Flicka Profile: BEN MAIN, Jr

Since 1985, Richard Shepperd has been sailing BEN MAIN, Jr. (Pacific Seacraft Flicka # 315) out of Sutton’s Bay Marina in Traverse Bay (Lake Michigan). He is the second owner of this Flicka which was ordered new from the factory and sailed on Lake Michigan by Ben Main. Richard Sheperd was been aboard this Flicka since its arrival in Michigan. Two years later, he purchased the yet to be named Flicka from Ben Main’s widow and named her BEN MAIN, Jr. in tribute to the original owner. Looking up and down the docks of the marina, almost all of the other sailboats here are marconi sloops. The exception to this observation is the Bristol Channel Cutter that is berthed almost directly across from BEN MAIN, Jr.

The grey hull color is something you don’t often find on a sailboat. Bruce Bingham couldn’t recall hearing of another one. The gold scroll-work and matching cove stripe stand in contrast to the hull color. As one of the eight Pacific Seacraft Flickas that were built with a gaff rig, this sailboat doesn’t share its sail plan with most of her class. This Flicka is really a gaff rig with a stays’l and roller furling 120% genoa. The varnished wood mast and boom stand out in the forest of aluminum masts that line the docks. All of the lines are lead aft to the cockpit, eliminating the need to go forward for sail adjustments or changes. To help balance the gaff-rig, Richard has added a small trim tab to the aft edge of the rudder and uses it to overcome any sail imbalance. Interesting enough, the sail reduction chart contained in The Sail-maker’s Apprentice by Emiliano Marino recommends a trim tab for the primary helm trim for gaff rigs. Richard developed a single cable system that pushes and pulls. The cable is really a short motor boat steering cable. The control end of the cable is run to a brass plate located on top of the tiller. Loosening a single wing nut allows the trim tab to be adjusted. His Flicka is one of only eight built by Pacific Seacraft with gaff rigs and may well be the only grey Flicka out there. Bruce Bingham couldn’t recall another one. BEN MAIN, Jr. is equipped with a dodger, bimini, and with side and aft curtains that enclose the entire cockpit. It adds another room to the boat. (This is the subject of a future article).

Richard has a matching Trinka dinghy named LITTLE BEN. It has matching hull, waterline, and bottom paint colors. It currently has air bladders known as Dinghy Dogs located along the gunnels, improving the stability and buoyancy. The dingy is often used to reach his “other” sailboat, a Sea Pearl tri-marran that is located out in the bay on a mooring. Richard says this little sailboat can reach fifteen knots if sailed in a good wind. A number of years ago, Richard and BEN MAIN, Jr. were the topic of a locally produced television show about small boats. They featured a story about his Flicka and another story about his Sea Pearl. Sailing BEN MAIN Jr. is a joy. The trim tab gets some use when only a main sail is flown. Unfurling the 120% genoa easily balances this classic Flicka and makes sailing easy.

Regretfully, Richard may be selling his beloved Flicka next spring because of health concerns. He is often described by many of the boaters and marina workers as a very nice guy. I hope that he and his Flicka will again be one of the familiar faces and boats in the harbor this summer.