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From the 2008 Bartender Rendezvous:

     On this trip north, with 2 people & camping gear & the 25HP Nissan, we averaged right around 1.5 GPH. We also got a chance to see how our boat performed in comparison to the other Bartenders in the fleet (flock?).  Our top speed was naturally slower than the boats with bigger engines, although they kindly did not push the point -- we usually run at around 15 -16 kts, and 18 or 19 if we push the throttle down.
     In the foul weather on the last day we definitely noticed a difference running alongside Strait Shot & Surf Scoter: the heavier boats sure looked good blasting through the swells. Even so, we liked the way the 19’ Bartender handled as well as any boat we have had in these waters, ever, bar none. After we parted company with Dave & Bill at Bedwell Harbor we took it home to Orcas through some pretty nasty water and we decided that we really, really like the boat. We just took it a bit slower, played the waves, and didn't break an egg.

Thea & Mike – Orcas Island, WA

 

     I built a "stretched" version of the cuddy-cabin 19-ft Bartender over the last couple of years, beginning with a frame kit from Bartender Boats to give me a jump start on the hull.  The kit was an awesome way to get a hull up fast, especially helpful for a first-time boatbuilder like me, because the kit brings in frames that are already true and fair on their jig braces.  Even so, there was plenty of interesting problem-solving as I got further along.  Thanks to Bill and the gang of supportive Bartender owner-builders on the Yahoo Bartender group, I had a fine time, and the boat turned out very well.  It always draws attention at the ramp, both with folks who know the design, and with others who wonder why it has two pointy ends!
     Surf Scoter has a 65 hp Westerbeke inboard, generating a top speed of 24-25 knots with one person aboard and some 23 knots with two.  We cruise comfortably at 17-18 knots, and get about 2.4 gallons/hour. 
     We selected it for use as a "mother ship" so we can run over exposed waters from one protected embayment to the next, planning to paddle our folding kayaks off the stern.  Having a huge cockpit area with a combination engine box, sit-upon, and tabletop in the center of our "living room" makes this a good boat for two gunkholers. Sleeping aboard has been very enjoyable for us.  We plan to use it a lot, both on the lower Columbia River here in Oregon and up in BC.

Dave Kruger – Astoria, OR

 

     I built my 26' sport-fishing Bartender Storm Crow in spare time over the course of 4 years.  I was guided through the build by George Calkins' original drawings and instructions, with crucial advice along the way by Bill Childs, proprietor of the Calkins designs.
     When I chose the Bartender, I admired the looks and the reputation, but had only a general sense of the design's virtues.  With each step in the building process my appreciation for the Bartender's beauty and intelligence grew.  But the true revelation came on the water; from the moment of the first launching through every hour thereafter, I have been amazed and thoroughly gratified by the boat's performance.  Each day on the water brings fresh insight into what the boat can do, and how well she does it.  Not once have I had to apologize for a shortcoming, or make allowances for limitations other than my own.  I've found no need to modify the boat, add ballast or mechanical appendages, or compensate in any way to improve performance.  I hewed close to the plans, took seriously the admonitions of George and Bill to keep it light and keep it simple, and the payoff is a dazzling thoroughbred of a boat, if I don't say so myself.
     Storm Crow will top 30+ knots, cruise 20 knots at 4 gph, and carry fuel for a realistic cruising range in excess of 400 statute miles.  I set her up for sport-fishing and general family adventure on the big waters of the Pacific Northwest, and she has proven to be aces at that. 
    
I've met few people unappreciative of my boat's appearance, but I realize that, like myself before building her, most can only half-way imagine the full visceral glory of a correctly built Calkins Bartender.  That perspective is the privilege of those who have had a chance to live with one.

Lee W. Baxter – Beaverton, OR


     In the spring of ‘06 I ordered the 19’ Bartender kit and by May of that year had started building the boat. It took less than a year for me to complete it and was one of the most rewarding projects I have ever built. The kit really jump-started the project and made lofting unnecessary. Bill Childs is very knowledgeable and very good to do business with. He really cares about the success of your boat as well as preserving this great design for the next 50 years. 
     I launched the boat in May ‘07 in Juneau, Alaska and after some minor adjustments with the outboard trim it has served me very well this past summer, making several 100 mile round trips from Juneau up Lynn Canal to Haines AK. During this time I gained confidence in the design and what it’s capable of when the weather would turn for the worse. Size for size I think one would be hard pressed to find a more seaworthy design anywhere in a hull designed to plane. From my experience with the smallest of the Bartenders I can say it will make a fine boat for a couple to travel with economy, safety, and of course style!

