What is the Golden Gate Wooden Boat Foundation?
The Golden Gate Wooden Boat Foundation (GGWBF) is a nonprofit initiative dedicated to the active stewardship of historic wooden yachts on San Francisco Bay. It begins with a single vessel, the 1906 schooner Yankee, and is built on a clear philosophy: that these boats are best preserved through use, not display. Motion, not memory.
GGWBF is not a museum. It is not a charter operation. It is not a heritage tourism platform. It is a community of sailors, craftspeople, and supporters committed to keeping traditional wooden yachts working, racing, and sailing. The Foundation is entirely volunteer-run: no one involved takes any payment or salary.
What is the relationship between GGWBF and the West Coast Seafaring Society?
The West Coast Seafaring Society (WCSS) is the existing 501(c)(3) nonprofit that currently owns Yankee. It is the legal entity of record, holding title to the vessel, the EIN (84-1776838), insurance, bank accounts, and all formal organizational standing.
GGWBF operates as the public-facing identity and program of WCSS, essentially a DBA (doing business as). The name was changed from “Golden Gate Wooden Boat Trust” in early 2026 after the board’s advisors flagged “Trust” as carrying too much unintended legal meaning. Over time, GGWBF is intended to become the permanent organizational home, while WCSS continuity is preserved for legal and legacy purposes.
All fundraising, donor communications, and public-facing activity are conducted under the GGWBF name and brand. All legal and financial obligations are held by WCSS until a formal transition is complete.
What is Yankee, and why does this boat matter?
Yankee is a 52-foot gaff schooner, drawn by William Frank Stone in 1905 for a client who wanted to win on San Francisco Bay, and built at Stone’s Harbor View yard near the Presidio. On the morning of April 18, 1906, the great earthquake threw her, nearly complete and undamaged, from her building cradle, and she was finished and launched weeks later, in time to win her first race that season. She was drawn a gaff sloop; her second owner, Charles Miller, converted her to the schooner rig she carries today in the 1910s, removing her centerboard and installing her first engine.
She has raced on the Bay for more than a century, served as flagship of St. Francis Yacht Club seven times, been commissioned by the U.S. Navy during World War II, appeared in Hollywood films, and passed through a remarkable sequence of caretakers including the Ford and McNeill families. She is widely regarded as one of the oldest surviving wooden racing yachts on San Francisco Bay.
Yankee marked her 120th year on April 18, 2026, the anniversary of both her launch and the earthquake.
Yankee matters because she is not a relic. She was kept alive for 120 years because she is exceptional by design: a capable, weatherly schooner that rewards seamanship, teamwork, and care. Restoring her is not about preserving the past — it is about sailing her future.
The campaign says “the lines still hold.” Do you have Stone’s original drawings?
One Stone drawing survives: a sail plan of Yankee dated January 1906, drawn by Lester Stone, Frank’s son, showing her original sloop rig, digitally cleaned in 2026 and reproduced on this site. The hull’s lines plan, the drawing the campaign name points to, is not in hand, and we say so plainly whenever asked. That claim rests on the boat herself: a hull that still carries the shape Stone drew in 1905, a racing record that runs from her first season to championships in her second century, and five generations who kept her because she earned it. The Phase 1 survey is, quite literally, the act of verifying that the lines still hold.
One honest evolution is part of the story: she was drawn a sloop, and Charles Miller gave her the schooner rig in the 1910s. The rig changed. The hull beneath it is the hull Stone drew.
Where is Yankee now, and in what condition?
Yankee is now berthed at Richardson Bay Boatworks in Sausalito, the yard where her restoration is being carried out. She is safe and secure, and the yard is not charging dock fees during this period. Phase 1 (survey, stabilization, and restart) is funded and under way.
She is mid-refit: the most technically demanding structural work (frames, stem, forward planking, and extensive hull work) was completed at KKMI in Point Richmond before the project was interrupted by COVID. That work is considered sound, and the hull is watertight.
What remains is primarily verification, completion, and reassembly: finishing frame repairs, rebuilding the longitudinal structure, restoring deck and systems, reinstating rails and bulwarks, and stepping the rig. Her eight major spars (two masts, five booms, and a bowsprit) were fully refinished and remain in private storage with her new suit of North Sails and all standing and running rigging. More than 1,000 board feet of prime Douglas fir and her hardware are now consolidated at the yard, and her original china remains in secure care.
