Tradition Leads

"I went fishing in an aluminum boatand the engine quit, and I went drifting."

Elford Dilbert remembers, "Out there drifting. Well, I prayedto God that if I ever made it back I would never go drifting again.I would build a Catboat and with that I could sail or oar or paddlebut I would nott drift."

Elford has now made Catboat building his habit, producing at aprolific rate, he has just started his fourth Cayman Catboat,finishing three others in under six months. Elford names his Catboats,Tradition. And in the tradition of his family he has returnedto this love of the shipwrightís work. Born in the CreekDistrict of Cayman Brac sixty-three years ago, Elford grew upwatching one of the great names in ship and boatbuilding, hisuncle, Arthur Dilbert, work.

"I used to watch my uncle, who I think built more Catboatsthen anybody in the Brac."

Uncle Arthur showed the young boy the how to and whys of thisuniquely Caymanian vessel with its complex and concave blendingsthat resulted in a beautiful double-ended smooth passage smallboat. In the Brac they were used primarily for fishing and turtlefishing. In the Brac they hunted the Hawksbill Sea Turtle witha trap net, a long conical net with a heavey loop at one end thatneeded to encase the moving turtle letting the net entangle whatcould weigh three hundred pounds of fighting reptile and its sharphooked beak.

The Cayman Brac Catboat, first developed bu Dan Jervis in 1904,had to be a very manoeuvrable boat, capable of backing up suddenlyto follow the Hawksbill by oar or paddle. As well, the Brac Catboatmight be called upon to sail long distances down in the Cays,mainly east of the Miskitos, so they had to be fast and comfortableon the helm. The Brac Catboats were different than the Grand CaymanianCatboats in several ways and for several reasons. The Brac boatwas usually smaller because trapping Hawksbill required one turtletobe stowed aboard the boat at a time, and they were easier to manipulateunder 16-feet. The Caymanian boat caught mainly Green Sea Turtlewith swinging in the current ìgate netsî, using theCatboats as a pick up vehicle more than a chase boat. So, theGrand Cayman Catboats were built larger and beamier to take loadsand still be able sailers in an seaway.

The Brac boats did not, as a rule, use weather boards off theirsides with a rider using his own weight to counter balance theboat as did the Grand Cayman boats with their larger sail area.The general Cayman Catboat does not have a deep keel or a centreboardand is sharper in the stern than a bow, so the design has to approachperfection if the vessel is to perform under sail to windward.

Elford Dilbertís Tradition II won the Red Sail Sports QueenísBirthday Challenge with over two minutes before the next boatcrossed the finish line, so Elford feels he is on the right trackwih his design and construction. Luckily, he has been workingwith his hands for the last 23 years of his working life risingto building superintendent with Public Works. After leaving boatbuilding,Elford shipped out for 10 years with National Bulk Carriers, thencame home to work at Beach Club Colony, then on to Public Works.After retiring from Public Works he was in a dilemma, ìIcanít stop working.î Now, he is a private contractor,known for his building projects on Grand Cayman.

Elford Dilbert has his Tradition up for raffle to assist the CaymanCatboat Clubís fundraising efforts that will aid in theconstruction of more Catboats. A Catboat sailor himself, he islooking forward to the October Month of Catboats races and theBest Cayman Catboat Contest. He also has his Tradition I for saleto finance his habit of building them.

Rubbing his hands over a piece of Popnut for the timbers of hisnewest Tradition. Elford confides, ìI want to win themboth."

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