Barn’s burnt down —
now
I can see the Moon.
I had this Haiku Poem on the sun visor of my Truck for a few months before its meaning sank in. Sometimes I am just too literal-minded, but when you’re in the midst of turmoil, it is hard to focus on anything but pain. A friend, who understood that out of a crisis could come positive change, gave the poem to me. It was about that time that I finally grasped its meaning, and the idea of the Ellie K came to me.
It was at the end of my 14-year marriage that I took a self-finding trip to the Bahamas, Florida, Virginia and Maine. While in Maine, I stumbled upon the boatmaker Sam Devlin’s website, which sparked the memory of a book I saw once, on the coffee table of a friend who used it as a reference for teaching a weekend father/son boatbuilding siminar. Devlin Boats is based in Olympia, Washington. Reading that, I thought, wow, seems like a nice place to look to land, close to Portland and on salt water. That was when I thought of building my own boat. So on a sunny July day in 2004, I sat and visited with Sam and his workers on a 29’ Black Crown, and looked at his boats. I also looked at many other boats that week, but kept coming back to the traditional lines and rich features of the Devlin Boat.
I talked with Sam and had a drawing done; the fire was lit. I sold my house in Portland. On my 49th birthday in September 2004, I signed both the divorce settlement papers and the commissioning contract with Sam. Over the next 17-months, Sam and I together built this one-of-a-kind cruiser. We collaborated well and amazingly agreed on everything about the boat except the color. The design and construction process was an incredible experience – I am so thankful to have experienced his art. Making Ellie K saved me during a difficult time. It provided focus and a sense of accomplishment and a renewed sense that dreams still can come true. We launched at High Tide, December 15th 2005, on the full moon.
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