The boat is not deteriorating. The project is paused no longer — the restart is here.
What is Richardson Bay Boatworks, and who are the Sommers?
Yankee’s restoration is being carried out at Richardson Bay Boatworks in Sausalito, a family yard with roots that reach deep into the working waterfront of San Francisco Bay.
The yard was founded in 1986 by Ross Sommer, son of the legendary Harold Sommer, a Crowley Maritime tugboat captain for nearly fifty years and one of the most respected vessel restorers the Bay has ever produced. Harold captained the last wooden tugboat to work the San Francisco waterfront and was among the final skippers licensed to pilot the great steam tugs. His restoration of the 1883 German pilot schooner Wanderbird was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution as the most significant vessel restoration undertaken by a private individual in the United States.
Ross grew up in that tradition — literally on the water, learning to read a hull before he could read a chart. He built Richardson Bay Boatworks from a rented shed into a respected name in wooden boat restoration over four decades. Today Ross serves as lead boatwright on the Yankee project, bringing the full weight of that inherited skill and judgment to every decision on the hull.
The yard is now managed by the third generation: Ross’s son Andrew Sommer, who grew up in the shop and now oversees day-to-day operations. Andrew will manage the restoration from intake through recommissioning. Working alongside the Sommers is Graham Wheelock, a skilled boatwright and graduate of the Arques School of Traditional Wooden Boatbuilding, which shares the same Sausalito waterfront grounds.
Three generations. One waterfront. The right hands for the work.
What does the restoration cost, and how is it structured?
This is a completion project, not a rescue, a beautification, or a modernization. The most technically demanding structural work is already behind us. What remains is verification, completion, and reassembly, structured as ten deliberate phases, each with a clear purpose, scope, and funding target.
| Phase | Scope | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Survey, Stabilization & Restart | $10,000 ✓ Funded |
| 2 | Hull & Frame Completion | $10,000–$20,000 |
| 3 | Clamps & Shelves | $15,000–$25,000 |
| 4 | Deck Restoration | $30,000–$45,000 |
| 5 | Rails, Bulwarks & Exterior Joinery | $25,000–$35,000 |
| 6 | Cabin House & Cockpit | $15,000–$25,000 |
| 7 | Deck Hardware & Essential Systems | $15,000–$25,000 |
| 8 | Caulking, Fairing & Finish | $10,000–$20,000 |
| 9 | Spars & Rigging | $20,000–$30,000 |
| 10 | Sails, Launch & Sea Trials | $10,000–$20,000 |
The total campaign goal for Phases 1–10 is $160,000–$255,000. Phase budgets beyond Phase 1 are preliminary estimates and will be refined following the detailed condition report produced in Phase 1.
Fundraising is explicitly phase-based: each ask corresponds to a defined scope and a concrete milestone, and each phase unlocks the next. Public asks lead with the current milestone, never the total: Phase 1 is funded and under way; the survey sets Phase 2. Every dollar funds professional craft, materials, and berthing. Not overhead, not salaries.
What happens beyond the restoration campaign?
Two efforts extend past the ten phases:
- Interior Restoration ($10,000–$20,000, materials). With Yankee sailing again, attention turns below: cabin, galley, berths, and interior brightwork. Funded for materials only; the labor is carried out by Foundation volunteers and skilled members contributing their time and craft.
- Endowment: Sustaining Yankee ($150,000+, ongoing goal). A permanent fund to house and maintain Yankee for the long term. Annual costs (berthing, insurance, haul-out, bottom paint, and routine upkeep) run approximately $25,000–$35,000 per year. The endowment ensures future stewards are never forced to defer maintenance or find emergency funding. This is how she sails for another century.
Who leads the Foundation?
The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors with direct experience in wooden boat restoration, Bay sailing, and nonprofit stewardship:
- Hans Hansen — President. Yankee’s acting captain and project lead. Grew up sailing on San Francisco Bay aboard the Alden ketch Suzy-Q (Sabine II); co-owner of Velerosa (Bear #69) and president of the Bear Boat Association.
- Jason Chan — Treasurer. A sailor with over 25,000 nautical miles of racing and cruising experience, co-owner of Relentless (J/92), and St. Francis Yacht Club member; managing the Foundation’s fundraising strategy and restoration fund.
