Katie Ford was Heine Dole’s grandmother. She is also a one-of-a-kind pilothouse cutter designed and built by Heine Dole in Astoria, Oregon in 1946.

Heine Dole was a respected figure in the boat-building community, known for his deep understanding of nautical design and meticulous craftsmanship. His boats were often tailored to the specific needs and preferences of his clients, resulting in unique and highly regarded vessels. Katie Ford was designed to be Dole’s personal yacht: he wanted a boat that was faster for its length than his first boat (the Chantey), but “as comfortable at sea as a 90’ halibut schooner.”

In the 1960s, Dole retired from his job at the Astoria Marine Construction Company (AMCCO) and moved Katie Ford to Gig Harbor (WA) where he lived aboard for several years and travelled extensively around the Pacific Northwest, before retiring to another of his boats, the Evening Star. In the 1970s, new owners moved Katie Ford north to Canada where she spent the past half century based mostly in Victoria, BC. She recently returned to the US, with a new home in Langley, WA.

With a unique traditional design, Katie Ford displays an elegant sheer line. Long and slender and very strong, not much has changed on her exterior since she was first launched. The original bronze deck fittings Dole installed are still in place, including the substantial Highfield levers for the runners. One concession to modernity is the jib and staysail have been converted to roller-furling.

Thanks to the dedication of a handful of faithful stewards over the years, Katie Ford remains in remarkable condition. Beginning around 2009, she underwent an extraordinary refit in Port Townsend: Brion Toss Riggers replaced all standing rigging and lifelines; Carol Hasse at Port Townsend Sails provided a complete set of new sails, and Robert d’Arcy, master of the schooner Martha, directed a once-in-a-lifetime restoration, resulting in a completely new hull below the waterline, with Purpleheart ribs and Yellow Cedar planks, the replacement of all 18 keel bolts with silicon bronze, refinishing of cockpit coamings and doghouse, re-powering with a 60 hp Beta diesel, installation of new fuel and water tanks, complete rewiring and other systems upgrades including through-hulls, circuit breakers, head replacement and re-plumbing. The original spruce mast was stripped and refinished, with all mast hardware pulled and re-bedded. To prepare for the 2025 season, Katie Ford’s elegant mast is currently being stripped and refinished at Emerald Marine Carpentry in Anacortes.

Built for the rainy Northwest, the Katie Ford’s cozy pilothouse with inside steering station affords excellent visibility through distinctive vertical windows, while the second wheel at the aft end of the cockpit makes her a true “pilothouse sailing yacht.” Down below varnished woods gleam and glisten, while her layout features a gorgeous “key-hole” bulkhead between galley and salon.