the contract to build the Huskies. His self -rescuing 18’ sloop featured a mahogany plywood hull with fore and aft deck hatches. It had a bow that was designed to plane like a scow. The sloop rig and single rudder in a deck insert made it like the Geary 18, “flattie” that had been popular for instruction.
Over several months, the six boats were delivered and then rigged by club members. Three of the hulls were painted blue and the other three yellow. The decks were varnished mahogany. On February 5, 1951 the boats were dedicated and given Husky mascot names. From the Canoe House, the Huskies on dollies were winched down the ramp into the Montlake Cut. A small dock was available, but the launching site proved challenging for new students and reports of damage when landing appeared often in club minutes. The Husky mast was too tall; it needed to be partially lowered to fit through the opening cut into the hanger door. Lowering the mast became one of several skill requirements for a skipper rating on a Husky.
Alan Murray, commodore in 1971, relayed a club story about how fast a Husky sailed downwind, “Since Huskies were normally sailed during heavy weather, they would plane very fast down the cut. Apparently this was noticed by the Seattle police boat who pulled the sailors over for exceeding the 7 MPH speed limit. The foreign-born skipper was quoted as saying to the officer, “Vel, vat you vant me to do, drag my foot?”
The Husky sail area turned out to be inadequate for light wind sailing and required stronger winds to perform well. This resulted in skippers challenging themselves in high winds and often sailing single handed. In 1951, the UW Daily reported, “Sailor Swims When Sailboat Becomes Sub” describing how a new member took the Husky out by himself when storm warnings were posted. After he capsized three times, he abandoned the Husky and tried to swim to shore. Harbor patrol and the crew launch went out to assist him.
Norm Ahlquist, a member since 1966, described sailing a Husky single -handed and what probably happened to the rescued skipper.
“Sure. I did it a few times, but not in a blow (defined as 20+ for Huskies). I easily steered with my foot, leaving both hands for the main. To sail upwind in a blow you had to sail with a big heel to narrow the hull for the waves, but it’s difficult to dump the sails single handed, as he apparently discovered.”
Norm went on to describe the other challenges of the Husky, “As I recall the legend, the club wanted something that would be ‘self-rescuing and plane.’ The Huskies were that, provided the hatch covers stayed on and the wind blew over 40. When completely swamped, they would float deck awash. If you stood on it you would sink to about your armpits.”
A spinnaker was eventually added to the Husky and the varnished decks were painted over with non-skid paint to make them safer. In the late 60’s and early 70’s, three Huskies became boats for experimentation. An extension was spliced onto the mast and a larger sail added. The hope was that the boats would plane in lighter winds and work with a trapeze. The new design was called the “Super Husky.” One boat was changed to a full scow design.
Beyond instruction and racing, the Huskies were used for club cruises on Lake Washington and Puget Sound. Fraternities and local colleges were allowed to rent the Huskies for races so they also became a source of income for the club. Because the Husky could hold up to six people, it became invaluable to the club during Open House events. Students would see a Husky displayed on campus and then come down for the Saturday free sail with a club skipper.
In the 1960’s, an outboard motor bracket was designed that fit over the transom and slipped into the back hatch. This made the Huskies independent through the locks and self powered as a parade float.
In the Opening Day parades, the Husky was used as the platform to cover with decorations. The Husky paraded as a killer whale chasing mermaids, a little tug towing a duck, and a bicycle powered paddle wheeler.
As other designs were added in the 1970s, the three remaining Huskies sat unused inside the Canoe House. The roof leaked so much before restoration that one boat had already rotted away inside the building. Earlier, a boat with a damaged mast was converted to an outboard powered committee boat. The Huskies lost respect to the point that a motion was made at a club meeting that the remaining boats should be stripped of rigging, towed to Blake Island, and broken apart to feed a giant bonfire. This did not happen. Two boats were sold and the last totally rotted one was broken apart and sent to the dump.
In 1980, the old wooden Shell/ Canoe House was preserved as a historic landmark, while the old wooden Huskies who called it home for 30 years were preserved only in memories.
Ken Howe joined WYC in 2010 as his retirement project; he became Head Fleet Captain and Instructor, and also known for his energetic boat decorations for Duck Dodge.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.