Welcome to WBFV!

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Hi there! I'm Terry and I restore historic wooden sailboats for veterans in the San Francisco Bay Area. I sail veterans aboard VALIANT, a 45' Sparkman Stephens sloop built in Buenos Aires in 1962, and CLOVER, a 68' Luke Bros.' gaff-rigged cutter built in Southampton in 1938. CLOVER is a veteran herself, having served during World War II at Dunkirk and as a minesweeper.

I founded WBFV as a platform to teach sailing and restoration skills and keep wooden boats alive, and in so doing bring the same sense of satisfaction and peace to veterans that I've been fortunate to experience.

We are restoring CLOVER to her original configuration and rig and intend to sail her with an all-veteran crew in the Pacific Cup race.

What is the CLOVER and Why do we restore her? Well she was Built in 1938 in Southampton, England by Luke Brothers as a yacht for a wealthy diplomat but when war broke out the following year she was commandeered by the Royal Navy and used as a Channel Coastal Defense Boat. In May 1940 she took part in the Dunkirk evacuation. She still has aboard the sonar equipment for hunting of German U-boats!

Restoring CLOVER provides great training in the skills required on traditionally built wooden boats. She is Carvel-Planked using pitch pine planking with double sawn oak frames and bronze spike fastenings. She is rigged as a gaff-rigged cutter originally, which we shall return her to. Her dimensions are: Length overall 68 ft, Beam 14 ft 3”, Draft 9ft and Vessel Weight: 100,000lbs!

Her history is colorful. After the war she sailed privately in the English Channel. In the 1950’s: Brought across to the Caribbean by an English Family and began voyaging in the South Seas; 1970’s: Brought to the San Franciso Bay where she began a career as a charter boat.CLOVER was generously donated to Wooden Boats for Veterans in 2016 by the Deckard family and we have accomplished the work you see to date.
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It's an amazing project and we’d be very happy to get you involved with it, and we’d also be very grateful for a donation however small. We’ll be posting videos on FB and YouTube on our progress. Thank you!

Wooden Boats for Veterans (EIN 46-4194065) a nonprofit private foundation, was founded by combat veterans and sailors dedicated to enriching veterans’ lives. We have served and we have a passion for restoring and sailing boats.

Our long-term strategy to deliver a prolonged impact to veterans includes building community in the Bay and Delta regions through wooden boat restoration projects and sail training, ultimately leading to a capstone voyage to Hawaii.

To find out how you can be involved, visit us at www.vetsboats.org or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/vetsboats.org/