Sonic was first used to test Sono Buoys (read Hunt for Red October -- these are the military sonar buoys used to find submarines and were first invented in the early 1950's).  I guess this is why she is called a "research vessel" and we already know this is the source of the name.

The most significant modification to the original design has been that the center board was replaced with a solid winged steel keel.  The previous owner said the center board needed a lot of maintenance and whenever it was not tightly adjusted, sleeping in Sonic was like sleeping in a big church bell as the center board would 'gong' from side to side in its slot.  To avoid the noise, the centerboard could be raised, but this would then make the boat roll excessively in the night. The previous owner was  a professional welder from the Alaska pipeline, so he just took out the center board and replaced it with two large wings. They seem to work well and the Sonic's 29 ton hull only draws seven feet with its new keel and still points very well to weather.

Restoration of Sonic's steel hull has been a large project with many challenges.   We had to gut the whole interior, as is normal in the restoration of a steel boat, to provide full access to the plating and to avoid the risk of igniting interior jointer work when welding.  We had to replace parts of the hull and the whole roof and cabin sides, etc... all the very old wiring and scarf sections of the wooden mast.  Sonic still has its 1950 Detroit Diesel 371 engine, which just keeps going.  The whole project has been a lot of fun.

Bill Bezy

Sonic is for sale, January 31, 2007. Listing at: http://www.asiayachtservices.com

Sonic's own web site, with more information and lots of photos:  http://sonic.bailongma.com/

e-mail: wdb@netvigator.com