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.

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.

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

Iconic schooners the subject of article and documentary

An article in the latest issue of Classic Boat, titled 10 Iconic American Boats, includes the 'working schooner' and Banks dory.

Of schooners, the UK-based authors write: "We are all familiar with the schooner America and how she trounced the English yachting scene in 1851. America's history created fast cargo, fishing and military ships and that heritage is seen in the consistent use, build and restoration of large schooner like The Pride of Baltimore II, Shenandoah and, of course, Dennis Conner's replica of America."

Of course we here in Lunenburg have had a long, and still passionate, affair with schooners. Indeed that's the subject of a new documentary airing Sunday, December 4 at 12 p.m. on CBC Television's Land and Sea (check local listings).

Brought to you by two bonafide schooner lovers - writer-director Capt. Tom Gallant, of the schooner Avenger, and producer Ed Peill, skipper of the Dorothy Louise - Nova Scotia Schooners takes an in-depth look at these traditional vessels and explores what’s involved with owning and maintaining a piece of living history.

The documentary was filmed this past summer and includes scenes from the Lunenburg Wooden Boat Reunion, the Nova Scotia Schooner Association's annual race week, the reconstruction of Bluenose II and Dawson Moreland's own Twin Schooner Project here at The Dory Shop.

“This documentary demonstrates what happens when people come together around something they find both important and beautiful” says Capt'n Tom. “It highlights one of our most significant Canadian cultural icons and underscores why these traditional skills need to be passed onto future generations.

"The beauty and grace of these schooners is captivating and I'll wager that anyone with even a drop of salt water in their veins will love this film."
So mark the 4th at noon on your calendars. And just in case you miss it, know that once the show has aired, it can be watched on the CBC TV website at www.cbc.ca/landandsea.

Angelique for the garboards

As Danie and Bub continue hanging the Alaskan Yellow Cedar hull planks on our twin schooners, Dave is working on patterns for the garboards, to be made of more of that sawblade-killing, but super durable Angelique. You may recall the sheer planks for these new Lunenburg Schooners (www.lunenburgschooners.com) were also made of this wood. See the gang unloading some of these incredibly dense (dense=heavy as hell!) planks below.

Schooner owner checks in between takes

Billy Campbell, actor, sailor, adventurer and owner of one of our twin schooners, has been hanging out in Lunenburg these last few weeks filming a new movie.

The Disappeared, written and directed by Canadian-born Shandi Mitchell, is a psychological drama about six fishermen fighting to survive after their swordfishing boat goes down during the night in the North Atlantic.

The entire film takes place in the two small dories from which the men abandon their sinking ship. It’s being shot just off the coast here in Lunenburg Bay with cast and crew working long, often wet and tiring days on the ocean. But that’s just fine by Billy, who considers himself lucky to be able to work here.

“What’s not to like about this town?” says the actor, currently appearing in the hit AMC drama The Killing. “I go to work off the railway wharf, right between The Dory Shop [where he can see Dave and the gang working on his schooner] and the Barque Picton Castle,” on which he has made two world voyages – one of the few people beyond the Captain and the ship's cat to do so!

Billy’s also a great fit for the film, in which he plays Mannie, the vessel’s second mate. After two world circumnavigations, he’s certainly an experienced seafarer who’s also up to the physical task of rowing the nearly 20-foot, 500-pound Trawl dories in which the tale is set, not to mention working on the exhausting platform of a rolling ocean for hours at a time.

Filming has taken place in all manner of weather, including heavy wind and rain overnight last night. It wraps up this week and before you know it Billy will be headed to Vancouver to shoot season 2 of The Killing.

The Disappeared hits the big screen next year.

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!

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 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?

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!

Fair weather work

The sun has finally come out and Bub is taking advantage of it to sand the decks of these twin schooners (and also work on his tan!). Meanwhile, Bob got a coat of primer on the rails.

Introducing the new Lunenburg Schooners website

It's been more than a year and a half since we launched this blog to chronicle the building of two classic wooden schooners here at The Dory Shop Boatyard in historic Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. We really enjoy all of the interest and encouragement we've received concerning the Twin Schooner Project and will continue to provide these glimpses of the work taking place in our yard.
But the Twin Schooners are just the first chapter in what we hope will be a whole new era of traditional wooden boat building here in Lunenburg. It's such an important part of this community's history, such a part of our identity; we want to make it a part of our future as well.
And so to tell you more about our plans and vision, our expertise and capabilities, and of course these two lovely vessels currently underway, we have just launched the new Lunenburg Schooners website at www.lunenburgschooners.com
We hope you enjoy it and encourage you to pass it along to friends and fellow sailors.