- Nicholas Kolaitis — Secretary. Sailor and owner of Sugarfoot (Bear #13); keeping the Foundation’s governance, compliance, and organizational work on course.
- Will Campbell — Director. Owner of Hummingbird (Bird #22) and president of the Bird Boat Association; well connected across the Bay sailing and wooden boat community; accomplished photographer.
- John McNeill — Director Emeritus. Staff Commodore, St. Francis Yacht Club; keeper of the Yankee Archive and five decades of Yankee crew history; multigenerational caretaker.
- Jon Price — Director Emeritus. Longtime WCSS Treasurer and Bay sailor; providing organizational continuity through the transition to the Foundation.
The board is supported by advisors including Hans List (owner of List Marine; Staff Commodore, Master Mariners Benevolent Association), Mark Harris, KC Crowell (governance & seamanship; 200-ton captain’s license), Ross Sommer (lead boatwright, Richardson Bay Boatworks), Andrew Sommer (yard manager, Richardson Bay Boatworks), Graham Wheelock (boatwright; Arques School graduate), and Tom List (chief engineer, List Marine).
What is GGWBF’s mission, in plain language?
To keep Yankee, and over time other significant wooden yachts, actively sailing on San Francisco Bay. Motion, not memory. To support the artisans and sailors who know how to care for these boats. To document the work honestly and make it visible to the people who care about it.
The mission is narrow by design. A focused organization is a durable one.
What is GGWBF not?
- Not a museum. There is no exhibit, no static display, no interpretive center.
- Not a charter platform. Yankee will not be available for casual hire or public day sails.
- Not a youth program. The focus is on experienced sailors and skilled craftspeople.
- Not a general-access sailing club. Participation is through working relationships, not membership purchases.
- Not a vanity project. The goal is to put the boat back in the water and keep her there, racing, sailing, and in use, for the next generation of stewards.
How is GGWBF funded?
Currently through a combination of existing WCSS reserves and individual donor contributions. The organization is structured as a 501(c)(3) (via WCSS), meaning donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. The Foundation is entirely volunteer-run: every dollar funds professional craft, materials, and berthing, not overhead or salaries.
The fundraising strategy is visibility-driven: thorough documentation of the restoration (written articles, photography, and video) builds the credibility and community that sustains major giving. Each phase of the refit produces tangible proof of progress that anchors the next ask.
Longer-term, the community that forms around the restoration (sailors, craftspeople, yacht clubs, maritime organizations) becomes the natural base for ongoing operating support.
What is the fundraising approach for major donors?
The core message is completion, not rescue. The most difficult work is already done. What donors fund is the final sequence of a decades-long investment: the chance to be part of putting a 120-year-old San Francisco Bay institution back under sail.
Major donor outreach begins with a small number of warm, personal introductions from longtime crew and legacy advisors, followed by direct engagement from the board. Asks are specific, phase-tied, and followed by documented proof of impact.
This is not a charity appeal. It is an invitation to stewardship.
What happens if the restoration cannot be completed?
This is addressed directly in the proposal. If a point is reached where continuing no longer makes sense, GGWBF’s responsibility is to act with care rather than stubbornness. Yankee’s engine, finished spars, sails, and carefully gathered timber are genuine assets that can extend the lives of other wooden boats.
The goal is to sail her. But the commitment, whatever happens, is to honest, thoughtful stewardship of the tradition she represents.
How can I get involved?
The project currently needs:
- Sailors — experienced hands for working parties, shakedown sails, and eventual racing
- Craftspeople — boatwrights, riggers, systems specialists willing to work on a meaningful vessel
- Financial supporters — individuals and organizations who want to be part of this restoration
- Connectors — people who know who else should know about this
- Followers — anyone who wants to watch the work unfold; the Logbook is open to all
If any of those descriptions fit, reach out at info@ggwbf.org, or sign up for the weekly letter from the yard.
To give by check, make it payable to the West Coast Seafaring Society with “Yankee Restoration” in the memo line, and mail to: West Coast Seafaring Society, PO Box 420117, San Francisco, CA 94142. For wire transfers, gifts of securities, or other arrangements, contact info@ggwbf.org. Many employers match gifts to the West Coast Seafaring Society; worth checking. The full picture is on the support page.