Power boats, sailboats and even an electric boat on display at Olympia Wooden Boat Fair

The 2016 Olympia Wooden Boat Fair ended Sunday the same way it began: under blue skies, while hundreds of people gawked at more than a dozen boats tied up at Percival Landing.

There were sailboats, power boats and the Hammer P, a 35-foot Owens that was converted to electric power from gasoline power about 10 years ago, the owners, Kerry and Helen Jamieson, said Sunday.

The Hammer P calls Long Branch home, which is in the southwest corner of McNeil Island, Kerry Jamieson said.

Their boat was hard to miss because it’s painted purple and white. Purple is Helen’s favorite color, and she and her husband were wearing purple as they talked to passers-by and guests invited aboard.

The Jamiesons bought the boat in 2000 and decided to switch to electric power in 2006. The boat was built in 1966. By 2006, the gasoline engines were worn out, Kerry said. Each time he hit the ignition switch, the engines would belch some black gunk onto the surface of the water.

Now, 24 batteries power two, 12-horsepower electric motors — one for each propeller. The boat cruises at 4 knots, which isn’t far from the 6-knot speed they used to achieve under gasoline power.

Some might wonder why it doesn’t travel faster and that’s because of its design, Kerry said. He said the hull wasn’t designed in a streamline fashion to cut through the water. Rather, it has a semi-planing design that generates a lot of friction with the water, he said.

Still, there are some clear advantages to electricity. The last time the Jamiesons filled the boat with gasoline it cost them $370 — enough for a three-day weekend. On a full charge, they can cruise about 10 hours, or 40 miles. They have been as far as Port Townsend and have participated in the Wooden Boat Fair 14 times, they said.

When they need to charge the batteries, they either do it with shore power or by firing up a generator.

They used to travel about in a smaller boat, but then discovered the Hammer P in Bremerton. As much as Helen wanted the boat, she couldn’t get the numbers to work and decided that it was too expensive. Meanwhile, her husband showed up one day to get her opinion about colors.

He asked her which color she liked, and after she responded, Kerry said he had “bought two cans of paint ... and the boat.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2016 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Power boats, sailboats and even an electric boat on display at Olympia Wooden Boat Fair."