Sue Plotnick and Peter Belden were living on a 48-foot Rawson trawler in the early 2000s in Sausalito, Calif. Belden was a ferry captain on San Francisco Bay, a job that allowed him to build an extensive list of potential next boats in his head.
But they wanted more, namely an oceangoing vessel that would also be their home. After extensive research, the couple modified George Buehler’s plans for a steel Diesel Swan 55.
It took almost a decade for this couple to complete Kama Hele, but they wouldn’t change a thing. For them, building a Diesel Duck was bigger than following mail-order plans: It was about transforming a utilitarian design into a both a thing of beauty and a home.
The boat’s name is Hawaiian for “traveler,” and that’s what she has proved to be. In September 2018, they headed south on a three-week shakedown cruise to Catalina and the Channel Islands. In 2019, they embarked for Alaska, where there was countless waterfalls, pristine waters, icebergs and virgin rainforests to explore, as well as fresh grilled salmon for dinner. Homeward bound, off Point Arena, Calif., the couple gasped when a 75-foot blue whale pulled alongside.
Read Stephenie Hollyman’s full report here >>
📸 Peter Belden
