Arks flourished on San Francisco Bay from the 1890s through the 1930s and were the forerunners of the modern houseboat communities in Sausalito and Greenbrae. Some arks were built as weekend dwellings, as duck hunting or fishing clubs, or inexpensive housing that could be towed to deep anchorage, moored to the shoreline, or put up on wood pilings above mudflats, beaches or dry land. Since most arks were built by shipwrights, they had a distinctive style and design for life afloat, even if the dwellings never left the shore. The typical flat -bottom hull was raked at bow and stern allowing it to be towed, a bulkhead was built into the barge for stability, seams were caulked with oakum and pitch for waterproofing, and the area below the waterline covered with Irish felt and a sheath or redwood boards to deter wood-eating shipworms.
Tied to the barge wall was the ark cabin, generally with a bow or arched roof, tongue and groove walls, ceilings and floors. Skylights were a common feature and windows slid sideways into the walls or dropped down to take up less space. Interiors were nautical with sleeping bunks, closets, cabinets, benches, and water storage tanks built in. Many arks had masts to fly their colors and brass nameplates with names like Neptune, Nautilus, Dolphin, Zephyrus, Lizzard and Mudlark.
The hull of Sans Voile was laid up in the 1980's in Seattle, Washington at the Seattle Boatworks. The boat was trucked down to Sausalito in the mid 1980's and has been in town since. For a short period of time the boat was owned by a local doctor then was sold to Terry Pritchett McGuiness who was an accomplished sailor and sailmaker in the Bay Area. She was associated with the San Francsico Yacht Club where she excelled as a yachtswoman. Terry was a sought-after and highly regarded sailmaker who was skilled in the traditional design and construction of classic yacht sails. For over forty years she was an essential employee at Peter M. Sutter Sailmakers located in Sausalito. Her years of experience gave her an innate ability to judge and adjust sail construction without the use of today's computer programs. Terry owned and comfortably lived on Sans Voile for over thirty years. Ownership changed in 2020 when Terry passed away and Michael and Stacy stepped in to become stewards to the floating home. Over two years the couple worked with a team of skilled ships carpenters to restore the Ark to her original glory. You can learn more about the process and the end result on the Before and After page.
Terry McGuiness who left the ark to us grew up in Alameda, California in the world of sailboating. Her parents loved sailing and for many years had an Alden schooner named Cabuff. When Terry was in her early teens her father built her a wooden snipe sailboat which she sailed all around the San Francisco Bay. When the family relocated to Belvedere in the 1950's it wasn't uncommon for Terry to sail across to Sausalito - a distance of a nautical mile to sail around Zaca, Errol Flynn's schooner.
She was an accomplished yacht racer with many wins to her name at a time when women were not given their deserved accolades. Some of her trophies decorate the shelves on Sans Voile. Sailing with Terry was an education where she helped guide the boat with her graceful judgement.
Terry worked for Peter M. Sutter and Mitchell Sails in Sausalito for many years and was an underrated and extremely knowledgeable sailmaker. Whenever Michael talks about the loft he always mentions that the success of the business would have been impossible without Terry's expertise. Between Terry and Bob Eastman they were able to produce beautiful classic handmade sails.
In the late 1980's Terry was looking for a home and had always wanted an ark. Her grandfather, Llyod Whiffen, was a prolific painter during the turn of the century. The landscapes and arks of Alameda were a common subject matter to him. One of his ark paintings hung in her home and in the sailloft. When she learned that Sans Voile was available to purchase she had to have it.
For over thirty years Terry lived aboard Sans Voile with her menagerie of cats and dogs. Potted plants and Turkish rugs paired with bamboo furniture to make the boat her home.
Terry's grandfather Lloyd Whiffen was born in India of English parents on October 5, 1885. Raised in England, he was taught to paint by a local artist who took him to Italy for further study. By 1912 he had immigrated to California. While painting in Yosemite in that year, he met a local girl and was married there.
In 1927 the Whiffins moved to the Monterey Peninsula where they established import shops in Carmel and in the Del Monte Hotel. His pen-and-ink sketches and paintings of missions and historical buildings were reproduced on postcards and stationery from 1925. In 1931 Whiffin and his family moved to Alameda on San Francisco Bay. During the last ten years of his life he painted prolifically in California from Palm Springs to Yosemite. His subjects include landscapes, marines, garden and farm scenes in oil, watercolor, and tempera.