The Quinault is a boat with many stories to tell, and all 61 feet of her is now suspended inside the BARN woodshop. When the Bainbridge Island Rowing Club needed help and space to restore this historic rowing shell, they contacted BARN. The Woodworking Studio agreed to lend a hand as a community service. Getting her inside required removing a side window and enlisting a lot of helping hands.
The Quinault was designed and built in 1949 by Stan Pocock, a legendary boat builder and rowing coach. His father George founded the Pocock Racing Shells boatbuilding company and figured prominently in the events described in the book Boys in the Boat. The Quinault carried a team of UW freshman rowers to a national championship in 1951, beating a team that later went on to win Olympic Gold. The UW team was coached by Stan Pocock.
The Quinault is a sturdy double-hulled shell made of cedar. After many years in Port Townsend at the Rat Island Rowing and Sculling Club, she’s on her way to a place of honor in the new Bainbridge Island Rowing Club Facility being built in Winslow. The boat will be hung from the ceiling by early February, and the rest of the building will be finished around her. The new facility will be named the Stan Pocock Legacy Rowing Center.
For now, she’s being lovingly restored by volunteer woodworkers from the BI Rowing Club and BARN. As a community service project, BARN is providing the space, tools, and expertise needed to get the job done. Carol Fiedler Kawaguchi, a master furniture restorer who teaches at BARN, is lending her expertise to help match the original color and finish. Other BARN volunteers are helping to sand, prep and repair broken pieces, according to BARN project manager Mike Gearheard. “The goal is not to make the boat look “new,” but rather to make her look tidy and used,” he said. The Quinault will still proudly display the character and scars of her decades of service as she inspires future generations of rowers.
Want to see for yourself? Watch the video about Quinault at BARN:
