Scamper – A Guide to Owning Creativity & Adventure
Scamper - A Catalina 27 was a labor of love - took lots of elbow grease learning about all the systems of a larger boat. And she was quick enough for me to get a couple of trophies in Colorado Regattas.
Scamper was my first project boat. She was a 1970s model and needed a lot of updating, inside and out. Once she was restored I started to race in the Colorado Sail and Yacht Club. The club was located at Chatfield Reservoir located on Denver’s southwest side.
My first project was to reupholster all the seats and seat backs. I also did the “V” berth in the same material. In addition I added a round table for an eating surface, which was removable and a flat insert could be added to turn that area into another berth.
All of the teak needed to be sanded and restained. This took more time than I expected because the exterior as well as the interior teak need to be done.
This is a picture just before moving her from my home in Monument, Colorado to the reservoir in Denver.
While racing at Chatfield, I was lucky enough to come in third place in my boat’s division in two separate regattas. Of course you always want to come in first, but you have to be really good and enjoy a bit of luck in wind shifts. My favorite regatta was the Leukemia CUP Regatta which invited boats from all of Colorado.