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Jim Bartlett can’t get her out of his mind. She’s a big girl with flowing curves and has a knack for infiltrating his dreams. There are very few memories from the past 37 years that don’t include Acatsgrin, a 58-foot sailboat Bartlett built with his own two hands.
The love affair set sail in 1974 while Bartlett was still a University of Georgia student and the idea of Acatsgrin was born from a set of $400 boat plans. Tweaking them to his specifications and incorporating Ferrocement (which is a mixture of cement and sand reinforced with woven steel mesh and steel rods, to the non-boaters) into the boat’s hull, Bartlett launched Acatsgrin (“Egyptian style,” he added) nearly a decade after he first dreamed of building his own vessel.
“Everyone told me I was crazy and that I couldn’t do it,” he said. “But I was determined.”
The ship eventually found its way from its birthplace in St. Petersburg, Fla., up the ICW to Chesapeake Bay then back down to Hilton Head. Once here it served for nearly a decade as a popular charter and icon of the island’s laid back-charm in the mid-’90s before moving on to the lush blue waters of the Virgin Islands.
Now, Acatsgrin remains stranded without a mast and Jim is here.
Acatsgrin, ca. mid-'90s
Acatsgrin after the hurricane that sunk her
The trouble began last year after Hurricane Earl tore through the Virgin Islands. In the wake of the storm, Acatsgrin was so damaged she could no longer be sailed.
Acatsgrin’s mast had to be rescued from the bottom of Coral Bay and her rails and lifelines were beyond repair, Bartlett said. Her topside was in shambles.
“It was really devastating,” said Brandy Bartlett of Bluffton. She is Jim’s oldest daughter and grew up on the boat along with her younger sister, Jayme, and their mother Meg Bartlett.
“I never imagined that anything would happen to that boat,” Brandy said. “She had been through a couple of other hurricanes and she was fine. I’ve never seen my dad so upset. It was a rough day for all of us. She was the heart and soul of our family.”
Jim Bartlett estimates that Acatsgrin needs $45,000 worth of repairs. The money will go toward fixing the hull, masts and sails. About $1,300 has been donated so far, Bartlett said.
“She’s not just a boat, that’s the dilemma,” Bartlett said recently while looking out over Skull Creek. “If she were, I would have gotten rid of her by now. I’m trying to salvage my life’s work.”
A Sailing Life
Bartlett is eager to get Acatsgrin back into open waters and possibly back to her former life as a charter boat.
From 1989 to 1998, Acatsgrin offered daily sailing trips from Palmetto Bay Marina.
Byron Bang, the assistant harbor master at the marina, remembers Acatsgrin and her crew.
“She had a character, a classic design and was appealing to the eye,” he said. “She was well built.”
Bang said Acatsgrin became “a part of the history of the place and a lot of people had a good time going out on her.”
Now Bartlett turns to the Lowcountry community in hopes they’ll remember Acatsgrin and will want to help save her.
With the help of fellow boat captain Ralph Howey, a website, acatsgrin.com and Facebook page have been created to include photos from Acatsgrin’s earliest days and a button for donations. Look for Friends of SV Acatsgrin on Facebook to learn more.
The goal is to have Acatsgrin’s mast raised by the end of 2012. Regardless, Bartlett is determined not to abandon his love.
“If I have to spend the rest of my days dealing with this, I will,” he said. “She will outlive me, without a doubt, and as long as I can take care of her, I will.”
By Erinn McGuire
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Visit the friends of s.c. Acatsgrin page on facebook by clicking HERE.
