Boat builder Bill Dickerson's personal 56-year-old classic Dickerson was sunk and almost abandoned. But with the support of my Dickerson colleagues we were able to save this historic boat.
Moon Shadow is a 1963 30’ Dickerson sloop built in Bill Dickerson’s back yard in Church Creek, MD. She was launched from the railway track system into the water. She is fiberglass over marine plywood, mahogany planking, hard-chine and has all bronze hardware. We were given the boat in 1992 after she was abandoned on stations in a yard in Deale, MD. Ducks were nesting in the cockpit storage, dry rot was abundant, and she was scheduled to be chain sawed into pieces and thrown in a dumpster.
Trying to get the boat from Deale, MD to the Washington, DC, area the engine gave out and the boat ended up in Olverson’s Marina near the mouth of the Potomac River in the Callao, VA, area.
Two other guys and I took on the challenge of restoring the boat. A wonderful wood boat guru, Dean Conrad, at the Marina agreed to coach us on the project--otherwise it would have been an impossible task.
The restoration took us eight years (six years in a slip at Olverson’s and then two years hauled out at Lewisetta Marina working on the bottom and through hulls) because we had to travel two and a half hours by car each way to get to the boat. Finally we finished just before the new century. The cross shaped mast was lifted into place by a crane late in the day. The sun was setting behind it as the crane lifted it into place making the moment both spiritual and satisfying after all the investment of labor, time and materials.
We moved the boat up closer to a friends slip in Edgewater, MD, a couple years back and finally had a cover made for it which we use year around.
Then we get that dreaded call in February last year that, "Your boat sank at the slip!" It is a shallow slip so it only went down a foot or two. However, it was enough for water to go completely over our recently rebuilt Atomic 4 gas engine.
It was late afternoon so by the time I got to the boat it was already starting to get dark. My friend had placed a sump pump in the bilge and pumped a lot of water out. By the time we got it down to where one could move around inside, it was dark, water had replaced the oil in the engine, and everything was slippery so we could not tell where the water was coming from.
I assumed it was a small slow leak somewhere, we couldn’t see, it was cold, the dock was frozen and slippery so I went home. I get a call the next day. It has sunk again! Finally, in the light of day we discovered why.
I had left the through hull valve from the head open when winterizing. I figured that any water that goes into that flexible pipe will flow right back out and not freeze. But what if it freezes on the outside of the boat and traps water in the pipe? Then that water freezes, expands, and pops the flexible pipe off the bronze through hull. Then lots of water flows in, overwhelming the 12 volt bilge pump, then kills the batteries, the boat gets heavy and sinks. Water goes into the engine and the oil floats out.
Now, I am an ordained minister, but I had no faith that the engine would ever work again. Therefore, I did nothing until March, even though one is supposed to get the water out right away. I thought, there is no use trying. It is rusted metal now. It is history.
Others encouraged me so I took one step at a time. I used a Big Boy vacuum oil removal pump to get the water out of the engine block. I put oil back in and squirted WD 40 into the cylinders. Using the hand crank, I turned it over. It seemed to move fine. Then I bought two new batteries, had the starter rebuilt, bought a new generator, and installed a new carburetor. The electronic ignition, fuel pump and coil were sealed so they seemed to survive. Water did not seem to get into the overboard vent and fill the gas tank and system with water. If it did, I pumped it out when checking.
Finally, the big moment came and I turned the key. The faithful Atomic-4 engine complained but started with clouds of white smoke from the oil in the cylinders.
So now after our share of drama, my friends and I are back to merely chasing dry rot and keeping another Dickerson around for another season. God bless all of you in the Dickerson Owners Association for your encouragement and your labor to keep these vessels around. You are a true fellowship of believers. Your “can do” spirit is a model and example to many.
by John Stait D30 Moon Shadow
