Looking to the future

Here at the Dawson Moreland office, we've had more than a few queries from faithful followers of this blog as to what happens now that the Martha Seabury has been turned over to her 'over-the-moon' new owner Billy Campbell, and what's to become of her twin - hull #2.
In terms of the Martha, she returned to Nova Scotia from Rhode Island by way of a short stop in Martha's Vineyard, and just in time for the annual September Classic event here at Lunenburg. Since then Billy and his shipmates from the Barque Picton Castle have enjoyed some fabulous fall sailing and very soon the vessel will be hauled up for the winter here in Nova Scotia.
As for her twin, that schooner is actively for sale. From an exterior perspective, the hull is complete, caulked and painted, with a finished deck, deck structures, ladders to the below, rudder and steering gear. Her interior remains a blank canvas - the perfect opportunity for someone who wants a strong, swift and seaworthy vessel, appreciates traditional craftsmanship and wooden boats, and deserves the custom interior of their dreams. To learn more please click here.
Our goal from the beginning of this enterprise was to bring large-scale wooden boatbuilding - in particular, construction of 'fast and able' wooden schooners - back to the waterfront at Lunenburg so we're by no means done here. If you admire traditional vessels like these, and think it's valuable to preserve and pass on the skills and craftsmanship that go into building them, please help us to spread the word about the Twin Schooner Project and our new Lunenburg Schooners.
We'll do our best to keep you updated on developments with the Martha's twin, as well as new projects that come along.

What a day on the waterfront!

How to put into words the events of August 7th?
It's probably far easier to show you some of the pictures and video taken in the Dory Shop Boatyard as our team here at Dawson Moreland & Associates launched the first of our twin schooners, the beautiful Martha Seabury, yesterday.
Between 300 and 400 people turned out for this truly joyful occasion, joining company president Capt. Daniel Moreland, vessel owner, the incomparable Billy 'Ollie' Campbell, his shipmates from the Barque Picton Castle (her spars showing clearly in the photo above), local dignitaries and of course, our talented building gang (shown with Ollie below).

The vessel was christened shortly after the noon hour by Maggie Ostler, a friend and former shipmate of Ollie's, with a bottle of Jack Iron rum.

Then it was time to send her down the ways - a two-part affair as it turned out. But fetching up midway just added to the excitement as the call went out for all hands (and the fishing/tour vessel Eastern Points) to assist in pulling the Seabury the rest of the way.

Our sincerest thanks to all those who helped make this occasion possible whether with their talents or moral support. It had been 30 years since the last schooner was built on this waterfront when we laid the keels of the Seabury and her twin sister, as yet unnamed, in December 2009. Here's to many more launch celebrations, many more Lunenburg Schooners in the years to come! 

And now, on to the rigging...

For additional images and video, please visit The Dory Shop's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/dory.shop.1 or check out some of the media coverage at http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/hundreds-gather-for-launch-of-schooner-on-lunenburg-waterfront-1.906753 and http://ckbwnews.blogspot.ca/2012/08/video-martha-seabury-launches-in.html

Below decks with Billy Campbell

Actor/adventurer Billy Campbell made a flying trip to Lunenburg on the weekend to help finalize below decks arrangements for his schooner.

Billy, who is currently filming season two of the hit AMC series The Killing (and whose character got shot in the season opener - gasp!), spent Good Friday travelling to The Dory Shop where he met with Dave and Capt. Dan. He also managed a brief visit with his excited shipmates aboard the Barque Picton Castle before boarding a jet plane for the return flight to Vancouver. He was due back on set Saturday morning!

The design for the below decks on Billy's schooner is very simple and open. There will be no real cabins here, but rather big bunks and settees that will make it a sociable craft to sail in. Blond woods and an open layout will keep things airy and well lit, and evoke the feeling of old-time fishing schooners.

He also wants to keep systems to a minimum. So water will be kept in barrels; there will be kerosene cabin lamps, hand pumps and so forth.

To walk you through: heading down the companion ladder, you'll have a fine stand-up galley to starboard and a navigation station and chart table to port; both immediately available to those on deck and ideal for offshore and island cruising. Forward of these, there will be two full length locker/settees that will double as bunks. We'll also be installing a sweet little wood stove to keep things cozy on foggy Nova Scotia (or Norwegian) evenings at anchor.

At the forward end of the cabin trunk, you'll have to duck around the varnished trunk of the bury of the main mast with a large double bunk on one side and two small bunks on the other. These will have curtains for privacy rather than partitions or hard bulkheads. Moving forward there will be a heavy duty work bench on starboard and an enclosed marine toilet and sink on port with full head room under the main hatch. Next there will be port and starboard lockers, the foremast and a V-berth up in the eyes of the hull.

