21st WoodenBoat Show @ Mystic Seaport_2: Gannon and Benjamin Tribute

Matt Murphy, Editor of WoodenBoat, opens the proceedings.

Matthew Stackpole

Emily Bramwell

Jon Wilson

Nat and Ross, and Carl Cramer,publisher of WoodenBoat

Charlotte

Charlotte

Charlotte

Charlotte

Charlotte

Eleda

Eleda

Eleda

Eleda

above photos copyright Thomas Armstrong

Rebecca launch

Rebecca

Rebecca's interior

Ross and Nat sailing Rebecca

all Rebecca photos courtesy Alison Shaw

Always a treat at the WoodenBoat Show is the tribute dinner, recognizing folks who have made a considerable contribution to the wooden boat community. This years recipients were Nat Benjamin and Ross Gannon, owners, creators and resident gurus of the internationally acclaimed Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway on Martha's Vineyard.  The Railway was born in 1980 as a result of the pair's sailing into Vineyard Haven Harbor and finding no railway to haul them out and so effect repairs. What has grown from their initial impulse has become a unique establishment dedicated to producing the highest quality wooden boats, and something of a cultural fixture on the Vineyard.

As in other years, there was a lineup of several speakers which included Matthew Stackpole, former executive director of the Martha's Vineyard Museum is currently working on the CW Morgan restoration, Emily Bramwell, Vineyard resident and owner of the 24' gaff sloop Nell a Nat Benjamin design built by the yard, Scott Dibiaso, skipper of Juno, the teams largest to date, a 65' schooner, again Nat's design, built at the yard, Brian and Pam Malcolm, current owners of Rebecca which they have sailed 25k miles,designed by Nat and built at the yard, Steve Corkery, legendary boat broker and Jon Wilson, founder of WoodenBoat magazine and who knew these guys before there was a WoodenBoat. 

What emerged over the course of the evening was a portrait of a boatyard unlike any other.  Called a 'magic place' and a 'temple of work' by Matthew Stackpole, he attested to a mingling of the tangible and spirit at the yard. No one, he allowed, is simply a visitor or client at this 'temple', all have a tool thrust into their unsuspecting hands, with some instruction. Emily Bramwell described how the addition of the railway/boatyard had a place in the forging of the islands identity. She related how, after a devastating fire in 1983, the community fell in and helped to save what could be salvaged and participated in the boatyard's resurrection. Scott Dibiaso had worked at the yard prior to becoming the skipper of Juno, recalled that the doors were unlocked and the lights on 24/7 and owners encouraged to work on their boats. Brian and Pam Malcom of Rebecca described the 2nd floor sail loft as pristine and compared it to the chaotic workshop, ankle deep in sawdust. Steve Corkery related an anecdote, which, if I could recall it all, would be titled "you call this a LEAK?". The last speaker was Jon Wilson, and he opened his remarks by reminding us all the work of these two giants of contemporary wooden boat building would not have been remotely possible without the behind the scenes support of their families. He went on to say that the Gannon and Benjamin boats are amazing to sail, a result of the blend of wisdom and experience brought to their design and construction. 

What I took away from the evening was a picture of a place somewhat paradoxical, and therefore very real. A place where a sort of hippie openness, a reverence for tradition, and the highest of work ethics and skill combine to indeed create a 'temple of work'.   I feel I must investigate at first hand!

Now, a disclaimer and an acknowledgement. In the above text I may or may not be quoting directly, but certainly within the spirit of the respective comments. Also, my own photos of Rebecca, taken at the show, were sadly ruined by an undetected bit of stuff on my camera lens, but serendipity came to the rescue. I have recently been contacted by the writing/photo team of Tom Dunlop and Alison Shaw, per a separate matter I'll write about later. These two produced the exquisite book 'Schooner', published by Vineyard Stories. The book is about the building of Rebecca and Alison Shaw kindly sent me some photos from their (highly recommended) work. I can't thank you enough. 

All three boats pictured above are Gannon and Benjamin productions and were present at Mystic for the weekend. The schooner Charlotte is the subject of a documentary film. She is Nat's personal boat, and an archive of her build is found here. Eleda is Ross' boat, designed by his nephew Antonio Salguero

Originally posted on 70.8% by Thomas Armstrong 

A Sunday tour of the Mystic Seaport Campus, ala WoodenBoat Festival 20

Jon Harris and his Chesapeake Light Craft team brought a lot of boats, including the lovely Chester Yawl above. The sail rig belongs to another boat, the Chester is purely for rowing.

The Wooden Boat Rescue Foundation had a presence. Here's a restoration in progress, the boat is a 1931 Clipper 17, an early one design sloop.

Arey's Pond Boat Yard brought this Arey's Pond Daysailer, designed by Antonio Dias.

Jada shows the innovative winged rudder Tony brought to this design.
Read about the development of this design here, in Tony's words.

Jada

The intriguing Reciproa steam launch

Owner/builder Kelly Anderson explaining her details. She burns wood and is almost entirely handmade.
Mr Anderson, I may have someone interested in purchasing your launch, please contact me via email, found in the top left corner of this weblog, just under the header.

Daniel Noyes brought one of his very sweet dories.

