New Ironsides

Imagining, designing, and building a south pass 60, part one.

Picking a paint color for your custom 60-foot trawler to match the top of a Rustoleum spray can is not normally the way it’s done. But in the case of the South Pass 60, Congrio.

- Bill Jacobs

NAUTICAL HERITAGE

There is no limit to the number of trawler owners who have dreamed of designing and building the ideal boat, but rarely does everything fall into place. When it does, however, there is usually a compelling story that begs to be told. What led the couple down the path to a custom build, and what gave them the confidence to do it?

The Bradleys have extensive boating and cruising experience upon which to draw. Eric grew up in Southern California, raised by parents who were avid boaters. His father is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and enrolled young Eric in sailing classes and schooled him in the art of celestial navigation. In his high school years, Eric served as race crew and was responsible for returning the boat to San Diego from races that ended in Mexico. He spent some of his summers as crew on a 150-foot purse seiner during South American fishing trips, and when he was in college, he spent summer vacations installing electronics, rigging, launching new boats, and performing warranty work.

Patty’s earliest boating experience took place on inland lakes and rivers around St. Louis, Missouri. When she moved to California and met Eric, they had use of his parents’ boat, an Ericson 37 and later a Kettenburg 50, which they cruised extensively along the Pacific coast. They bought their first cruising boat right after they married. Being admirers of traditional styles, at first they focused on Maine-built lobster boats. “I like traditional boats because they have been developed over centuries by people who spent time on the boats they designed,” Eric said.