John Gardner Small Craft Workshop at WoodenBoat Show, Mystic Seaport

It was a multipurpose trip to the WoodenBoat Show at Mystic Seaport last weekend, show my boat “MALU”, and to participate in the John Gardner Small Craft Workshop.  Mystic is a special place made more so by the WB show and the extra privileges granted by the Seaport.                 During the show you can stay on the Joseph Conrad for $15 a night for Friday and Saturday nights. You sleep on pipe berths, and give up privacy, but you have hot water showers, and you wake up in the morning on the Museum grounds before the crowds arrive.                                           Use boats for free. Members of the Traditional Small Craft Association bring their own boats and allow the public to use them, and the Seaport’s Livery boats are available also. You get to try out different types of boats and see the show from the water.                                       Tour the Museum’s Small Boat Collection, take a self-guided tour or go with the TSCA for a guided tour on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.       small craft collection at Mystic Seaport from Michael Jones on Vimeo.            ...

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Aunt Louise an 18’6″ W. Garden Eel

The Aunt Louise, a William Garden designed Ell was built at the turn of the century (this century) by Gordon Swift with assistance from owner Davis Hammond. Named for Hammond’s aunt Louise Dupont Crowninshield and home ported at Davis’s Boca Grande home, on the west coast of Florida. Strip planked of Spanish Cedar, with Black Locust keel and floor timbers. We purchased the boat in February 2014 and re-commissioned her at the Classic Craft Fest at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron on Long Boat Key in April 2014. The Eel is a great design for the shoal waters of Florida’s west coast, this was built with an open cabin for ventilation.                                         Some photos : https://www.flickr.com/photos/aireheads/sets/72157642763325984/   Simon’s video, from his blog  Planing Around  ...

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Clark Mills and the Optimist Pram

Most sailors, or at least most racing sailors are familiar with the Optimist Pram, but may not know the story of how or why it was developed. That is one of the reasons we are building the McKay Creek Boat Shop at Heritage Village. Clark Mills designed the pram for the Clearwater Florida Optimist Club, the Document below will explain the beginning of what would become the International Optimist Pram now sailed around the world.   PramStory 20 years   Contribute to the McKay Creek Boat Shop to help preserve the history of Clark Mills and other boat builders in Pinellas County....

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CUMBIA- new Navigation station

Cumbia is a 71′ Cutter beautifully maintained by the owner. Work was done at a private slip in 2012 The existing chart table faced aft. We rearranged the lay out to face fwd, and create an enclosed space for the navigator. The credit for the varnish work belongs to the...

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A Snipe named Honey, and the birth of a new center for the maritime history of Pinellas County Florida

  It seemed like a simple thing, Gene Fleming was looking for a home for Honey (the 1947 Snipe built by Clark Mills and sailed to the 1951 National Championship by Francis Seavy) and wanted to donate it to Heritage Village. The Village, Pinellas County’s 21-acre living history museum, already had the Clark Mills designed and built Sun Cat and early Optimist pram in storage because they had no place to display the boats. The obvious solution was to build a boat shop in the Village to display the boats and the maritime history of Pinellas County, Florida.  After a few years of planning and fund raising we have the 1440 sq. ft. McKay Creek Boat Shop under construction in the heart of the Village where it joins 28 other historic structures. The building is now through the rough framing stage and is ready for exterior siding and interior finish work. The project is being funded by donations to the Pinellas County Historical Society and built by volunteers. We are still in need of funds to complete the construction and exhibitions. If you would like to help, please follow the links at the bottom of the page.     Sponsors...

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life boat conversion to day cruiser

This Project was done for the Bon Appetit Restaurant in Dunedin FL, while I was working at Clearwater Bay Marine Ways in the early 80’s. Was re-powered with a Westerbeke diesel, and CG approved for passengers to be used for sunset cruises. The unconfirmed rumor was that the boat was from the Normandie, it does look like the correct style, it had been store in a barn in Bushnell Fl for a number of years, and brought to Clearwater by Don Heiser the General Manager of the boat...

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