Billy wants to keep the vessel's Hackmatack knees and double-sawn Osage Orange frames exposed, while the steam bent White Oak frames will be covered with a smooth Alaskan Yellow Cedar ceiling.

It's most likely the below decks in schooner two will be nothing like this one. And that's as it should be. After all, these are custom built boats and the aim is to give the customer what he or she is looking for.

In the case of Billy's schooner, the rule is plenty of light and air ~ two things that are good for both wooden vessels and those who go to sea in them.

Look Ma, no jackets!

After months of sweaters, toques and gloves, we've been granted a sweet reprieve of insanely warm weather. Today, like yesterday, it is a startling 24 degrees Celsuis in The Dory Shop boatyard; that's around 75 F for our American friends. It's ideal weather for painting the easternmost schooner and caulking and sealing seams on her twin, the future Martha Seabury.

Of course every Lunenburger worth their salt herring is already predicting when the weather will turn and we'll be back to cool temperatures and maybe even a bit of the white stuff. Still we're all hoping that winter's back is broken and that we might just experience the highly rare (to the point of being fabled) thing they show in the Canadian Tire commercials. I think they call it spring. Here's hoping.

(please note: any typos in this entry were caused by the fact that it is difficult to type with your fingers crossed)

For inspiration

As the weather continues to flip between mild and wild, we offer a little inspiration and some assurance that sailing season will come again.

The image shown, of two Nova Scotia schooners slipping past Kaulback Head on their way out of Lunenburg Harbour, was painted by The Dory Shop's master builder Jay Langford. Jay's also worked on the twin schooners and is an established marine artist.

To view more of Jay's work, and see our daily updates about the twin schooners and the small boats being built at The Dory Shop, please visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000915108918

On to the second hull!

The hull of the stealth schooner (the one being built behind her twin sister and so hidden from view) is 99% complete and the gang has officially moved over to work on the one we generally refer to as "Ollie's boat."

Some snow overnight (too many Nova Scotians bragging about what a mild winter it's been have jinxed us!) but that didn't stop our gang from turning to this morning.

Multi-colour boats

Gabe made a comment about our "multi-colour boats" today. He was working with Dave to install one of the cap rails, which are fashioned from Purpleheart. Below him on the port side, Eva and Gerald were sealing seams with wax on the hull of the first of the twin schooners that we caulked - green wax no less! - and then applying another coat of grey primer to her bottom.

All this led to comments about the crazy, neon yellow sawdust that was created when we were fashioning the double sawn frames from Osage Orange. There was one day Bub looked like a character from a Scooby-Doo cartoon he was so covered! The Alaskan Yellow Cedar hull planking added its own unique hue, as did the Angelique in the bilge and the Wana on deck.

It sometimes seems a shame, as one of our Facebook friends recently pointed out, to paint over such a handsome selection of wood. But it is all part of the process. We selected these materials to create strong and durable hulls that can sail anywhere in the world; now we're treating and preserving them.

But the fresh paint does something else too. In covering the admittedly handsome natural features of the schooners' component parts, particularly here on the hull, it takes your focus away from the wood to instead highlight the beautiful lines of these boats.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

'Primed' for boat show

One of the twin schooners is now caulked and the gang has begun priming her bottom. Hoorah!

Meanwhile, we're primed to be joining Stevens Boatworks and Beta Canada in their booth at this weekend's Halifax International Boat Show to talk about the twin schooners and why we chose a Beta Marine diesel for our schooners. We'll be telling you more about our reasons for choosing a Beta/Kubota in coming posts (the engine should be arriving very soon!). And do come out to Exhibition Park for the show this weekend if you are in the area!

Longer days

Does a person dare say we've had a pretty good winter so far? Good meaning open, little you-know-what to contend with. Probably best left unsaid, huh? After all, it was only above freezing for a few hours today and we're a pretty superstitious lot hereabouts. What is clear is that the days are getting longer and our gang takes full advantage of that as they continue to caulk and fair the hulls of the twin schooners in the fading light of a late February afternoon in Lunenburg.

Testing Med's metal

It was more than a year ago that the team at Dawson Moreland & Associates, builders of these new Lunenburg Schooners, were contacted by New Hampshire-based blacksmith Med Chandler with an intriguing offer.

Med, whom we'd met at the WoodenBoat Show at Mystic in 2010, wanted to give us a full set of his hand-forged caulking irons to 'road test' on our twin schooners.

A former tall ship sailor who started blacksmithing at The Fort At No. 4 living history museum at Charlestown, NH in 2003 and honed his craft while working on traditional vessels like the replicas Discovery and HMS Bounty at the Booth Bay Shipyard, Med recently established his own forge.

