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FLATTIES
The Flattie, or Geary 18, has been part of the Laurelhurst Sailing Fleet from the very beginning.
This page is devoted to the recollections of Fleet members who built and sailed Flatties. You will also find out a little bit about Flatties.
(Drawing by Felix Moitoret, edited by Carrie Bowman)
According to Skahill (#138, p.48), the Flattie was "the culmination of Ted Geary's dedication to youth
sail-training and water-safety programs."
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A Hot Tub
The Flattie is an 18-foot jib-headed sloop with a centerboard. Production of the craft
began in 1928 and within the first year, the Blanchard Boat Company in Seattle and the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club
in British Columbia had each built ten boats (Thomas Skahill, WoodenBoat, #138, September/October 1997, p.48).
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Building Flatties
Many of the early Flatties were built in garages by high school kids. Evert Sodergren built his first
Flattie with Curtis Gilbert.
Undeterred, Evert and Curtis launched their boat and sailed it around Whidbey Island.
Evert, Felix Moitoret, Carl Sutter, Dick Martin, and Larry Shorette built boats
in Evert's shop on University Way.
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(Photo courtesy of Evert Sodergren) |
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(Photo courtesy of Pat Osborne Wright) |
$100 in 1938
Pat Goodfellow made a deal with his father to split the cost of a used Flattie.
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Felix Moitoret (1923-2005)
Felix was a passionate Flattie racer and a gifted craftsman.
Felix noted that the Flattie
class resisted the major changes that threatened the existence of some other classes.
All the same, Felix was an inspired innovator, offering countless suggestions for modifying Flatties.
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(Photo courtesy of Kathy Moitoret, Philip Johnson, and Carrie Bowman) |
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