25' Folkboat Class Sloop (1960) - CHLOE

The result of a Scandinavian Yacht Racing Union design competition in 1942, the Nordic Folkboat was conceived as a low-cost, easily sailed boat for everyone. There are more than 4000 Folkboats sailing today. They are fractional sloops with cutaway full keels and are surprisingly nimble.
Folkboats were designed for strong winds. They are quite seaworthy and have sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. They are popular as racers and pocket cruisers.

Chloe was launched in 1960 in Norway. Originally planked with mahogany, she was re-planked with Alaskan Yellow Cedar in the 1980s. Her deck is canvas on teak planks. Her mast is Sitka Spruce, and her trim is mahogany. Details are sketchy until the late 1970’s when she was purchased by Greg Smith in Rowayton, CT. A survey identified her as having been built in Norway, but her builder is unknown. Because the original mahogany planking had deteriorated, Smith had the hull re-planked with bronze-fastened Alaskan Yellow Cedar by a shipwright called Pieter Den Hartog of Hamilton Woodworking. Greg sailed Chloe on Long Island Sound until 1985 when he moved to Seattle.

In the early 1990s, Chloe’s deck and sheer plank were damaged by a storm in Port Hadlock. A second restoration was undertaken by Greg’s brother, Charlie Smith, former captain of Neil Young’s 100′ Baltic Schooner, Ragland. The deck and house were replaced, and a self-baling cockpit was installed.

After many family adventures in the Salish Sea, Greg donated Chloe to The Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle in 2018. Brandt Faatz, then Executive Director at CWB, purchased Chloe. She was in fine condition but needed cosmetic work. After a haul-out to refresh bottom and topsides paint, Brandt stripped and refinished the mast in December 2019 using Awlwood. The house and comings were refinished as a spring 2020 lockdown project. Chloe sailed Seattle’s Lake Union through the summer of 2020 and relocated to Port Townsend in November. She now resides in Port Townsend’s Boat Haven.