Polynesian Concept Revisited

An update on a classic C/S/K design

I recently had the opportunity to get aboard Polynesian Concept, a 34-foot l.o.a. cat designed and built by C/S/K for legendary actor Buddy Ebsen (Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones) in the late 1960’s. ‘POLYCON,’ as she came to be called, was designed to enable Buddy to enjoy good performance without the need for a large crew. Although friendly rival Jim Arness’ 58-foot C/S/K cat SEASMOKE was the first boat to finish in the 1968 Multihull Trans Pacific race, POLYNESIAN CONCEPT won the race on corrected time.

After a lifetime of racing and cruising her up and down the California coast, just prior to his death, Buddy sold POLYCON, and after changing hands once or twice, she ended up on the island of Maui.

From a design standpoint, like most C/S/K cats she was built of cold-molded plywood but with resorcinol glue, not epoxy. Warren had a serious allergic reaction to the epoxies of the early 1960’s and avoided them as much as possible. Although she was designed and built for cruising, Buddy wanted to be competitive so her scantlings were very light, and her general arrangement and deck layout were simple and functional.  Essentially a new design, distinct from her 30-foot class C/S/K predecessors, POLYCON borrowed from the design and sailing experience of IMUA, PATTYCAT II and their derivatives.

As the photos show, she is in surprisingly good condition for a 40-plus year-old boat!

Barry Choy