The Gyrfalcon is an 88-foot fantail, designed by H.C. Hanson, a noted Northwest naval architect. Built in 1941 by Sagstad Marine of Ballard, she was launched as the Patton (ASV 80), an auxiliary survey vessel for the US Coast and Geodesic Survey (USC&GS). Her draft is 8.5 feet and her beam is 23 ft. Her sister ship, launched in 1940 as the E. Lester Jones, is now named the Summer Wind. For 25 years, the Patton conducted hydrography surveys in the Aleutians and southeast Alaska. At the end of each season, she returned to Seattle for repairs and re tting. Her moment of WWII glory occurred on August 13, 1944, when she rescued the crew of a B-24 Liberator that had crash-landed on the far western Aleutian island of Ilak. She was also recruited by Navy ships to search for sunken seaplanes. In 1971, her original Cooper Bessemer direct-reversing engines were replaced with Caterpillar 3306s. The masts were removed and the extended salon was added. She currently has four staterooms – the owners’ stateroom (the original O fficers’ Quarters) and 3 guest staterooms (the original Crew Quarters). She carries 1100 gallons of fresh water and 4,200 gallons of diesel. Peter Mann and Nancy Everds purchased her in 2012 and renamed her Gyrfalcon (pronounced “Jeer”), after the largest falcon in the world. At that point in her history, she had become a “Project Boat.”
We have spent the last several years in extensive restoration and renovation. Major items include: coach house roof and railing, galley, hydronic heat, electronics, horn timber, sponson, various planks, deck repair and sealing, all new wiring, master stateroom and new paint – both inside and out. We are looking forward to extensive cruising, with the eventual goal of spending our summers in Alaska, thus repeating the cycle which began in 1941.
