Time to Go Sailing

There are few more delicious places in the world than in Boothbay Harbor, Maine in July, August and September . The crisp evenings and warm days allow the locals and visitors to enjoy the activities and the coastal waters to their fullest. Since you can't all be here with us to enjoy this experience, we want to share some images and video with you.

One special event in June is Windjammer Days, which includes a great view of tall ships, mostly two-masted schooners as they sail into Boothbay Harbor in the parade of sail. This year some of the schooners included: Alabama, American Eagle, Eastwind, Fame, Heritage, Lazy Jack, Lewis R. French, Nathaniel Bowditch, Rachel B. Jackson, Spirit of Massachusetts, Friendship of Salem and Spirit of South Carolina.

Here at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, we get pleasure from seeing many of these ships up close while they receive yearly maintenance. We have had many of these Windjammers here at the shipyard such as: Gazela of Philadelphia, Sherman Zwicker, Victory Chimes, Harvey Gamage and J&E Riggin.

As we gaze out at the harbor from the end of the dock, we often see magnificent yachts sailing like the Alera, which was restored here at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard. The extensive six-month rehabilitation of the Alera began the day after the yard celebrated the yacht's 100th birthday on January 3, 2005.

The following clip was taken of the Alera by MPBN. You can watch the complete Emmy award winning video on a local sailmaker, Nat Wilson from the Maine Experience called Carpe Diem.

National Park Service Interns

How are two architect students and one marine architect student spending their summer at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard in Maine?

Many hours have been spent measuring every part of the historic Ernestina. They began the measuring in New Bedord, MA before the ship left for Boothbay. This data combined with the data from a TOTAL, a laser tool, is being used to make line and 3D drawings of the Ernestina. Using this laser tool from the deck and land to get the topside and hull markings, a continuous surface is made to replicate the ship.
For more pictures and information see VIDEO.

Interns for the National Parks Service, Karolina Walichiewicz, from California, Caleb Reed from Kansas and Katie Whalen from New York have taken over a conference table and are busy on their computers replicating the Ernestina down to the tiniest detail.

These drawings will be used to get a full picture of what the ship is actually like right now in history. Todd Croteau, the Director of Historic American Engineering Record is supervising the interns, out of Washington DC.

This year the repairs of Ernestina will include the stem, foredeck, and planking above the waterline alongside the foredeck. There will also be temporary repairs to the main deck to halt the leaking.

When asked how it has been for them working at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, they were impressed with all the work goes on and what a busy place it is at the shipyard. Other comments were “It’s a great place to work” and "the people have been friendly and easy to work with.”

The work is expected to be completed this fall and will follow the standards set forth in the Secretary of the Interior’s Standard’s for Historic Vessel Preservation Projects and the U.S. Coast Guard. Harold Burnham, an 11th generation Essex Master Shipwright, is the state representative for the project.

Three Tugboats

Three tugboats owned by Cindy and Jon Smith are tied to the pier at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard.

Two new more powerful and fuel-efficient engines are being installed in the Lucinda Smith.

The steel hull of the Lucinda Smith was cut away and lifted to the stern to make room for a large crane to lift out the old engines and be replaced with two 1350 HP engines and German ZF5.61 gears.

Used for dredging harbors and construction, the Lucinda Smith, Eddie R and Cameron’s Point work along the Atlantic coast. A detailed article about the tugboats is in the Boothbay Register.

Watch a VIDEO on the Lucinda Smith Tugboat.