In the above video I share my visit to the Vineyard Haven wooden boat workshop of Ted Box on the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard.
In the video I mentioned that I read a book called “Wooden Boats” which informed me of Ted Box’s boat building. You can find the fascinating book at this link.
If you want to learn more details about Ted’s history and his wooden boat building project, you can read more via this Vineyard Gazette newspaper link.
Ted’s 70-foot scow schooner sat in a temporary workshop next to the Vineyard Haven harbor.
Because of my love of the traditional trades I was naturally curious about seeing Ted’s wooden boat project.
I was surprised to learn that much of the work was done by volunteers. Ted was happy to accept both long-term and short-term volunteers. My cousins and I (above) worked for only a couple hours, but other volunteers (like the young man below) volunteered for the entire summer.
This volunteer spent countless hours filling the gaps with cotton:
The schooner had become a tourist attraction to the thousands of summer visitors to Martha’s Vineyard:
Because I’m a traditional woodworker I was particularly drawn to the construction details on the wooden sail boat:
I’m not much of a power tool user anymore, but I loved seeing the vintage power tools (like the below planer) that Ted uses in his boat building:
Ted is definitely the real deal:
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I have read the same book and loved it. My first major woodworking project was restoring a cedar and canvas canoe. I did everything from steam bending stems, gunwales and ribs to stretching canvas over the hull. The reward for all that research and work was a beautiful craft that floats like a water lilly. Consequently because of the curves, I found that useing traditional hand tools was more efficient than most power tools. When my interests changed to crafts… Read more »
Jason, that is so great that you restored a wooden canoe! I’m happy to hear that you have gotten into using hand tools. It sure gives a feeling of satisfaction. Thanks for commenting, and keep em’ coming! Where are you living?
I’m a native of Zanesville, Ohio. Just south of amish country where I love to get my lumber.
Sounds like a great place to be a woodworker Jason! Lots of old tools in Ohio.