For some time I’ve been intrigued by another boat that Bruce Bingham designed; the Anastasia. However, information on the boat is elusive and I’ve not been able to find anything more about her since somebody sent in old some images of one under construction.
But the power of web search has brought together a few interested parties to the blog where comments and questions have arisen about this boat. Then, one came up for sale so I sent the owner an email and asked if he would like me to post some pics of her on my blog. He sent me the following images of s/v Minaret:
What a beauty she is and well travelled too by the sound of it.
From the owner Ethan:
“The pics were all taken within the last month or two. I am a professional boat builder here in Seattle, and this boat was finished from a bare hull by my friend Bruce Johnson. Bruce is very well known in the business around here. He and John Guzzwell were in business together for some time, and were a sort of legendary boatbuilding team in the area. Bruce (Johnson) built this boat for himself, and it really shows. All hardware is oversized bronze, including winches, turnbuckles, etc. The woodwork is spectacular. Bruce (Johnson) had Bruce (Bingham) draw the shorter house and a custom interior just for this boat. I think the shorter house looks much better and gives you a nice big foredeck. She also has a taller rig (6' taller) which was compensated for with a little extra weight in the ballast keel and arranged by Bingham as well. The interior features many of the ideas that Bingham was famous for drawing in magazines. My wife and I lived aboard her and cruised her in the San Juans for five years, but then had twins. Shopping for a bigger boat now! I think this is quite probably the nicest Anastasia ever built. Of course I'm biased and have only seen two others, only one other in the flesh. However fit and finish on those boats was not even in the same league.”
She looks and sounds like a mighty fine boat. I shall ask Ethan for some interior photos and I’d love to see all Bruce’s features he mentions.
If you’re interesting in buying what appears to be a unique and beautiful boat you can contact Ethan at svminaret@msn.com