The Noka: A Cruiser Worth Remembering
A LOT OF BOATS ARE JUST BOATS. BUT THERE ARE A FEW YOU CAN STILL FEEL UNDER YOUR FEET AND SEE IN YOUR DREAMS, LONG AFTER YOU’VE MOVED ON.
As she began to take shape several decades ago, the Noka, the first of my Kodiak Cruiser™ series, promised early on to be something special, named for the Ojibway totemic symbol of strength and courage, “the bear”.
This photo from the Elgin County, Ontario archives was sent to me recently by reader Chris Redman. Its arrival brought with it a flood of memories of a much younger me on deck, as she sat on the hard during construction in a Port Stanley, Ontario, boatyard.
With a broad turtleback main deck, a bow well for safely and securely handling head sails and anchor gear, a powerful wishbone cutter rig, and 15 long tons displacement on a 33-foot waterline, the Noka was stout and steady, designed and built for real work as much as for her handsome look.
Her “turtleback” main deck was more than a stylistic flourish; it was a feature specifically intended to eliminate the vulnerable cabin-trunk-to-deck joint, one that additionally provided her with water-tight reserve stability to well past a 115-degree heel. The Noka was not a yacht that would give up easily.
The heart of the Noka was her Great Aft Cabin, which had a dining table that sat six, two full-length settees, and a small Westerbeke diesel, tucked away beneath the raised sole and so well insulated you could carry on a conversation underway.
For seven years, my wife Susan and I lived aboard and cruised in the Noka. She was our home, as well as our secure traveling companion, truly a boat for all seasons and all reasons.
When the time came to start our family, we knew Noka wasn’t a “weekend boat” and that she deserved more than to sit tied to a dock. Selling her was the right thing to do, just not an easy decision.
Sadly, I lost track of the Noka after she left our hands, although I’ve no doubt she carried her next owner and crew just as faithfully as she carried and protected us. Even now, I can “feel” the solid comfort of her wheel in my hands, and picture her, at times, sliding silently along, across gentle swells and, at other times, driving to windward through steep, not-so-gentle chops, a bone in her teeth.
Yes, some boats fade from memory, while others become part of you. And when the right photo turns up, you realize just how fortunate you are to carry memories of one or more of those special vessels with you.
Do you carry memories of a favorite boat? What was her name? And what made her special in your eyes? Tell us in the comments.
— Phil Friedman
For more technical details of the Noka, plus a gallery of additional photos, see ⬇️
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