Dave Nussbaumer -- 20' BARTENDER
Juneau, AK

 

 

 

     We decided to build the BT-19 after seeing Bill's beautiful cuddy-cabin version. The frame kit was a great way to get started. The frames fit together quickly and accurately on the jig and the overall kit quality was first-rate. The building process was fairly straightforward. If I got stuck on something Bill was always quick to respond to my questions. He even came up for a test drive after the boat was launched. 
     The whole family was involved in the project right from the start and we couldn't be happier with the results. Halcyon does everything we want her to and more. There is plenty of space for 2 adults, 2 kids, and our dog. The 40-Hp outboard has a top speed of 25 Knots and outstanding fuel economy. We have used her for fishing, water skiing, and hauling way too much stuff to and from our summer cabin. 

     The BT-19 is a high-performance design that is fun to drive, safe to ride in, and very nice to look at. Halcyon gets a lot of attention at the dock. I am surprised how many people recognize it and ask "Hey, is that a Bartender?". It's a great feeling to answer "Yes, we built it ourselves".

 

Don Froese - 19' BARTENDER

North Vancouver, BC
    

 

 

         
  
In the early 1960’s I saw advertisements for the Bartender at the back of boating magazines showing the Coast Guard version of the 22’ model. From the description and the pictures I had this design on my deferred wish list. By the middle 60’s I started in boating with a Snipe, then a Venture, then a Mercury one-design. My first power boat was a 13’ Boston Whaler. All were fine boats in warm waters and sunny skies. A couple of years ago I ran across the Bartender Boats web site and since I live not far from Bellingham I called and made a visit. Not long after that visit I took a ride on a 19’ Cuddy Bartender and then ordered a hull built. I decided on a stretched 19 with inboard power and Bill modified the design and installed nearly everything to complete the boat. No business I had ever encountered was more willing to put itself out for me as Bill has.

            Soon after launching “Swizzlestick” I joined the fleet of Bartenders that cruised over to Montague Harbour, BC for the 2007 Bartender Rendezvous. The boat performed flawlessly, burning about 2.2 gal per/hr with the 120hp Mercruiser at an estimated average of 15kts.  Can’t wait to get back on the water.

Paul Fogel – 20’ BARTENDER
Camano Island, WA

 


    “My previous boat was a 22’ C-Dory. I
will happily tell you that the BARTENDER does NOT have the same function characteristics as the C-Dory.

    I fish at Neah Bay, Washington. The BARTENDER doesn't rattle your teeth in the smallest chop, nor the largest, and it doesn't have a tendency to slide sideways down the face of a large swell (scary and dangerous). My BARTENDER isn't the fastest out of the harbor but once in the nasties, I'm passing everything in sight and my ride is like a rocking horse and just as smooth.”


Gordon Zumach – 26’ BARTENDER

Port Angeles,  WA

 


    


    "I first heard of the Calkins BARTENDERS around 1962 or 1963 and when the plans became available I purchased a set for the 19-footer. I started construction in 1965 and launched the boat Labor Day 1967.

      I read as much as I could about building a boat and then I bought Glen L. Witt's book "Boat Building With Plywood".  I would recommend this book to any person undertaking the construction of a small wooden boat. 

      At a boat show in Los Angeles Mr. Calkins provided a film of the 22-footer being tested by the U.S. Coast Guard. This film was so impressive that I new this was the boat I was going to have.

       My Yamaha 40 hp four-stroke provides a speed of 28 mph at 5700 rpm and 20 mph at around 4300 rpm. My fishing trips do not exceed twenty miles and the most fuel I have used is 4 gallons.

      I retired in 1985 and have been out on the ocean many times since. In 2003 I went out 54 times and this year 56 trips."

 Philip E. Smith -- 19' BARTENDER
Southern California
  

 

 

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     "I'm not much of a fisherman but I know what I like in the "look" of a boat. I'd been looking for a safe boat to restore for my 85+ year old father and mother and the whole family at Lake Tahoe. When I saw the BARTENDER, I just knew this was the boat for them. Safe, seaworthy and funky lookin' to boot.
     We found a 1961 BT-22 (hull # 127) that had been sitting in a barn in Mendocino, California for 14 years and needed a lot of love and attention. Not knowing anything about restoring old boats turned out to be less of a problem than we thought as we soon discovered the BARTENDER group web site and were able to get all the advice we needed. The restoration took about 9 months and was a real family project. We're really proud of the results.
     With our mahogany bright work and the double ended look, we turn more heads at Lake Tahoe's annual Wooden Boat Concours d'Elegance than many of the expensive official entries. As far as performance, our 1970's vintage 160 HP V-6 moves her right along and in fact when there is any kind of chop on the lake, many of the vintage Chris Crafts with much bigger engines have a tough time keeping up because they can't handle the chop like our BARTENDER."

