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History of Terry, later Diane and Mamook

When J.C. Ainsworth bought CROD hull #4 in 1935, he named her Terry. Unlike any other CROD, Terry had teak decks, a particularly salty feature deeply appreciated by her subsequent owners. She, like most of her sister CRODs, was powered by a Universal Utility flathead four, Model BN.

As one of the earlier CRODs, Terry found herself in the middle of the regattas and adventures of the early band of original owners. Ainsworth's friend, Dr. Gordon B. Leitch was frequently at the helm (photo at left), and often recorded the CRODs' adventures in magazine articles, like "The CRODs Cruise to Bonneville" found elsewhere on this site.

According to sketchy available records, by 1941, Ainsworth had sold Terry to Tommy Luke, and her name was changed to Diane. She was then sold to William Cole, owner from 1947-1954. Doug Cole, William's son submits this information:

"My father, William Cole, purchased the CROD Diane around 1947. His prior boat was a 24’ “Bee” class sloop. He kept Diane at the Portland Yacht Club, having purchased her from PYC member Tommy Luke. He married my mother Rachel in May of 1948 and Diane likely played a role in their courting.

Their logbook from the 1949 season begins on May 11 with the official opening day ceremonies at PYC. After the parade an entry read, “Anchored in Mrs. Wigg’s cabbage patch in Government Island, which we were able to access due to high water.” That location was quite popular over the years but is now not accessible due to the I-205 bridge.

The entry for May 28, the Memorial Day cruise, was a PYC rendezvous at the mouth of the Clackamas River in company with Dirk and Gwen Winters on Aeolus, CR-3. They later passed through the Willamette Falls locks at Oregon City.

There are entries for a number of day sails and overnights on the Columbia River, but the season’s highlight appeared to be the annual PYC regatta. CROD results for the 3 day event were: 1st – Nina (Tom White), 2nd –Delite (Tommy Luke) and 3rd – Diane (Bill Cole). See regatta photos in gallery below.

The first August cruise took Rachel and Bill up passed Washougal for some salmon fishing, then an overnight at Beacon Rock. The following weekend they are headed back up the river, this time for a transit of the Bonneville Dam locks with a 72-foot lift and a visit to Bill’s brother Ted’s weekend place a few miles east of Stevenson. The following week they headed downstream for two weeks of fishing at Astoria. So you can see, Diane was the center of their recreational life that summer. End of summer fishing trips were a routine for us the next 15 years or so. September found them out for several more weekend trips, including another fishing trip to the mouth of the Lewis River and another trip through the Bonneville Locks. The last entry for 1949 was dated November 6, where Rachel wrote, “Decided to take advantage of an Indian summer afternoon and have one more fling on Diane before her winter covering. Gathered up the neighborhood kids and went for one last sail.

Their first son Roger was born in 1950 and I came along in 1952, spending my first weekend aboard. For all I know, we both “went from a twinkle in my fathers eye…” on board in the simple double berth on port side of the main cabin.

I recall very little of Diane since they moved on to a slightly larger boat, the 32’ sloop Jolly Roger, when I was about two. I do remember that “CROD Row” at PYC was always full of activity during the sailing season with 5 or 6 boats in the racing fleet. I recall being on board Sea Breeze (CR-2), belonging to Don Peters, for a PYC regatta race, keeping company down below with their young boy about my own age. I always liked Sea Breeze because she was painted red. We attended the launching of Bill McPhearson’s Legend (CR-12) in 1961 at the 33rd St boat launch. He gave it that name since nobody ever believed the boat would be finished. A pattern maker by trade, Bill built the only CROD which, to my knowledge, was not built by AMCCO.

Many of the CRODS remained around either PYC or Rose City Yacht Club into the middle 1960s. I never recalled seeing Diane again, but did see a well-kept CROD at the Seattle Yacht Club throughout the 1970s. Only in late 2008 when a friend alerted me that a CROD was for sale at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle did I discover that CR-4 was still afloat. I spent an hour or so aboard and took some photos to see if I could jog any memories or overlay any of my parent’s photos with what I saw. Until this time the only actively sailed CROD I saw in the Puget Sound area, where I have been actively sailing since 1975, had been Tom Dyer’s Tom Tom (CR-10). Most of the former CROD owners at PYC went on to own subsequent boats and were well known to me during my formative years at the club. Don Peters built a Chinook which he sailed for many years in Seattle. Dirk Winters later sailed nearly twice around the world in his retirement. Claude Butler was a fixture around PYC aboard his powerboat Argo. Ed DeKoning owned a variety of sailboats. My father sailed the 1957 TransPac race with Ed on his subsequent boat. And my father owned several more boats at PYC and was sailing until the day before his untimely death in 1967."

[Ed. Note: Doug Cole, a life-long sailor, sails a Concordia yawl in Bellingham, WA. Special thanks to Doug for this important contribution to CROD history.]

Doug's Photo Gallery (click on thumbnails for larger image; use "back" button to return to this page. Captions below. Photos by Wm Cole and property of Douglas Cole. Used by permission.)

