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Restoration
photos
The History of Taipan Like it is for most boaters, one's boat is one's second home. For my family, our summer days are spent lounging in Taipan's cockpit, napping on the foredeck hammock, and day sailing on Lake Michigan.
Taipan , built in 1939 by the Henry R. Hinckley Company in Southwest Harbor, Maine, and designed by Sparkman & Stephens in their Boston office, is full of history. But before I get to that, let's go over her vital statistics:
Now back to her history. Since 1939, Taipan has had four owners and two names. Mr. Harry McCluskey purchased the boat in 1939 and brought her to Chicago's Belmont Harbor on Lake Michigan. McCluskey named the boat Taipan, translated, as Chinese Trader. He sold the boat to George Dalseg in 1944 who change the name to Solhjen, translated to Sun home in Norwegian. In 1945, the boat was purchased by Al and Clare Miller. Clare is my wife's aunt. Al and Clare Miller changed the name back to Taipan. I started sailing on her in 1954. On the boats 50th birthday, and mine too, Clare passed Taipan on to me.
As most of you know, owning wood a boat is a full-time job. My boating season never ends; it seems like there is always something to do. This year I was in a heated showroom and the major projects started. I removed, stained and varnished all woodwork, inside and out, and removed nine hull frames, and four 20-foot planks. I guess after 62 years, replacement is needed.
My next major project was removing the canvas on the cabin top and replacing it with fiberglass. I also made a new hatch framing, hand grab rail, and the rest of the yearly maintenance was done at this time. The old girl looking like new and is ready for launching.
