Famed La Conner boat-building family buys its namesake vessel

Some things never change – like the excitement when a Roberts-built boat is launched in La Conner.

And for a few fleeting moments last Friday at La Conner Marina and on Swinomish Channel it was 1960 again as a classic 27-foot Roberts Express Cruiser was the center of attention while being lowered into the water.

Its launching captured the imagination of onlookers gathered at La Conner Maritime Service.

And for good reason.

Salvaged 15 years ago from a dry storage marina on the Snohomish River and tirelessly restored by La Conner residents Bill and Sandy Stokes, the vessel had once been the personal favorite of famed designer Howard Roberts, who had managed production here of more than a thousand stylish fiberglass recreational boats in the 1950s and '60s.

After enjoying the boat for over a decade – it proved, for them, to be the quintessential pleasure craft – the Stokes listed it for sale on a social media marketing site. In time, the posting was viewed by members of the Roberts family.

There was no doubt. They had to buy it.

"It was built in the Jenson's barn for grandpa's personal use," Jay Roberts, a grandson of the late Howard Roberts, told the Weekly News.

Howard Roberts had been part of the Bellingham Shipyards Bell Boy Boats team which in the early 1950s enjoyed success meeting a growing demand after World War II for recreational fiberglass boats.

The appeal of fiberglass in those post-war years was due to it being light, strong and durable – and waterproof. In other words, a material ideally suited for boat hulls.

This was the first Roberts boat, he said, that was built after the seven-year run in La Conner of Skagit Plastics, a subsidiary of Dunlap Towing.

"Gene Dunlap asked grandpa to come down and do this in La Conner," Jay Roberts said. "So, he became the lead designer for Skagit Plastics and off they went."

Eventually, Howard Roberts shifted his focus to top-of-the-line commercial fishing boats. He was joined at Roberts Boat Company, based in La Conner, by his son, Jim, who passed away earlier this year at age 80.

Reacquiring the 27-foot cruiser in time for Jim Roberts' memorial service on Cypress Island northwest of Anacortes later this month took on special significance for the family. The boat, after all, is a source of precious memories.

"We took it to Rosario for our honeymoon," recalled Jim Roberts' wife, Marilyn, among those on hand for Friday's launch.

When Bill Stokes fired up the engine on Friday, it was like time traveling back to the era in which the boat was built – when Eisenhower was still in the White House and few Americans had heard of Vietnam.

"This," said Sandy Stokes, as the motor whirred, "is one of my favorite sounds."

Rob Roberts, another grandson, set off for Cypress Island, briefly stopping in Anacortes, all without a hitch.

"It feels so strange," Bill Stokes said as the vintage vessel left the marina, "seeing someone else driving my boat."

When he saw the boat was up for sale, Rob Roberts could hardly have hidden his enthusiasm. He told his wife, Stacie, that "you've got to look at this. This is my grandpa Howard's boat. We need to buy it."

"Yes, we do," she agreed.

The Stokes parted with it with mixed emotions.

"We loved that boat," said Sandy Stokes, the retired former co-owner and editor of the Weekly News. "We had it for 15 years. Bill spent years working on it and we had a lot of fun on it. It took him a year to get it up and running after we bought it."

When they purchased the boat in Everett, the Stokes' were faced with a major overhaul that truly became a labor of love. Among the bright spots was sanding off an old layer of paint to find the boat's original seafoam hue.

While a bit blue letting the boat go, the Stokes couldn't be happier for the Roberts.'

"This is the best thing that could happen for us," Sandy Stokes said, "for it to go back to the family. It's just amazing.

"It was their grandpa's personal cruiser, a one-of-a-kind," she added, "and they remember it from when they were kids."