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July 1949 PYC Regatta L to R: Diane, Spanker II, (unknown), Evening Star.
July 1949 PYC Regatta – Diane, Wm. Cole, owner.
CROD Row at PYC. 1949.
Diane, 1949 PYC Regatta.
At the weather mark, 1949 PYC Regatta. L to R: Nina, Aeolus, Diane, Starlight.
Diane nudged onto the beach at Government Island, 1949. Owner Wm. Cole, forward.
The tooth brushing crew. My mother Rachel is second from left and my father Wm. is at right.
Diane sailing on the Columbia 1949.
Doug Cole on Diane, age 2 weeks, July 1952. Brother Roger to right, age 2 years.
Cockpit, showing site of #9 "1952 photo."
Wm. Cole below at the settee, 1949.
Doug Cole, below at the settee, December 2008
CR-4 at Center for Wooden Boats, December 2008
CR-4, showing needed work for new owners
The “love nest,” pull out settee port side, main cabin.
Rachel Cole at the galley on Diane - summer 1949
Wm Cole on Diane - summer 1949
Rachel Cole on Diane - summer 1949
Astoria fishing trip August 1949
Wm. Cole at Beacon Rock (?) July 1949
CR-4 Diane at Beacon Rock - July 1949
Rachel Cole on Diane near Beacon Rock - July 1949
Rachel Cole on Diane near Beacon Rock - July 1949
Rachel Cole on Diane - July 1949
From Diane's 1949 logbook
15 July 1949 logpage
15 July 1949 logpage
Portland Oregonian 8/1/49 - PYC Regatta coverage
Portland Oregonian 8/1/49 - PYC Regatta coverage
Portland Oregonian 8/1/49 - PYC Regatta coverage
Portland Oregonian 8/1/49 - PYC Regatta coverage
Portland Oregonian 8/1/49 - PYC Regatta coverage
From 1949 Diane logbook from PYC Astoria cruise

The Coles sold her to Herb Johnson in 1954. Herb, we believe, changed her name to Mamook, a Chinook Indian word meaning "to do" or "to make". Herb's son Brent recalls, "As a teenager, I took all of the baby blue paint off the cabin and we removed the port lights and had them polished to their original shine."

In 1962, she changed owners again, this time to Jack Wilfong, a retired Navy Admiral. Wilfong's Navy bearing never left him, according to Jack Austin of Seattle, who crewed for Wilfong as a young man.

"Wilfong was at the helm, and I was on the foredeck. And when it was time to tack or fly the spinnaker, Wilfong let me know it in no uncertain terms," Austin recalls. "He barked his commands as if he were on the bridge of a battleship." Wilfong also kept meticulous records of Mamook's outings and maintenance work for the years he owned her.

By 1965, Wilfong was ready to part with Mamook, and his sometime crew member, Jack Austin, by now a young family man, (seen in 1967 at right) bought her. Austin continued the tradition of meticulous maintenance records on the CROD, and recalls some of the work recorded in the book.

"Admiral Wilfong had redone the deck by removing and numbering every strip of the teak deck, putting in a new 3/4" plywood subdeck, and putting every teak strip back in place. He also installed iron bark rub rails. Wilfong had a local German craftsman replace all the standing rigging with stainless steel wire rope and stainless steel turnbuckles. He had served all the ends with marline and painted them. Very salty! He had done an original style house roof, using white lead and canvas."

"I made a few modifications in the name of practicality. I removed the exterior tackle used to control the centerboard and replaced it with a hand winch inside. I also redid the house roof in modern materials to combat the leaking that was occurring. But we also did a lot of work to maintain the original look of the boat, by stripping and re-varnishing the mahogany house and trim, and resealing that wonderful teak deck."

"Over the years, the manifold on the Universal Utility needed to be replaced. Doc Freeman in Seattle used to stock the gaskets, but the manifolds themselves were hard to find, and they were in demand. There was an outfit in Florida that actually recast about 50 replacement manifolds for the Universal BN, but they didn't machine them. I bought one (I should have bought two!), and had it machined here. I also rebuilt the carburetor a few times."

"My daughter PJ made a full cover for Mamook which really protected her from the elements."

"My wife Ellie is of Ukrainian descent, and in 1982 Opening Day at the Seattle Yacht Club, we decorated Mamook as "Spirit of Ukraine" and won a prize for her." (see photo below)

Eventually, by 1990 or so, our kids were off to college or had otherwise grown out of the boat, and it was time to pass her along. She was still in great shape then, but could have used new keel bolts and centerboard. I passed this information on to the new owner along with all the documentation, including the Wilfong log, and the owner's manual for the Universal engine."

"We had heard that Mamook was later brought to the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle and subsequently sold."

"My daughter PJ married a sailor, and today, they race together on Voodoo Child, a Santa Cruz 52."

We learned in early 2008 that Mamook was still afloat, looking a bit disheveled but fundamentally sound, at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle. Thanks to the patience and understanding of the staff of the CWB, Mamook was safe from woodpile until finally, in January of 2009, William Davies bought her, hauled her out and began restoration work. So Terry/Diane/Mamook will soon enter the next chapter of her life, and with any luck, will outlive us all.

[Editor's note: research is underway to locate the other owners of Mamook. We will update this page as new information becomes available. Please submit any corrections or additions by email.]

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