Brightening a dreary day

After a glorious weekend of sunshine and warm temperatures, the gang returned to work today in a cold, windy drizzle that eventually turned to out and out rain. Not a great start to the week you'd think but then the nicest thing happened. Having read about a kindly gentleman who's been sending Tim Horton's finest to the gang rebuilding the schooner Bluenose II - something we all thought was pretty cool - Dory Plug rather brazenly posted on Facebook that since we are building two schooners, as well as a sailing dory for the Tim Horton's Children's Camp, we should at least get a few timbits. Well, it turns out this man is a Facebook friend of The Dory Shop and before lunch today a taxi arrives with hot coffee and donuts for our damp and grateful gang. Thank you David Carnes for your kindness. It made for a bright spot in an otherwise dreary day!

Deck planks

We've fallen down a bit on posts to this blog lately. Seemed to happen right after Captain Dan left us (maybe we all needed a holiday?). Actually a lot of it has to do with the weather and the fact that while our schooner builders are hardcore, enduring all manner of snow, rain and blood-chilling cold, our photographer is kind of wimpy and likes her nice warm office.

This last week has been particularly tough for the building gang. Monday afternoon brought a quick and dirty snowstorm, followed by desperate deep cold. "The worst week yet," says Dave. Not that he's complaining; he never does. You just see him rub his hands together a bit more often.

But today it's Friday, sunny and finally above freezing, and most of the gang is outside working on the deck planking; the exception being Jay who is building hatches inside The Dory Shop. The wood being used for the decks of these twin schooners is Determa, a very stable and durable South American wood.

Feeding chickens

First off, note to self: never remark on how mild the weather has been lest you cause it to change.

So we got our first major storm of the season here yesterday. I know those of you who rely on newspapers and television to report the weather have been hearing about fierce storms here in Nova Scotia for a few weeks now. But we have really lucked out here in Lunenburg. Even yesterday's storm dumped a lot less snow here than at Halifax or even a few minutes inland.

Still the schooner gang had some snow and ice removal to do this morning before getting down to the real work of the day: paths to shovel, scaffolds and even vessels to salt (pre-salted schooners?). Throwing handful after handful from his salt bucket, Gerald said it was a lot like feeding chickens.

Meanwhile inside The Dory Shop's plant 2, the floors, hanging and lodging knees are being fashioned.

The view from Montague

Here's a picture of the view from the backyards along Lunenburg's Montague Street these days as the gang continues fitting the deck beams on our twin schooners.

Like father, like son

It's a family affair at the Dory Shop Boatyard these days as master builder Dave Westergard's son, Kyle, lends a hand with the deck beams for these twin schooners. Not exactly a mirror image, but there's an intensity of purpose that nonetheless says 'outta my way.'

Rocket schooner launched

It's always great fun to attend a boat launch. And we were particularly pleased to be on hand a few weeks ago for the launch of a vessel that's been described variously as a 'fusion schooner,' the 'next generation of the schooner,' and, our favourite, the 'rocket schooner' Farfarer.

Built for Capt. Frank Blair by Covey Island Boatworks, Farfarer is a 58-ft cousin to the Maggie B., Blair's earlier Nigel Irons designed and Covey-built schooner with which he circumnavigated the globe. Sadly, the Maggie B was destroyed in the same fire that razed Covey Island's former plant at Petite Riviere. Throughout construction, Blair has stressed that he was not looking to recreate the Maggie B. but instead build something new and exciting in its own right.

That he's accomplished with this unique schooner.

During the launch, Capt. Tom Gallant, skipper of the schooner Avenger, thanked Blair for "finding virtue in the schooner rig," while Sandy McMillan of Lunenburg-based North Sails Atlantic, the company that built Farfarer's sails, called her "the next evolution of the schooner rig."

Blair plans to take Farfarer on a voyage inspired by the classic tale The Aeneid.

Visit us at the WoodenBoat Show!

We're very excited to have The Dory Shop and the New Lunenburg Schooners exhibiting at the WoodenBoat Show, taking place at Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT June 25-27.

Please stop by to see Susan at booth #316-317 in the land exhibits area C. We'll have two beautiful dories on display and our new Twin Schooners postcards to hand out.

So one of the pieces (a short one!) shot by the video crew who visited the Dory Shop Boatyard May 21 is up on the Internet. It's actually a promo for the new site, shot with the host alongside one of the framed up schooners (before she impaled her hand on a big angelique splinter). Check it out at http://seaandbescene.com