He specializes in maritime work including traditional tools and hardware, but also makes handsome fixtures for land-based lives as well. Check out Ship's Coy Forge at www.shipscoyforge.com

Med and his wife Mo took some rare time off last summer to visit the twin schooners and The Dory Shop while attending the Lunenburg Wooden Boat Reunion. At that point, we'd used some of his irons to caulk the decks of the schooners. But the real test of his metal (see, I didn't mean mettle after all!) is taking place right now!

Making the most of mild weather

The twin schooner gang has been taking full advantage of the relatively mild weather since Shutter Plank weekend to fair the hulls, install the cap and rub rails and start caulking these lovely ladies. Dave's also hung one of the rudders.

Although we never know when the weather may turn, we do know that the local groundhog, Shubenacadie Sam, did not see his shadow yesterday and that's supposed to mean that we'll have an early spring. Just what "early spring" means in Nova Scotia is, of course, anyone's guess.

Plugging away

Meanwhile, more video of Billy Campbell fastening the last plank in his twin schooner, the future Martha Seabury, last Saturday is now available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUT5-DcUCbo&feature=share Watch his technique with the rum!

These schooners be planked

A terrific crowd gathered at The Dory Shop Boatyard Saturday afternoon to help us put the last plank in our twin schooners.

As per usual, our boatyard celebration was accompanied by sub-zero temperatures but no matter! The crews of the Barque Picton Castle and the Tiare Taporo (also a project of Dawson Moreland & Associates) assisted in the preparation of several large pots of cider to keep our guests hands and insides warm. The gang also spread a carpet of wood shavings over the ground, providing the best no-skid you'd ever want to use and it looked pretty good too.

At the appointed hour, Dawson Moreland general manager Susan Corkum-Greek welcomed those in attendance to a brief formal ceremony that included remarks from Lunenburg Mayor Laurence Mawhinney and Dawson Moreland president, Captain Daniel Moreland, as well as the listing of all the craftsmen who have worked on the twin schooners.

"I greatly admire and respect the skills and talents of the people who put this together," said Mayor Mawhinney. "They are showing us the wisdom of what you can do with wood in a town that cherishes the wooden buildings, the homes, the churches, the offices, the stores....This is part of our history and heritage, but I think for most of us also it's a very vibrant part of our future."

It was actor Billy Campbell, owner of one of the twin schooners, who did the honours, both fastening the final plank and dousing it with rum (see below).

Currently starring in the hit AMC series The Killing, which films in Vancouver, Billy said he is always grateful for an excuse to be in Lunenburg. He also announced that he is naming his schooner,to be launched later this spring, the Martha Seabury, after his late grandmother.

"I loved her very much," he told onlookers. "I wish she could see this."
So now the deed is officially done, the cider (and rum) are gone and Dave and his gang can proceed with finishing the hull. They're all hard at it down there this morning - well, all except for Dave who is apparently deep in the woods looking for spars.

Riveting work

As a child, did you ever make one of those intercoms with two cans and a piece of string? Neither did Bub. Or at least that's not what he's up to in this picture.
He was listening though, for Gabe, who was inside one of the twin schooners as the two of them worked to fasten the hull planking to the frames.
As you'll see below, the planking is fastened in two ways: in the case of the double-sawn Osage Orange frames, it is done with large silicon bronze screws. In the case of the steam-bent frames, made of White Oak, they are fastened with copper rivets.

Shutter Plank celebration - join us!

We've finally set the date for the long-awaited Shutter Plank celebration for our twin schooners, and all things considered we think it's going to be a great way to brighten up the otherwise dull, grey post-holiday month of January.

So please join us here at The Dory Shop at 175 Bluenose Drive, Lunenburg on Saturday, January 21 at 2 p.m. as we mark this construction milestone and enjoy a bit of true Maritime fun.

As an added bonus, there should be a half-built Banks dory, made by participants in the Nova Scotia Boatbuilders Association's Employment Preparation Program, on display in Plant 1 (half built as they will be mid-way through a two-week course with Jay).

Hope to see you on the 21st!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from everyone here at Lunenburg Schooners!

We've all had a great holiday, even had a bit of snow on Christmas Eve that lasted (rather perfectly) though Christmas and Boxing Day, then melted away so as not to cause us any inconvenience. The full gang is not yet back, but will be soon, at which point we have a little shuttle plank business to attend to.

Meanwhile, we must share the following link. It's to a blog that's kept by Tony's wife, the talented milliner (that's hat maker to yous!) Anna Shoub. Seems Tony made their son a very special Christmas gift this year. Have a look and we're sure you'll agree this is one lucky boy to have two parents so talented and thoughtful. http://www.hatjunkie.blogspot.com/2011/12/castle-for-prince.html