Photos by PETER PEREIRA/The Standard Times. Crews at Boothbay Harbor Shipyard in Maine are restoring the historic schooner Ernestina. Here, Todd A. Croteau, maritime program coordinator for the Historic American Engineering Record, sets up a ladder to continue his work of digitizing the vessel to prepare a display of the ship for the Library of Congress. Crews work on the Ernestina from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday in the sleepy little town renowned for its wood boat shipyard.

This article appeared in The Standard-Times on July 20, 2008

By DON CUDDY
Standard-Times staff writer
July 20, 2008 6:00 AM

BOOTHBAY HARBOR — Restoration work on the 114-year-old hull of the schooner Ernestina is continuing at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard in Maine where the historic vessel was towed Down East for repairs in early June.

The project initially called for the replacement of planks and decking in the bow section but has since been expanded to include some structural work also.

“We’re now replacing 15 frames on either side from the waterline up,” yard manager Joe Jackimovicz said. “It’s been going well and we are looking to finish up by mid to late Fall.”

The Ernestina had languished dockside on the New Bedford waterfront since 2004 after funding from the state was cut. Basic maintenance was neglected, resulting in further decay below decks.

Sourcing lumber to the exacting standards required by the Secretary of the Interior for the restoration of historic vessels has meant some delays are inevitable, Mr. Jackimovicz said.

“It’s there but we just need lead time when there are changes made. I can order it, but it might be three weeks before it arrives,” he said.

The new double frames will be of sawn white oak. Planking will be fastened to the frames with trunnels made from black locust for both practical and historic reasons.

Trunnels, or wooden pegs, have been used in wooden shipbuilding since ancient times, according to Paul J. Brawley, executive director of the schooner. “It’s what they would have used in the 19th Century,” he said, ” and trunnels do not decay when immersed in salt water like metal fastenings do.”

The project team includes representatives from the shipyard, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Ernestina and the National Parks Service, which is using a federal grant to develop drawings, histories and photographs of the vessel as a reference document to preserve the historical integrity of the vessel.

“We have made great progress with Ernestina this year, and our goal is to restore Coast Guard certification by the Spring of 2009,” Mr. Brawley said. “We want to get her sailing by next summer.”

Jim Jones uses a wooden mallet and a chisel to carve a notch in the new inner stem of the Ernestina to place a batten reference point for the sides of the boat. Photo by PETER PEREIRA

After 10 hours working on Ernestina’s restoration, the heat has taken its toll on Jim Jones at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard. Photo by PETER PEREIRA

Shipwright Jim Jones uses a large wrench to bolt the new inner stem with the old outer stem at the prow of the dry-docked Ernestina as Kevin Roux, below, makes a template for a new frame. The former packet ship is undergoing one of its most extensive overhauls. Photo by PETER PEREIRA

View the STs audio slide show on the rebuilding of the ship.

Believe it or not we will be setting up a volunteer day soon to clean and maintain Ernestina’s spars presently stored in Building 2 on the State Pier in New Bedford. Boothbay Shipyard will be down next week to pick up the live oak that is useable for the present work being done.

We need your help and enthusiasm for the following events that we will be participating in:

• July 26, Cape Verdean Products, Services and Cultural Festival, Roxbury Community College, Boston
• August 2-3, Salem Maritime Festival, Derby Wharf, Salem, MA
• August 9, Cape Verdean Festival, Onset, MA
• August 23-24, Antique & Classic Boat Festival, Salem, MA
• August 30-31, Schooner Festival, Gloucester, MA
• September 27-28, Working Waterfront Festival, New Bedford

Leah Jeffries and I will be at the Merrimack River Maritime Festival in Salisbury over this weekend 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and hope to see you there! Thanks as always for your dedication and support.

Best regards,

Paul

• Sunday, August 3rd
  Salem Maritime Festival - 12:00PM at Derby Wharf, Salem, MA
• Sunday, August 17th
  Wareham Historical Society - 6:30 PM, Wareham, MA
• Thursday, August 28th
  Whaling Museum Plaza - 7:30 PM, New Bedford, MA
• Friday, September 19th
  Beale House - 8:00PM, 222 Main St., Kingston, MA
  http://www.ssfmc.org/sched.htm
• Sunday, September 28th
  Working Waterfront Festival - 4:30PM, State Pier area
  http://www.workingwaterfrontfestival.org/

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to report that the engine on Ernestina has been serviced and is purring like a kitten. We test ran it today and engaged the transmission fore and aft, while tied to the dock.

Ernestina is scheduled to depart on Friday morning at 6 a.m. weather permitting and head up to Boothbay Harbor Shipyard in Maine. She will be under tow by the tug Jaguar, Captained by Charles G. Mitchell of Mitchell Towing & Salvage Co. of Fairhaven.

Please note that she will be moved from her present berth to the end of the State Pier behind Building 2 to facilitate rigging the tow line.

I just want to take this opportunity to also thank you for all your support over the years; it is deeply appreciated!

