Some planking pics

Just a couple of pictures of the ongoing planking of our beautiful twin schooners on this sunny day at The Dory Shop in Lunenburg!

Planking 'em up

It seems like forever since we have posted anything to this Twin Schooner blog. And in fact it has been a month and a half.



While Bub worked all summer (poor guy!) and Dave dropped by from time to time, it all tended to be rather small, if important work and didn't make for especially captivating photographs.


That changes now that Dave is back at work (and so happy to have a camera in his face as you can see at below) and planking can begin in earnest.

Already Dave and Bub have a couple of planks hung and starting Monday we have two additional hands joining us (well four hands, two people), which will make things move along a lot more quickly.

Over the summer, Bub did a superb job finishing the decks, by the way. We also had a couple of hatches made by Kevin at Lahave Marine Woodworking. Constructed of Wana with Purpleheart runners, they're really gorgeous and work like a charm.

This weekend, we welcome the Nova Scotia Schooner Association to The Dory Shop for their annual September Classic. Dave's Sea Change is just one of the many handsome schooners in town for tomorrow's race, after which everyone comes over to The Dory Shop for awards and festivities. The big tent is already up in the boatyard and everyone is psyched for the event!

Excuse me, I have a cabin top to deliver...

The second cabin top was walked down the street from Tony's workshop earlier today. This time our route managed to take us right through a film set for the television series Haven, which films in Lunenburg from time to time. That was pretty funny actually. Then it was down Montague Street to Bluenose Drive, into the Dory Shop Boatyard, around Billy's schooner (another obstacle we didn't have last time!) and then up on deck and into place. Whew! Many thanks to the extra hands from the Picton Castle crew (you can see the masts and yards of their ship in the background of the last picture) and congrats to Tony for another beautiful piece of work!

A Bluenose visit

An email over the weekend asked what was up with the lack of new photographs here on the Twin Schooners construction blog. "Is it vacation time?," it asked.

Well, yes and no. Yes, Dave has taken a few weeks off to mind the farm in Tusket and sail his schooner Sea Change. He still checks in from time to time to provide instruction and generally harass Bub (little joke there Dave!), who continues to work on the decks. Meanwhile, Tony is completing the cabin top for the second schooner. So work continues, to be sure, but nothing too dramatic in terms of photographs for the moment.

That said, it was kind of funny to walk down to the boatyard this morning and see Capt. Dan walking about with one of our most stalwart supporters, the skipper of Nova Scotia's sailing ambassador, the schooner Bluenose II, Capt. Phil Watson. Capt. Watson helped lay the twin keels you'll remember and has shown keen interest in the project at every phase.

So the two men were having a good close look at the deck and cabin houses of Billy Campbell's schooner when they decided to 'go below' and sat among the frames to continue their conversation. That, we thought, made for a pretty interesting picture.

Enjoy!

A deck house parade

Folks travelling along Lunenburg's Montague Street just after lunch today smiled, and in some cases scratched their heads, to see five men walking a deck house down the road.

Their destination? The Dory Shop Boatyard where the house was carefully lifted and placed aboard the westernmost of our twin schooners - the one being built for actor Billy Campbell.

You see, Billy (currently starring in the AMC hit, The Killing) and Captain Dan are sailing into Lunenburg tomorrow aboard the Barque Picton Castle as the ship returns from a triumphant 30,000-mile voyage around the world. Both are anxious to see what progress has been made on the vessels, and in Billy's case, he won't have much time before he must jet off to work in Hollywood, so Dave wanted a chance for him to see the deck house and also ensure the cabin will accommodate his 6' 4" height.And so for the last number of weeks, one of our schooner crew, Tony Chaplik, has been working blessedly out of the rain in a shop just up the road from The Dory Shop.

Tony's the perfect guy to be building these pieces. With nearly 40 years experience as a cabinet maker, builder of fine furniture and boatbuilder, he's inspired by the challenge of the project.

"Making a part and then putting the parts together, whether a chair or a boat or a house, it's very satisfying," says Tony, who started his career in a cabinet shop in Maine. He then worked at the Paul E. Luke Boatyard in Boothbay before spending two years at the prestigious North Bennet Street School in Boston.

The oldest craft and trade school in America, that was "a real hot spot to be," says Tony. "We did a lot of hand work. It was definitely not your average trade school."

Tony went on to operate his own shop, Marblehead Cabinetmakers, which produced fine furniture, cabinetry, exquisite circular staircases and always, always there was boat work.
While operating a sawmill business, he was introduced to master boatbuilder Harold Burnham. He cut practically all the wood for the schooner Thomas E. Lannon and joined Harold as a full-time carpenter on the Pinky Schooner Fame. He also worked at the New York mill shop Big Tree, doing commission pieces, including very fine furniture, doors, windows and trim work for upscale apartments in the city.

Asked what it is that motivates him, Tony shrugs. "I just like buildings things..particularly things that are difficult and demand that they're done right."

Now doesn't that sound like just the right guy for our schooners?

Look ma, no plans!

We're very proud to tell people that these twin schooners, being built at The Dory Shop by Dawson Moreland and Associates, are being constructed in a very traditional manner including double-sawn frames, wooden trunnels and the like. Our selection of materials is non-traditional in that rather than using locally sourced lumber, as would have been used in the fishing schooners of years ago, we're being very selective and only employing materials that are very durable and rot resistant, ones that can produce a boat capable of sailing in tropical climates as well as the North Atlantic.

One of the most traditional aspects of the build is the fact that we are building from a wooden half hull designed by Dave Westergard and without benefit of any paper plans. Those plans will come later, once these two schooners are completed, with an eye to the day when someone comes along (can't wait!) wanting to own schooner number 3, 4 or 5 in the class.

Now we've always considered the half hull a thing of great beauty, showing, as it did, the lines from which the schooners are being built. But with the hull coming together, Dave thought it was time to take this little lady to the ship modeller's salon for a little make over. Check out the results below.

Crossing the bar

It is with genuine sadness that we write of the passing of Capt. Matthew Mitchell, 93, of Lunenburg.

Capt. Mitch started his long career fishing in dories at the age of 14, he worked his way up the deck to become a highliner skipper out of Lunenburg, 'retired' to spend another 30 years sharing his experiences with visitors at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic and was always just the most lovely, kind, generous and encouraging man one could hope to meet.

In December 2009, Capt. Mitch joined Capt. Phil Watson of the Schooner Bluenose II in driving the ceremonial spikes at the keel laying for these twin schooners. He also visited the boatyard on many occasions to check in on our progress.

Our condolences to his family. He will be missed!