14' Melonseed Skiff (1995) - LA VIDA E BELLA

“La Vita e Bella” is a 13.5 ft glued lapstrake, Marc Barto designed (and built) Melonseed Skiff. She was reportedly completed by him, at O’Connell’s Boat Shop, in Chestertown, Maryland. He completed her in three months time and she was delivered to her first owner, John M. Levinson, MD, on April 1st, 1995. I was lucky enough to purchase her from her previous owner, a very nice, life long builder of model boats, Ronald Marchetti, in Ashland, Oregon, Sept. 14, 2019! Ron is of Italian decent, and is the one who gave her , her current name. I thought it was too beautiful to change. “La Vita e Bella” means, “This Life is Beautiful”. And she’s certainly made my life more so!

I started sailing at age 10, in my first wooden boat, an 8ft plywood Sabot. My parent’s next wooden boat was a Herreschoff 28 ketch, which was built of mahogany and teak in Yokosuka, Japan! We enjoyed sailing her in the bay behind our home in Huntington Harbor, California and my Dad, was generous enough to let me regularly single hand her, from the age of 17! I was intimidated only by her engine, so I simply skipped it and routinely sailed her in and out of her slip, and several times to Catalina Island, and the Channel Islands. I’ve built or rebuilt, four other small dinghies and owned five other classic wooden cruising boats, that I’ve shown at our Annual Woodenboat Festival in Port Townsend, WA, where I’ve been so fortunate to live since 1992! Two of those were Laurent Giles designs; one of which, my 26 ft, Vertue, “Patience”, I greatly enjoyed single-handing 1000 miles, rounding Vancouver Island in 1999. “Eider”, my 16.5 ft. Sam Devlin designed and built cutter, which I also cruised all over our Salish Sea, San Juans, Gulf Islands, The Broughton Islands and even one grand one trailer cruised back down to California, for a five day solo trip out once again to Catalina Island!

I must say though, that of all my boats, “Bella” has proven to be the sweetest to sail or row, and surprisingly fast under sail or oars. Her oars are Shawn and Tenney spoon blades, and quite light and lovely as well. Especially in very light air, out in Port Townsend Bay, and north into Admiralty Inlet, she has surprised me by pulling far ahead of even a Laser or two, on several occasions!
“Bella” takes only 30-45 minutes to rig and launch from very light trailer. Barto also built her with and epoxy and ply, hard cover for her cockpit, which I think has greatly contributed to her still, like-new condition, now at nearly 26 years old! Her glue lap hull still remarkably doesn’t leak a drop!
I’m hoping to create a cockpit tent for her next and want to trailer and beach cruise her some again in our Salish Sea, and, when the Canadian Border opens again, (let us all pray), I would love cruise her in the Gulf Islands.