She was built as a reproduction of the longboat from Galiano’s Ship Sutil, by a group of about 70 volunteers from the Vancouver Wooden Boat Society in 1990/91 to commemorate the bicentenary of European charting of the West Coasts of North America in the late 1700’s. Greg Foster of Galiano Island, B.C. researched & designed a number of small boats from the various Spanish & British Ships, including Sutil. Juanita was launched in March, 1991 from the deck of the four-masted Spanish sail training vessel Juan Sebastian de Elcano. In June 1992, Juanita participated in a re-enactment of the meeting of the Spanish & British longboats off Point Grey where charts & information were exchanged in an uncharacteristic display of co-operation between countries competing for the riches of the resources of the New World.

The original longboat from Sutil was built in San Blas, Mexico to take advantage of readily available wood and labour, although the design and many tools would had been brought from Europe. It is likely that the original Spanish longboats would have been constructed with gumwood frames & mahogany planking. The quality of construction and finish would have been much rougher that this reproduction. (In Galiano’s Log there are numerous references to leaking caused by bad construction.) Many of the tools used in the 18th Century were also used in building Juanita: adze, planes, chisels, brace & bit. In a concession to modern materials, sandpaper was used instead of sharkskin.