A Belvedere saloon keeper who built Freda with his own hands in 1885 and named her after his daughter. She is still sailing, which makes him the earliest builder in this atlas whose work is still afloat on the Bay.
- Trade
- Saloon keeper in Belvedere; part-time boatwright
- Where
- Beach Road, Belvedere Cove, near the W. S. Stone boatyard
- Freda
- Built 1885 and named for his daughter; rock-elm frames, Douglas fir planking, dish-shaped hull, centreboard, tiller
- Status
- Freda is documented as the oldest active private sailing yacht on the West Coast
- 1885Freda — gaff sloop; later given twin iron shoes, wheel steering and a yawl rig
Sourcing notes & unresolved questions
- No source establishes whether Cookson designed Freda as well as building her. Birth and death dates not found.
- Freda's restoration history is well documented — Harold Sommer in the 1950s, then a fifteen-year rebuild by the Arques School culminating in her 2014 relaunch — but Cookson himself is barely recorded.
- Freda's description as the oldest active private sailing yacht on the West Coast is widely repeated, including by outlets independent of the Spaulding organisation, but every account appears to trace back to Spaulding and Arques School material. No register or independent body was found adjudicating the claim against rival contenders.
Wooden Boat Atlas v3.0 · built 30 July 2026 · a project of the Golden Gate Wooden Boat Foundation · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · open data · corrections