Father and son design and build boat for international trip

At one time in his life, back in the 1980s, Battle Ground resident Don Yearout owned a boat. His one major trip out on the open ocean at the helm of it took him to San Diego, CA, but running out of fuel and money, he dropped anchor, worked his way back home and eventually had to sell it.

“It was just one of those things, but I always wanted to have another one and to take another big trip,” Yearout said.

In October 2009, at age 80, the former mechanical engineer sat down with a blank piece of paper and over a four-month period sketched out a design for a new vessel. Now 84, and having worked with his son Russell at his home in Hockinson, the boat is almost ready to be launched into the open water.

Following the passing of his mother six years ago to cancer, Russell said his father sold his house in California and moved up to Battle Ground, but was soon bored watching TV.

“I think he needed something to do,” Russell said. “He started building cardboard boats, but decided he wanted to take on something bigger.”

To make sure Don was serious about creating, building and then traveling, Russell would occasional quiz his dad to get a feel for how far he wanted to go.

“It didn’t take long for me to see this was something we were going to make happen,” Russell said.

Now in the home stretch, Don said the only major issue left will be the vessel’s name.

“We haven’t christened it yet, but since Russell will have ownership, he’s leaning towards ‘Red Skies at Night’ for the name,” said Yearout.

Using a catamaran design of two sleek hulls connected to a central enclosed deck, the vessel measures 38-feet long, 18-feet wide, and with the mast installed it stands 30-feet tall.

“It’s a similar design to my first boat,” said Yearout. “What we found out along the way was that what looked good on paper didn’t translate to building it, so we’ve had to make changes when needed.”

“Getting the mast back from Seattle was an interesting challenge because we has to tie it to the top of my truck,” said Russell. “It looked like I was trying some crazy jousting competition and we had more than a few drivers get out of our way on the trip.”

Unlike single-hull or monohull designs, which require a ballasted keel to provide stability in the water, catamarans can operate in shallower waters and can cruise at higher speeds. While the design has grown more popular in the United States in the last 20 years, they originated in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific region and have been used for thousands of years.

Below deck, the Yearouts’ ship sports three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living space to get out of the elements. While professional shipbuilders have the benefit of drydocks and work crews to construct each hull, Yearout said his project has been a predominantly two-man job between him and his son.

“Since Russell works as an engineer for Hewlett-Packard, I come out to his house and do some work during the day and he’s usually working on it at night and on the weekends,” said Yearout.

Thanks to Russell’s five-acre property and workshop, both men were able to build their ship themselves, working at their own pace.

“By the time we get it done and underway, it will be close to four years exactly since I started sketching it out,” said Yearout.

All that remains is finalizing the steering and electronic systems and getting the sails.

“We’re about three-quarters done with the steering and the sails are ordered,” said Yearout. “We just have to wait until they get here.”

Along with the sail, the vessel will be powered by an outboard Yamaha engine for times when the wind isn’t cooperating.

“Going with a hybrid power system is helpful for saving on fuel but also gives us a way to stay under power,” said Yearout.

With “Red Skies” nearing completion, the Yearouts aren’t planning to waste time getting her out to sea and they have an ambitious voyage in mind.

“We’re planning to head south past California and Mexico, down to Panama, through the Canal, and on into the Caribbean,” said Don. “Russell and I are both fishermen and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can catch.”

If they can make it to the Caribbean and back, the pair will have traveled more than 6,500 nautical miles, and Don is optimistic that his design is up to the challenge.

“I always told myself when I sold my first boat that I’d have another one to go out with. It’s going to be a great trip,” Don said.

Russell added that while they are anticipating a grand tour of the ocean, he is also planning itineraries for smaller jaunts down the West Coast.

“We have a lot of friends who are interested in coming with us on runs from Astoria to Tillamook, or even Tillamook to the Bay Area and Monterey,” said Russell. “Even though we want to get to the Caribbean, we haven’t really finalized everything quite yet since we were so focused on getting the boat finished.”

Once they set sail, Russell thinks they could complete the entire trip in six to eight weeks if they take their time, or even sooner if they travel at night, rather than dropping anchor in a nearby port.

“I have a feeling we’re going to take our time because there will be so many things to see between here and there,” said Russell.  “It’s also a question of when we get underway, if we’re enjoying ourselves enough, will we want to come back? I have friends who set off on a short trip that turned into two-years going nearly around the world, so you never know what’s going to happen.”