This workshop had originally been scheduled for February 8th, but was cancelled due to a snowstorm that caused a three day loss of power at the facility, keeping the Tumblehome crew very busy trying to keep heat in both homes and workplaces. Needless to say it was very generous for them to host another workshop for the Adirondack and Lake Champlain chapters. Reuben and Cynde Smith were there as well as John Gaffney. March 7th turned out to be a lovely day, remnants of the February snowstorm a month earlier fading away.

The pictures below show significant progress had been made to a couple boats still in the shop from last year. “Indian”, a 1903 speed launch, has had her framing repairs complete and the rounded torpedo stern is all back together. She is now awaiting arrival of 4 new lithium-ion batteries for her drive retrofit. “Sequoia”, a 1926 Fay and Bowen, has her deck superstructure in place giving her an entirely new look from last with a lot of character. “Fanita”, a 1916 Fay and Bowen was back in the shop from the showroom and we looked at the fantastic work done on the wiring, restoration of her fancy spin-to-light light fixtures mounted in the backs of the front seats and her ground fault charging system.

We saw some new boats to the shop, a 15’ Adirondack Guide boat, with smooth sided lapstrake construction over spruce frame from the Long Lake area. The canoe design is remarkably strong for its weight. Also an Old Town Freight Canoe is being restored. The Old Town boat was built on a mold with metal straps used to deflect and bend the fasteners. Once the boat was covered with canvas, white lead was rubbed into the canvas by hand; a great fungicide but the toxicity caused much illness to the craftsmen in Old Town Me. During restoration the boat will have 20 oz. canvas stretched and reapplied, the canvas now treated with a fungicide, much safer and perhaps a bit less effective as the lead. We had a discussion of tropical wood, the many types of mahogany, availability, and the importance of knowing how the properties of each type such as drying time, shrinkage, expansion, and rot resistance should be taken into consideration for each project.