What We Do
Hands-on preservation and education — keeping the craft alive
These are our current projects. You can also see our Completed Projects.
Built by the Ernst family in 1952 and donated by Mike Ernst, this local skiff is being restored by the Co-op alongside teenagers from the Seraphim Community (Homeschool).
The students have made oars with Van Fancy’s Oars & Paddles, spent endless hours stripping old paint, and worked with Andrew Rhodenizer at the Big Boat Shed to repair the structure. The skiff is now back at our shed for plank repairs as we get her ready to seal up.
Our signature skiff and first boat building project was the Bruhm family’s 1950’s row boat from Little Mushamush Lake.
This river skiff was typically used to aid in transporting logs down stream. The Brumb Lumber Mill in Cornwall has had their skiff since the 1950’s.
Mike Gray, a local wooden boatbuilder, took it’s lines and made a set of stations positioned on a strong back for the Co-op in 2015 at Lunenburg Seaport.
We created a drawing and offset table based on Mike Gray’s stations. Upon Lunenburg Seaport closing the project was postponed.
A few years back Mike Gray, a local wooden boatbuilder, took the lines off a skiff built in the 1950s for the Bruhm family. Today Peter starts construction drawings of the skiff in his home office.
The drafting table and stool that he is working at were the home office drafting table and stool of William Roue, designer of the Nova Scotia schooner Bluenose. See the Interview with William Roue, where he is sitting on the drafting stool resting against his table.
It is rumored that Brigadier Roy founded the Mahone Bay Plycraft Company (MBPC). He would have created the Mahone Plycraft marquee around 1948/49 and subsequently built the moulds for the 12-ft. hulls.
In preparation for launch day of our Plycraft, David checks her over for leaks and we take her for a spin.
Many thanks for donations from Al Fraser, Don Peer, Maureen Westhaver, Miles McCormick and Terri & Trever Langille. This support has provided us with a great start for our collection, preservation and use of traditional shipbuilders tools.
