Letters from owners or former owners
Referencing: 1980 Blanchard Reunion mailing list- names & addresses of previous owners as of 1980
Referencing: B3, B5, B7, B33, B34, B48
Referencing: B5, B34, B19, B20, B21
Referencing: B22, B32, B33
Referencing B33, B73, B82
Referencing: B35, B42, B44, B48
Referencing: B51, Lady fin, owned by Abe Gotzke, sent 12-2022
Referencing: B56, B59, B68
Referencing: B81 & B91
B41 Schuss
Letter from Eileen McKain
Referencing: B71 “Special K”
Email form Paul Reed dated 5/24/2022
Hi Jim,
It is nice that you are undertaking this historical endeavor for the Blanchard community. As a former owner, I appreciate it, and I’m sure many current and future Blanchard owners and enthusiasts will sincerely appreciate this work you are doing as well.
I am sorry to report that I no longer own B-71. The last known owner is or was:
John (or Jules) Irick
14312 Courtland Place North
Seattle, WA 98133
206-972-5141
To provide a little history, I purchased B-71 from Frank Reinhart in 1989. Frank was a neighbor who lived two houses down the street from me in the Ravena neighborhood of Seattle. Frank bought the boat about a year or two earlier from Kay Killian (Editor’s note: it was Sue Killen), who had named the boat “Special K”. The boat had previously sunk at the dock, probably due to leaks from some cracked frames, and Kay apparently chose to sell rather than make the necessary repairs. Frank built a cradle for the boat and had her hauled to his back yard, where he intended to restore her, but he decided to build an extension to his house instead and there was no room left over in his yard for the boat. I was working as a shipwright in Seattle after attending the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Townsend (under the training of Robert Prothero). I purchased the boat from Frank, and we dragged the cradled boat up the alley behind the house and wedged it into my back yard, where I built a cover for it. I removed the interior and began replacing and sistering the broken frames. With a growing family it was hard to find enough spare time to make steady progress, and a new job in Everett lead to a move to a new house – that unfortunately had no room for the boat. I reluctantly sold the boat in 1993 to Craig Woodruff. Craig kept the boat in his back yard for a while but then he sold it to John Irick. I saw it advertised for sale by John (or Jules) on Craigslist in 2007. I saw a post John apparently made in 2012 asking for information about shipping a Blanchard to California. I have not contacted John to find out what he eventually did with her.
I am attaching some photos, notes and copies of a webpage that saved in hopes that they be of some use to you.
Thank you, and Warmest Regards,
Paul Reed