Historic Thunderbird Sailboats #1 and #2

by Northwest Maritime Center 5 Aug 2023 11:14 PDT September 8-10, 2023

September 810, 2023

Historic Thunderbird Sailboats #1 and #2

By Guy Hoppen

Thunderbird #1, launched in November of 1958 and known as Number 1 or Thunderbird, and Thunderbird #2, named Pirouette and launched in August of 1959, will be moored together perhaps for the first time since the 1960s at the 2023 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival!

The Thunderbird sailboat was inspired by a Douglas Fir Plywood Association design competition which specified that a plywood design be both a racing and cruising sailboat, able to sleep four, be able to be built by a reasonably skilled amateur, be powered by an outboard auxiliary, and outperform other sailboats of its size. Upon receiving the design specifications, Ben Seaborn reportedly dismissed them as unreasonabletemporarily, as it turned out...

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Launching day for Thunderbird #1. Photo courtesy of the Harbor History Museum.

Thunderbirds #2 and #3 being built in the Eddon Boat Co shop. Photo courtesy of Guy Hoppen.

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