1935: Built by Neil Banks, at the Kruse & Banks Shipyard in North Bend, OR.  Neil’s brother Robert was half owner of the yard.  Neil was a shipwright who worked in the yard doing interior woodwork on big ships by day.  I spoke and met with his niece, Mary Granger, in 2013.  She says that over the course of his life Neil built himself three small cruisers.  The first one, the Heather II, was built in the late 20’s or early 30’s.  She does not know what became of her, but gave me a picture.  Afton (we don’t know for sure if this was what Neil called her originally) was Neil’s second boat, completed in 1935.  She has photos of the boat nearing completion in the boat yard, sitting at the dock in the yard, and at anchor on a river with Neil and his wife Rhoda in the cockpit.  In ~1939 Neil completed his third and final boat, the Aurora. Mary also has pictures of that boat both under construction and after completion.

1939 to 1956: We assume that Neil would have sold Afton once he finished building Aurora, but we don’t know exactly when he sold it, or to whom. We don't know who brought her north from Oregon to Washington, or when. We speculate that perhaps it was put into service by the Navy or USCG in WWII for coastal patrol, and then ended up as surplus at the shipyard in Bremerton after the war ended.

In June 2026 I was contacted by Robert “Chris” Christesen who saw photos of Afton online and reached out to tell me that his grandfather, Christian “Cap” Christensen had owned it in the late 1940's after he retired from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton. Cap called the boat Afton, and Chris sent some pictures of the boat on Hood Canal near Tahuya, WA, in the 1940s in which the name is partially visible on the transom. Cap kept the boat at the Bremerton Yacht Club, and Chris is trying to track down more information and photos.

Cap was born in Denmark, and worked on boats from the age of 13, starting on sailing vessels including tall ships and whalers until 1900. He joined the US Navy in NY in 1901. Retired  in 1921 after 10 years as Tugboat Captain and Pilot. Received Coast Guard license as Ships Master any tonnage any waters. Hired as civilian position of Chief Pilot at the Bremerton Navy Shipyard. He retired in 1946 and died 1962.

Cap was an avid fisherman. He used Afton for Salmon fishing on many occasions in both Puget Sound and Hood Canal. He was a highly admired local figure and active  in everything from being instrumental in establishing scouting in Kitsap  County, to skippering while in Puget Sound and the Straits as PSNS Chief Pilot. He was the pilot who would bring every major ship in the Pacific Fleet into Bremerton when they came in for repairs.

Chris does not know exactly when or where Cap got the boat, or when or to whom he sold it… but given the late 1940s ownership it is quite possible that Cap sold it to the Wileys.

July 6, 1956: L.W. & Elizabeth Wiley, of Port Blakely, WA (on Bainbridge Island) apply to register the boat with the USCG.  The oldest charts on board also dated from the late 50’s, and they are of Puget Sound.  No Oregon or coastal charts on board.  The USCG document identifies the engine as a 150 HP “Kermath” gas engine.  Unknown when Wileys acquired the boat, or how long they owned it.  In the 1950’s they had the cabin house redesigned by Ed Monk Sr.  Construction was done by Foss Boat & Joiner in Port Blakely.

Early 1960’s: The boat is purchased by B. Sinclair Wilt, a doctor on Bainbridge Island.  I spoke with Wilt’s son (also Sinclair, who lives in Anchorage) in March 2014.  He told me that he believes his father bought the boat from the Wileys.  He also remembers his father replaced the old gas engine with the current six cylinder diesel at some point in the late 70’s or early 80’s.  He says his sister lives on Bainbridge and might have photos and other documentation about the boat.  He will try to get me in touch with her.  Wilts sent out a family holiday card in the early 60’s showing all of their kids posed on the bow wearing matching sailor outfits.  I have a copy.

