Yawl Boat “Olga”

The yawl boat on launch day, sitting on the beach at Aquatic Park in San Francisco.

Spiling the sheer plank. The boat was built in the Museum’s Small Boat Shop.

The 60' scow schooner ALMA was built in 1896 and is still operated by San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park. As part of my work in the Park's boatshop I built an authentic yawl boat for ALMA from a plan drawn by Bob Baker. Baker traveled several times to the West Coast to record the lines of historic boats and the drawings for the yawl boat came from a boat Baker found in Marin County that was reputedly from a scow schooner. Her backbone and frames are white oak and the planking is Port Orford cedar. The transom and thwarts are Honduras mahogany.
I approached the late Harry Dring, who had been instrumental in saving the collection of historic ships in San Francisco, and asked him to name the yawl boat. He explained that when built in 1896, ALMA was named for one of her builder's granddaughters. With a wink he said, "He had another granddaughter, you know. Her name was Olga."
Mr. Dring's suggestion could not have been more perfect.