George Marquis – 22’ BARTENDER
Lake Tahoe, CA

   

"Once in a great while - say, once every one or two
generations - something special comes along in the field
of human endeavor, something which combines a unique
blend of ingenuity and practicality, of creativity and
pragmatism, of artist and artisan.   For instance, in
1700, it was the violins of Antonio Stradivarius; in
the 1880's, John Moses Browning revealed the
Winchester Model 1886 Lever Action Repeating Rifle, in
1919 Orville Gibson came out with the L-50 guitar with
the first "f" holes seen on a guitar.  In the 1950's,
in the world of powerboats, something extra special
came along - the 22 foot BARTENDER designed and built
by George Calkins.

I own a 19' BARTENDER and I have just begun to build
a 22' BARTENDER from one of the outstanding kits
developed by the new owner of BARTENDER BOATS - Bill
Childs.  I live and boat in Alaska, an area of
extremes, where the water is cold and the weather and
seas unpredictable.  The BARTENDER has handled all the
seas I have yet experienced with aplomb, handling
waves, wind, following seas, and strong currents with
ease and safety.  When I'm 25 miles out from port, I
may be in one of the smallest boats that ventures out
so far, but I am also in one of the most seaworthy
boats out there.

And one thing I must add - the BARTENDER is just plain
fun.  The 19' BARTENDER hurdles waves like a dolphin,
shoulders waves with a nonchalant shrug, and leaps on
plane like an arctic loon springing towards the sky
with only my low power 35 hp motor.  The BARTENDER
evokes a feeling that I think far too few of us feel
far too seldom-a feeling of joy. 

As I boated this past summer past hanging glaciers,
under blue skies or pounded by pouring rain, with sea
otters milling about or whales breaching next to my
boat, or pulling in brightly colored rock fish from
the ocean's depths, I experienced feelings of pure,
undiluted joy - the Joy of BARTENDERING."

Larry Williams – 19' and 22' BARTENDERS
Anchorage, Alaska
 


"Thank you for giving me such a beautiful boat. I received many admiring glances on the way home. In fact, the day I left you I drove to Roseburg, Oregon and the following day, I drove into San Diego. The boat has already gotten quite wet. We went through a hailstorm in the Central Valley, so much so that I had to pump out the boat with the vacuum at a gas station.

The favorite that I received was from this young kid who was running the gas station in San Diego who, at midnight, comes out of the gas kiosk to make the following comment:
     "Gnarly! The boat looks like a surfboard for old people!"

Anyway, I just wanted you to know how incredibly happy I am with the boat. I am absolutely overwhelmed by the beautiful simple craftsmanship. I have looked at it very, very carefully and everything that has been done has been done to the highest standard. I am very proud to own this boat.

I will send you photographs as the building progresses. I am probably your happiest customer."

Laurence  McKinley, MD -- 19' BARTENDER
San Diego, California

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




 

 


“Thank you again for an excellent product. It took me about an hour to set all the jig beams and frames, and another hour and a half to shim, level, square, and screw everything down.  Everything went together perfect.  The kit has already saved me a lot of time and hard work. I am very pleased.”

Jonah Green  -- 22' BARTENDER
Heathsville, Virginia

 

     “I raced a Master Craft ski machine this weekend.
    Although the Master Craft is a much faster boat, I beat him hands down due to what I believe was sheer intimidation.
    The sight of the BARTENDERS' sharp bow slicing the moderate chop, setting the hull down lightly, then rising gently to take another, was just too disheartening to the ski boats owner - dislodged molars and posterior trauma from the heavy pounding (no doubt).”

 

Dan Payne – 26’ BARTENDER
Southern California

  

    "My wife and I fish and cruise the waters around our home on Wrangell Island in S.E. Alaska in a 19 ft. BARTENDER "Patty Lou". 
     We have made many trips in the boat traveling as much as 20 miles or more to the fishing grounds fishing out the day then returning home. Weather and water conditions here can change quickly and a day that starts calm can end stormy with rough water caused by wind, current, and strong tide rips that frequent these waters. The BARTENDER is a good rough water boat. Several times we have traveled out to fish running the boat on plane but came home mushing along at 10 to 12 knots -working our way through some pretty rough stuff to get back to the harbor. The double-ended BARTENDER will handle a following sea with ease. We have spent countless hours trolling in the boat some of the time in strong winds and when trolling downwind the big swells just slide by and the boat tracks straight without any tendency to broach. It is a comfort to be able to trust your boat. George Calkins 19 ft. BARTENDER lives up to the notes George wrote on the construction drawings "For Rough Water Fishing".
 

     Almost every time we launch the boat someone will come up and compliment us on the looks of the boat and say--isn't that a "BARTENDER"--now that is a boat!!."

 

Ron McIrvin -- 19' BARTENDER

Wrangell, Alaska