Hawaiian Chieftain

Hawaiian Chieftain is a 103-foot steel ketch built over three years and launched on June 12, 1988 into the Kahoma Stream on Maui. Originally named Sea Addler, she was conceived as a shallow-draft freighter inspired by the coastal trading packets of the 1800s. The vessel was a collaboration between Maui Hawaiian Drake Thomas of Lahaina Welding and California naval architect Ray Richards. Designed with a triple keel so she could be beached in remote Hawaiian coves, her deck and boom system were built to handle freight or even a vehicle. Although her intended career as a working cargo boat never materialized, she soon found a new identity as a charter and educational vessel on the West Coast. For decades she sailed from Sausalito and later throughout the region, carrying students, crew, and tall-ship enthusiasts before eventually falling into disrepair.

In 2021, Aubrey Wilson and her husband purchased Hawaiian Chieftain with the goal of restoring her and returning her to Hawaii. Wilson had worked on tall ships in her youth and knew the vessel when she was in her prime, which made the decision to take on such an extensive rebuild both personal and purposeful. She brought the vessel to the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op, where Arren Day led a multi-year steel restoration. Over the next three years, PTSC welders and metalworkers replaced major hull sections, rebuilt the entire galley deck, and addressed widespread steel rot as each new area was opened for repair. In addition to the structural work, Hawaiian Chieftain received a full exterior paint job, complete rewiring, and an all-new electrical and propulsion system. The engine room was gutted, treated, and repainted before new engines and a substantial battery bank were installed by Chris Sanok and Todd Lee. The rebuild also included new chainplates, a hand-carved padauk helm stand, new teak stateroom windows, and a full reconstruction of the steel mainmast. Working with naval architects and the Coast Guard, PTSC successfully reinstated the vessel’s Certificate of Inspection.

The restoration also benefited from the knowledge of PTSC crew member James “Shiney” McClurg, a former captain of Hawaiian Chieftain who was able to identify rigging, sails, and onboard systems that had long been in storage. His operational familiarity helped guide decisions ranging from sail selection to the practical realities of life aboard, including corrections to ventilation systems that only a previous captain would have known to flag. After three years in the yard, Hawaiian Chieftain returned to the water with renewed structure, systems, and spirit. She has since sailed to Neah Bay and throughout Admiralty Inlet, turning heads each time her square sails rise against the horizon. Now offered for sale by Wilson, Hawaiian Chieftain awaits her next steward, ready for a new chapter and fully prepared for the voyages ahead.