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Bay Area Man Will Set Sail to Hawaii in 8-ft Boat

As far as we know, the smallest boat ever to sail to Hawaii is the 10-ft Yankee Girl. In 1981, relying partly on outboard power in low-wind conditions, 41-year-old Gerry Spiess made it from Long Beach to Honolulu in 34 days. Forty years later, Wilbur Spaul hopes to do Spiess one better by making the same 2,200-mile crossing in his 8-ft sailboat Chubby Girl. But it will probably take a bit longer.

Wil spent about 18 months building Chubby Girl at a friend’s house in Walnut Creek. Like Yankee Girl, she is self-designed and self-built, constructed of marine plywood coated with fiberglass and epoxy. As mentioned, the boat is 8-ft LOA (the same length as an El Toro) and draws about 4 feet. Empty weight is about 1,100 pounds. Loaded with stores, electronics and Spaul, it will weigh about twice that. (Yankee Girl also came in about 2,200 pounds, loaded.)

Chubby Girl at the dock in Alameda with a good-sized powerboat for scale. A “mast” has since been added to the 8-ft boat.
© 2019 Wilbur Spaul

Weather willing, he hopes to depart the Bay for Hawaii sometime in October to coincide with several milestones. One is his 70th birthday. 2019 also marks the 40th anniversary of Spiess’s first ocean crossing (in 1979, from Virginia Beach to Falmouth in 54 days). Chubby Girl’s trip will also serve as a dedication to Spiess himself, who passed away in June.

Spaul is a very experienced sailor. Among many adventures in the last half century, he lived aboard the 42-ft trimaran Wind Rose for 21 years and singlehanded the boat from San Francisco to Florida.

Spaul is a realist about the pending voyage. He’s built Chubby Girl to be watertight, even during rollovers. El Sobrante naval architect Jim Antrim ran some stability numbers and suggested several tweaks to the design, which Spaul has been implementing over the last few months. Pineapple Sails in Alameda built the boat’s twin jibs and free-floating mainsail, and Hansen Rigging, also in Alameda, is putting the A-frame-type mast and rigging together.

Spaul thinks in the right conditions, Chubby Girl will be able to average 2.5 knots. At that speed, he figures the trip will take 50 to 65 days. Just in case, he is provisioning for up to 80 days.

So why is he doing it? “The personal challenge,” he says.  “I’ve been thinking about this for the last 45 years — I just really want to know if an 8-foot boat can make the passage.”

Look for much more about Wil Spaul and Chubby Girl in an upcoming issue.

12 Comments

  1. Jeff Bazemore 5 years ago

    Good Luck Will. I’m confident you will break the record. Jeff

  2. Richard Bonilla 5 years ago

    +++ press on

  3. Dave Lord 4 years ago

    ‘Fair winds and following seas’ !

  4. Bob Triggs 4 years ago

    Blessings!

  5. Tom Taneyhill 4 years ago

    Fair Winds Will!

  6. Michael Butler 4 years ago

    How can I follow your progress? I would also love to learn more about the design. Good luck!!

    • wilbur spaul 4 years ago

      I am in the process of setting up a blog, called chubbygirlcruising.com The original Chubby Girl ended up in the dumpster in February 2020 because i had built her too heavily and she sailed poorly. I have since built a new Chubby Girl, and plan to leave Berkeley Marine Center about the first of September 2020. I launched the new Chubby Girl on 29 June 2020 and was very favorably impressed with her initial sea trials. Wilbur Spaul , 10 July 2020

  7. Riddhi 4 years ago

    All the best, Wil.

  8. Dorothy Zimmermann - Minneapolis MN 4 years ago

    My sailing club – Northern Lights Sailing Club – of Minneapolis, MN would like to be updated as to Wil’s voyage – has he completed it – delayed it – or???? with an upcoming visit to see the original Yankee Girl, in St Paul, I’d very much like to pass along the information on Chubby Girl.

    • wilbur spaul 4 years ago

      hi Dorothy,
      I went to Minneapolis and saw Yankee Girl in March 2019. The Director of the Museum was kind enough to pull her out of archives and allow me to climb all over her and take pictures. ( I am in the process of drafting a paper on three grand little ladies — “Yankee Girl”, “Acrohc Australis”, and “Father’s Day” .) I had hoped to meet Gerry, but when I was there, I was told he was in pretty bad shape, so I passed on that. I am in the process of setting up a blog, chubbygirlcruising.com and am planning to leave around the first of September 2020. I have dedicated this trip to Gerry Spiess.
      Wilbur Spaul 10 July 2020

  9. Charlie Ambas 4 years ago

    Happy voyage Will,

  10. StephenD.Bull 3 years ago

    Go get ‘Em Will, I know/hope you will have a fantastic voyage with maybe a book to follow. God Speed. And don’t forget when you do return you were going to help me with my coffee table book.LOL

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