This summer the Island Institute will feature a show highlighting island boatbuilders.
“Island Boatbuilding; Past and Future,” will include a number of historical black-and-white and color images of island boatbuilding, vessels and boat builders. The exhibit will tell their stories. This display, in the Institute’s ground floor exhibit space on Main St. in Rockland, will run into the fall, and can be visited free of charge from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Material for this show has been provided by the historical societies of Vinalhaven, North Haven, Islesboro and Chebeague, along with contemporary photos from a number of boat yards that are operating today. Subjects will include a history of the stone sloops of Chebeague, a profile of the MARGARET M. FORD, a three-masted schooner and the largest vessel ever built on Vinalhaven, and the history of the Charles F. Brown and J.O. Brown boat yards of North Haven. Profiles of some active island-based yards and builders will also be included, with photos and descriptions of their new vessels.
The Island Institute also hosts a summer lecture series in this same space, and the boatbuilding show can be seen at any of these lectures. “Island Boatbuilding; Past and Future,” will open on Wednesday, July 9, with a talk by the exhibit curator.
For more on this topic, see the July issue of Working Waterftont.