Sugarfoot
Nick Kolaitis, January 16, 2024
As a Bay Area native with a desire to preserve history, I contemplated restoring a classic sailboat and stumbled upon Sugarfoot—a 23-foot San Francisco Bear Boat (Hull #13), built in Sausalito by the Nunes Brothers in 1938, and designed specifically for sailing in San Francisco Bay. Sugarfoot’s owner was leaving the area and, to prevent the deteriorating old boat’s destruction, was willing to gift it to a new “caretaker.”
I became hooked on sailing in May 2023, following an introductory sailing course, and have spent nearly every weekend since on the water. While more experienced sailors advised me to “think twice” about wooden boat ownership, especially of one that hadn’t been hauled out for years, I became Sugarfoot’s caretaker in October 2023 and focused on its restoration. My first step was to find a competent, experienced boatyard to do the haul out and hull maintenance. Spaulding Marine Center in Sausalito was eager to take on the work and had an opening two weeks away.
Sugarfoot was docked in San Mateo. And with only five months of sailing experience under my belt, I didn’t want to brave the journey to Sausalito alone. Spaulding’s team put me in touch with wooden boat enthusiast Greg Braswell, owner of a 1932 San Francisco Bird Boat and volunteer coordinator for Freda. Two weeks later, Greg and I safely sailed Sugarfoot to Sausalito.
Having suffered years of neglect, Sugarfoot had a significant beard, an area of rotten wood that required plank repair, and multiple seams that required recaulking. Pete Brewster, Spaulding’s Yard Manager, also identified other issues, including some broken and rotting ribs.
This project might have quickly blown my budget, but Pete set priorities and organized the project into phases to better manage the costs. The Spaulding team was also very flexible about accommodating some of my DIY work. Within a few weeks, the project was completed within my original budget.
Sugarfoot now sails beautifully. I recently took her out in 15-20 knot winds with no issues. I cannot say enough about my experience with Spaulding. They demystified what was a daunting challenge for me and helped manage the restoration of my classic wooden boat.
Spaulding Marine Center is a fantastically unique place and cannot continue to serve us boat owners and the community without support. Help Spaulding generate more experiences like mine and consider making a gift to the Spaulding Annual Fund so we can all continue to enjoy their programs and play a part in supporting the next generation of marine technicians.