Fair winds and following seas!

It’s hard to believe we are already past the halfway point in April! I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the status of the vessel:

• Bids to have work done to rehabilitate the stem, foredeck, and planking above the waterline along the foredeck, as well as applying a temporary cover over the main deck were posted. We had a mandatory bidder’s conference on Tuesday, April 8. In order to put in a bid for the work attendance was mandatory. We had representatives from Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, DN Kelley Shipyard, and the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center. Bids are due in my office by Noon, May 1. I anticipate making a recommendation the following week. The ship should be available to leave about mid May.
• I was informed two weeks ago that the Save America’s Treasure grant funding would not be released until the Massachusetts Historical Commission approved the project. The project notification form arrived their Friday, April 4 along with a six page narrative, two ship’s blueprints, two US Geological Survey Maps, and 36 annotated photographs showing where the proposed work will be done.
• The Master Shipwright contract position was posted on Friday, April 11th with responses due April 23. This contract position will serve as my liaison with whatever shipyard is awarded the contract.
• The ship’s emergency beacon has been re-registered, which is good for two years. The beacon has been tested and works.
• Prior to the ship leaving for the yard, I will have a complete inspection and overhaul of the engine including a sea trial. It has not been fully serviced since 1998. We will also be purchasing one life raft to meet US Coast Guard requirements plus a few other items such as signal flares and charts.
• Thanks to Annie McDowell we are beginning to receive responses from our Response for Goods and Services contracts that will enable us to purchase goods and services much more efficiently.
• Ship’s carpenter, Manny Silva, was employed offloading tools and supplies from the ship and delivering them to a storage room at the DCR Ft. Phoenix facility in Fairhaven. He also inspected all survival suits, making sure the bladders work as well as waxing the zippers. He has repaired the runner and roof to the engine room hatch, which was rotten, and will begin removing the winter cover next week
• Todd Croteau from HABS/HAER will indeed be hiring former Ernestina Captain Dan Moreland to assist with the historic documentation of the ship. They plan on beginning work once the vessel is hauled out. The bulk of the work will be completed by the September deadline but we will not have a final product for some 15 months from then because of the extensive editing and review process. We should see a draft to review late summer. They will also provide us with pdf files of the book so we can reproduce it at will. If there are funds left over, HABS/HAER will purchase archival supplies for our collection.
• Thanks to NPS Superintendent and Ernestina Commissioner Celeste Bernardo, we were fortunate to have David Vitriolli, NPS Museum Services, visit Ernestina’s office, the Corson Building, and storage facility at Myles Standish State Park in Carver. David had a copy of an inventory of our records that was done prior to the move from the Water Street office. He is revising the inventory and has made recommendations as to what to save and what to dispose. We were also fortunate to meet with Sean Fisher, DCR Archivist, at Myles Standish. Sean inventoried our records there and made recommendations of what to save at our office or store at the DCR facility in Danvers. He also was making arrangements to have a commercial shredder at Myles Standish so that unnecessary documents such as time sheets can be disposed. Annie coordinated the effort and did a splendid job as usual.
• We have received copies of the auditor’s final report, which was clean. The lateness in receiving the report was due to finalizing the business plan that was approved and submitted on March 1.
• Plans to have a fundraising concert event at UMASS Boston in June have been postponed to a future date. There was a great deal of discussion at the most recent Commission meeting and the desire is to get more faculty involved in the event planning and general audience education and awareness. Kudos to long-time volunteer Mary Anne McQuillan for spearheading this effort.
• The Ernestina Commission meetings are scheduled for Fridays, May 16, July 18, August 8, September 12, October 10, November 7, and December 12, 1-3 p.m. at the NPS Visitors Center, New Bedford. A June meeting date has not be set.
• I am also pleased to announce that Captain Tommy Grace will be joining us next week for the summer as our interpreter.

As you can imagine, we are all excited about the ship going into the yard but there is still a lot more to do and we need your help. Please join us as we chart a new course —Ernestina will sail once again with your help. Tax- deductible contributions can be made to: Schooner Ernestina Commission, Box 2010, New Bedford, MA 02741-2010. For more information or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at paul.brawley@state.ma.us or by calling 508-992-4900. Let’s work together to keep Ernestina sailing!

Fair Winds and Following Seas,

Paul J. Brawley

Executive Director

After dockside learning stations in water chemistry and physics, Ernestina set sail for underway learning stations in mechanical advantage and navigation during some lab components of a course offered through Bristol Community College and taught by Paul Anthony. Thanks so much to Director Terry Romanovitch and Joanne Gracia for their efforts to fund and coordinate the program.

In the evening girl scouts and their families set sail for three hours for an ECHO program.

Our onboard anthropologist Traudi Coli delighted the students with stories of Ernestinas history including her voyages as a Gloucester fishing vessel, Arctic explorer, Cape Verdean Packet ship and finally the current chapter as a educational sailing vessel

Program Coordinator: Rhonda Moniz
Captain: Willi Bank