THANK YOU ROGER PALMER!: This Part of the website and many others of this site were taken from Tetu's previous website built by Roger. Roger had done such a good job I coudlnt really have made it better. Just a few minor changes were made to show the new ownership.

Tetu was previously owned by Roger and Chris Palmer. Before they owned Tetu, all there boating was done under sail. Roger have been sailing since the mid-50's, and Chris has been sailing since they were married in 1970. They Had owned a variety of sailing craft (Soling, 470 dinghy, C&C 30, C&C 36, Baltic 42) that we raced on the Great Lakes and the Pacific Coast.

In the late 80's they discovered that we were doing more cruising than racing. They also found that we were cruising further and further from there home port of Seattle, and they were using the engine more and more often in order to get to the remote BC anchorages. They enjoyed cruising in the winter time as well as the summer, and it can get quite cold and wet out in the cockpit on a typical West Coast winter day! They were ready for a power boat!

They had decided that they didn't want a modern "go-fast" plastic boat that had piles of room but was unsuitable for heavy weather. They wanted a "proper boat" that was seaworthy and capable of handling any kind of weather. Because of the large amount of floating wood and deadheads in the Pacific Northwest, they wanted a single engined vessel, with the propellor down low and completely protected by a full length keel. They wanted walk-around decks, self-sufficiency, and long range. They wanted a quiet boat with an inaudible exhaust. They needed 3 staterooms - one for them, and one for each of their two children. Roger wanted a workshop and easy engine access.

Roger and Chris started their search in mid-1990, and after looking all over North America, finally found "La Vita" (previous name) at Orcas Island in early 1991. They liked the external lines of this boat, but the interior layout was not suitable, and the systems left a lot to be desired. The hull was well designed, the structural integrity was fine, there was little corrosion, and the engine had good internals. It was obvious that the interior had been put in some time after initial construction by someone unfamiliar with yacht standards. Roger and Chris purchased La Vita in February of 1991 as a project.

The previous ownerm Roger Palmer was able to determine the following history for the boat-

Paul Grenier designed Tetu and had her built next to the St. Lawrence river in a town near Montreal in 1975. There is a LOT of welding in the lapstrake hull! Tetu passed through several other owners and had at least two interiors until she ended up in Florida as a live-aboard in the late-80's. She was removed from the Canadian Ship's registry when she left Canada, and at some point was re-named as "La Vita".

Gerry Morris of Orcas Island purchased La Vita from the owner in Florida in early 1990, added safety systems and spares, and brought her through the Panama Canal and up to Washington State. Gerry is a very resourceful person, and he has rebuilt several commercial craft - he was in the middle of rebuilding Hobbit (a 65 foot extended Army T Boat) at the time Roger met him when he inspected La Vita at his dock. He had intended on rebuilding La Vita himself, but was too involved in his other projects, so put the boat on the market "as is and where is".

Roger and Chris knew they were undertaking a big project, but it looked like the ideal size and style of vessel, and they would have the chance to design our own interior and systems. They contracted with Northwest Yacht repair of Seattle to do the conversion. A new interior layout was designed and all new systems were specified. They agreed that the interior workmanship was to be of "yacht quality", whereas the exterior components and finish was to be of heavy duty commercial quality. All systems were to use first rate components with absolutely no compromising. Wherever possible, redundancy was built in.

Northwest Yacht Repair had 4 to 5 workers assigned to the project during the week, and I worked on the boat every weekend (often with steelworkers, yacht riggers, technicians, and painters)

Two weeks after taking delivery at Orcas Island, Tetu (we restored her original name) was completely gutted - all they had left was an empty steel shell and an engine. Over the next 18 months,they rebuilt all the systems, installed a new interior, and re-finished the boat. The following photos show some of the rebuilding process:

The renovation job was finished at the end of 1992. Of course, this type of project is never completely "finished", and major work (additions, modifications, upgrading, etc.) continued every year thereafter!

In 1994 Roger and Chris decided to move to Victoria, B.C., so they returned Tetu to the Canadian Ship's registry and moved North.

On March 17 2006, Roger sadly delivered Tetu to a new owner (Phil Slater).

Since Phil Slater has owned Tetu even more modiifications have been made to Tetu. The construction of these can be seen here. She is all finished now and I will update the site with pictures of the newer additions soon.