June 3, 1988: Wilt sells the boat to Thomas D. Haggar for $7,500.  Haggar was another doctor on Bainbridge.  Wilt had retired from practicing medicine two years earlier, and by 1988 he was terminally ill.  I spoke with Haggar in March 2014.  He says Wilt approached him and said “I want to sell you the boat.”  Haggar at first refused saying  “I don’t want it.”  But Wilt insisted “it will make me feel good to know you’re taking care of it.”  Haggar explained that Wilt had hired him in the early 70’s when Haggar was a young doctor.  He remembers going to interview for the job on Bainbridge, and Wilt took him out for a cruise on the boat.  Wilt had been a mentor, a friend, and a business partner.  Haggar was also his doctor, and was caring for him.  He simply couldn’t say no.  So in 1988 he bought the boat.  Less than a year later Wilt died.  Haggar renamed the boat “Sinclair” in Wilt’s honor.  He says he doesn’t remember when the transom was repainted, but he knows he made the decision while Wilt was still alive.  “I told him I was doing it, and that made him happy.”  Haggar also says it was Wilt who installed the diesel engine, although he’s not sure when.  Haggar installed the skylight in the forward cabin.  He found it for sale on Bainbridge, thought it looked age appropriate, and had always hated how dark it was down below.  Haggar also provided me with a copy of the plans that Ed Monk drew up for the redesign of the house in the 50’s.  He says he has some other photos, documents and artifacts that he will give me.

Early 1990’s.  Haggar was keeping the boat in Eagle Harbor marina, inside a floating boat house.  There was a large snow storm, and the boat house collapsed under the weight of the snow.  There was substantial damage to the boat.  The boat house itself nearly sank, and the mooring lines nearly pulled the boat down with it.  Haggar says they had to cut the mooring lines to free the boat from being dragged down, and doing so was very dangerous due to all the tension on the lines.  The boat was saved, and the wreckage of the boat house was taken ashore and burned.

June 2001: Haggar has some work performed at Dockside Sales and Service in Port Orchard, WA.  Work included bottom paint, replacing zincs, head plumbing, revarnishing the transom, repainting the boot stripe, servicing the engine, rewiring the batteries, installing new DC electrical panel, installing red dot heater, and installing volt meter and engine hour meter. 

February 2013: Title is transferred to Wendell Gregory for reported sale of $1,000.  Haggar says the sale price was $3,000 but “I know I basically gave it away.  I wasn’t using it, I knew it needed a lot of work, and I just needed to get rid of it.”

May 2013: Paul Drayna purchases the boat from Gregory. Within days after purchasing the boat, I discovered the 1956 USCG document in a drawer (literally under a pile of rusty old fishing tackle), which gave me the name “Neil Banks,” and started me down the path of piecing together the history.

January - March 2014: Hauled at Canal Boat Yard in Seattle for the first phase of major restoration work. Stripped all paint from waterline down.  Replaced two planks entirely, and three partial planks, all at bow (one full plank on port, the rest all on starboard).  Removed lead piece from bow stem; removed soft wood around lead; installed new fir patch on bow stem.  Removed old rusted keel shoe; replaced with stainless steel keel shoe from just below bronze trim on bow stem, to approx. five feet aft on keel.  Refastened below waterline to reinforce original galvanized nails.  Replaced rudder and rudder shoe with new stainless steel.  Cleaned and balanced propeller.  Removed old mahogany skin on transom.  Sanded and sealed fir planks underneath.  Installed new mahogany skin on transom; varnished and applied new name and hailing port lettering.  Fresh enamel paint on hull and trim from waterline up.  New bottom paint from waterline down.  Stripped, repaired, recaulked and refinished all decks. Removed light mast.  Removed old VHF antenna and radio.  Sealed numerous through-hulls including old bilge pump outlet, head water intake and overboard discharge, and others no longer in use (two on transom, one on aft starboard).  Replaced all bilge pump hose, and routed through new thru-hull fitting under galley sink.  Installed new thru-hull for head sink drain.  New water inlet installed in bilge with seacock, with supply hose to toilet.  Gutted head (including old toilet and treatment system).  Created hatch under salon table and installed 25-gallon waste holding tank.  Installed deck fill for waste pump-out, as well as manual pump and thru-hull for overboard discharge from holding tank.  Removed old iron exhaust pipe and through hull on transom.  Installed new exhaust hose from muffler to transom, with new 3” bronze transom fitting.  Replaced stern and breast cleats.  Replaced vent covers on aft deck with new bronze fittings.  Removed dinghy cradles.