Custom Steel Boat: Kim Bushnell & Puna

The boat on the far left in this photo is Puna, a 27 foot steel boat built and owned by Kim Bushnell of Nanaimo, British Columbia. I first met Kim in Cape Town, South Africa. We had Tethys at the Victoria & Albert Marina and were preparing for a learning crew member from Victoria, Jane, to come aboard for the crossing to St. Helena and Brazil. Kim is from a well known sailing family in British Columbia (her father is Winston Bushnell), so besides a wonderful northwest North American celebration, we were fascinated to hear her stories when as a girl they were pitchpoled off the Cape we'd just come around the week before! Sobering. In 2001, Kim had hopes of building her own boat with her father and this morning, I'm proud to see that she not only built it, but she's out sailing! Here's a photo Lin & Larry Pardey sent yesterday with their latest cruising news. One of their boats, Taleisin is to the far right in this photo where they were cruising the northwest in summer 2005. Kim designed and built Puna in conjunction with her father on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She was excited by the fact that she could build the boat herself, at a reasonable cost, and that with some welding skills, she could repair the boat anywhere in the world. If you're interested in building a steel boat, this is a woman to meet! Email kaci@concentricom.com and send me your contact information. I'll do my best to connect you.