Gannon & Benjamin, possibly more widely known and respected for larger projects also build lots of smaller boats. This year they showed up with Minnehaha. Looks like one of their Bella's

Eventually I caught up with Tony Dias, blue shirt, and we hung out a bit. Though we have had a lot of correspondence, this is our first meeting.

It was nice to visit with Med and Mo Chandler of Ships Coy Forge again. They have successfully transitioned from PA to New Hampshire and are going strong.

Tony insisted on showing me their rigging knives. This one is Med's brother knife.

Fine detail on the back edge of the blade. These two are carving out a name for themselves in the Maritime ironmongery business.

Tony pointed out this unusual cabin top, something he'd had a hand in.

A little later we ran into Lance Lee, about to leave for home but here engaged with George Rockwood aboard George's Morning Light.

Morning Light with George, Lance and Tony aboard.

Here's WoodenBoat Senior Editor Tom Jackson opens a demonstration on rigging, one of the last demo's for the weekend.

Matt Otto, head rigger at the Seaport, led the demonstration on rigging. Many of the demo's over the weekend, collected together, gave a detailed account of the boat building process, from lofting, through planking, to rigging.

On my way out, I could not resist this charming little sailing canoe.

Butternut was designed and built by Capt. Pete Culler.

Dessert as offered up by Mystic Seaport.

Mystic opened the warehouse of over 400 boats not on public display to anyone interested.

I was, and it was a rare treat to visit the 'archives'.


all photos copyright Thomas Armstrong

That about wraps it up, hearty thanks to both WoodenBoat Magazine and Mystic Seaport. Indeed, I'd like to thank everyone whose hard work made this event possible, those who were exhibitors, those who brought boats, those who shared their expertise so freely, all who, working together, make this such a great event. See ya next year. I'd also like to specially thank John Eastman and his crew for making this a special weekend with the Icon Boats, bringing them down from Maine, and Michelle Corbeil, Public Relations Director at WoodenBoat for arranging press credentials.

Christian Nielsen's drawings

CD

Book

Frederickssund Jolle

drawings courtesy
Handels- og Søfartsmuseets

Photos courtesy Vikingeskibsmuseet

Marcus Noer


photo courtesy Tom Jackson/Woodenboat Magazine



One of several Frederickssund Jolle built by the Vikingeskibs Museet in Roskilde, Denmark, this boat was featured in a piece by Tom Jackson which appeared in the 2009 issue of Small Boats, published by WoodenBoat.
Mr Jackson was rather taken with the boat and proclaimed: "This 17'8" double-ender can stand comparison to the finest of yacht design, and yet this hull comes down to us from an everyday craftsman for a common fisherman." Regarding her performance, Tom says: " She's an amazingly sprightly sailer and a joy to handle. She comes about like a dinghy, with alight touch on the tiller. The jibs have to be backed briefly, but the boat comes about cleanly and with little fuss. She picks up speed right away on the new tack. Her topsail sets and strikes easily, with no specialized gear."

Lokken Pram

I first found this beguiling and elegant pram in Thomas Gillmer's 'A History of Working Watercraft of the Western World'. The inspired lines of this little boat won me over to the possibility of prams and opened the door to the discovery of Christian Nielsen.
"The structure of this 18' pram is light and strong in the best Norse tradition. As a centerboarder she will perform well and efficiently to windward." She looks to me like good choice for a raid boat, though I might want to alter the sail plan to a lug yawl. Apparently Gillmer was taken with her as well, as he devoted a page to her drawing, above, along with several other Nielsen collections.

drawings courtesy
Handels- og Søfartsmuseets

Here's my gift to any readers who love traditional boats.
In the late 1930's, as motorized boats began to replace the traditional sailing vessels used for fishing in Denmark, the members of the Danish Maritime Museum recognized the need to preserve the heritage these older types of boats. Both financially and spatially unable to procure representative boats, they decided on the next best thing, to have boats measured and described. With help from the Tuborg Fund, the museum was able to hire a man to survey and comment on the threatened and vanishing types of working sail. That man was one Christian Nielsen, a young boatbuilder with a long lineage of boatbuilding. Typically, Nielsen would take a train to the coastal area in question and then proceed up or down the coast on bicycle to take his measurements and gather local knowledge of the type of boat used in that area. Upon returning to the museum he would use the measurements he'd taken to construct drawings of the boat, leaving us with a valuable legacy. He is, in his way, the Danish equivalent of Howard Chapelle in the US, Edgar March and others in the UK.
Nielsen's work culminated in an archive of traditional workboats from all round the Danish coast. The book of Nielsen's collected drawings along with commentary and other illustrations was published by the Danish Maritime Museum in 1977, and is available (in Danish) from them, as is the CD of the drawings, highly recommended. The English edition, published in 1980 with an introduction by Jon Wilson, founder of WoodenBoat Magazine, is out of print and only available second market. I was lucky to get a copy at a reasonable price. The CD is a little difficult to negotiate, but a source of recurring pleasure. If you are given cash at Christmas, or have a little extra and want to play Santa to yourself, or someone else, the CD is a great collection of drawings from which you can build a boat.
I must say that in ordering the CD, and in general asking questions about the Handels- og Søfartsmuseets I was treated to a rare and gracious experience, special thanks to Thorborn and Heidi. The Danes seem to be very generous people.
A Very Merry Christmas to you!