Photo credit: https://gyrfalcon88.com/
It might be confusing to look at your cell phone after you step aboard the 88’ Gyrfalcon. The screen will assert that it’s 2026, but the general vibe of your surroundings insists that it must be 1941. And yet there lingers yet another impression of times more than a century gone.
Sagstad Boatyard in Seattle built Gyrfalcon for the US Coast and Geodetic Survey. In the 1930s, American military strategists became increasingly concerned about a potential conflict with the Empire of Japan. A naval war with Japan would likely involve operations on Alaskan waters, where soundings and surveys were far from complete. The government used a plan that was originally drawn up during WWI but never executed. Gyrfalcon came down the ways in 1941, originally christened Patton, just as the potential for war with Japan became a reality.
She was laid up mostly in Douglas fir dipped in preservatives, using planks three to four inches thick. The original engines were Cooper-Bessemer direct reverse models, a design with no transmissions in the drive train. To back up or stop a direct reverse vessel, it’s necessary to stop the engines and then restart them turning the opposite direction. With 4,000 gallons of fuel aboard, range at a 10-knot cruise was approximately 5,500 miles.
In conjunction with a sister ship built in Oregon (E. Lester Jones), Gyrfalcon surveyed the Aleutian Islands and SE Alaska for 26 years. The boats returned to Seattle every winter for maintenance and repairs.
Declared surplus in 1967, Gyrfalcon and her sistership sold at auction for $57,250 each.
Over the last 59 years, a series of private owners passed her along to subsequent buyers in a variety of conditions. The current owners found her as a “project boat” and describe an initial encounter with a vessel left out in the weather with leaks in the cabin top. Can-style fixtures in a 1980s vinyl headliner installed throughout the boat illuminated a soggy, rain-soaked carpet on the soles. Mold and mildew were abundant.
There must be a special place in Boater’s Heaven for people with the patience to restore a vessel like Gyrfalcon.
After an immense amount of work and perhaps even more time and money, Gyrfalcon today appears much as she did in 1941, only better. The direct reverse engines were long-ago replaced with 3306 Caterpillars, and the entire vessel was rewired. Atrocities such as vinyl headliners and carpeting are gone, and surfaces have been restored to their original materials and appearances. Galley appliances, heads, and navigation systems have been modernized but blend seamlessly with the vintage ambiance.
Gyrfalcon is, once again, in search of a new owner. In addition to a breathtaking personal yacht, she would be an ideal vessel for crewed charters, perhaps continuing to cruise between Seattle and Alaska. She would attract clientele seeking a classic experience. But it’s going to take more than the ability to write a substantial check to be the next owner of Gyrfalcon. The present owners are interested in selling to somebody with the patience, experience, and resources to address the relentless appetites of a wooden boat. Owning a vessel like Gyrfalcon is more than a purchase, it’s a commitment to her incredible legacy.
Specs: Gyrfalcon
Broker: Chuck Hovey Yachts, Represented by Todd Powell
Email: todd@chuckhoveyyachts.com
Phone: 206-939-0312
- LOA: 88’
- Beam: 21’6”
- Dry weight: 312,000 pounds
- Draft: 8’6”
- Propulsion: 1 Caterpillar 3306 inboard diesel, 225 horsepower
- Fuel: 4,400 gallons
- Water: 1,000 gallons
- Blackwater: 125 gallons
