The sign in the Reedville Fishermen's Museum boat shop is not entirely accurate. Yes, the volunteers in the shop are mostly on the upper end of the life experience scale. But a changing cast of volunteers has been coming to the museum faithfully for many years to build, repair and sell wooden boats.
The mission is two-fold: to support the museum and to preserve the Chesapeake Bay's traditional boat-building skills.
"About 16-18 volunteers are on the roster, and about six to eight show up on any given Tuesday and Thursday morning work days," said Pete Kauneckas, chairman of the boat shop committee.
Volunteers have various backgrounds, including the military, federal government, charter captain, post office, sales, metal fabrication and woodworking. Kauneckas said he learned from the volunteers before him. "We pass on what we learn. And that continues to this day," he said.
On a recent work day, Brent Stansbury and Bill Turville painted the bottom of this year's 18-foot deadrise boat the shop is building from scratch. It is modeled after the first such boat the volunteers built. The design was by an original volunteer, the late Jay Rohmann. Named the Lillian B, she was raffled off when new as a museum fund-raiser. The family of the raffle winner later donated her back to the museum, where she still is today.
Tina McCloud
Brent Stansbury, left, and Bill Turville paint the bottom of the deadrise skiff the shop is building from scratch.
"We still sell them to benefit the museum and to show how we build Chesapeake Bay cross-planked deadrises," said Kauneckas.
"Another boat in the shop is a donated 16-foot 1924 wooden Penn Yan," said Kauneckas. They've sanded and painted the outside. Bill Small prepared to cut a new piece of plywood for the deck, using the old part as a pattern. Small mixed and tested several combinations of colors to closely match the new wood with the old interior.
"A 1942 Chris-Craft in pristine condition is a recent donation," said Kauneckas. "There's nothing we need to do with that boat," he said.
The boat shop refurbishes donated wooden boats but also accepts fiberglass boats in good condition. Museum volunteer John Boyd helps obtain and sell the boats.
The boat shop also heads up the Family Boat Building weekend, which has been held most summers since the early 2000s. Each family, with volunteer coaches, builds a boat named the Mabel skiff, also designed by Rohmann. The shop puts together a kit of components for the families to assemble, launch in Cockrell Creek, then take home.
"Before there even was a shop building at the museum, one of the first boats that volunteers worked on is the historic skipjack Claud W. Somers," said Lionel Whitcomb, one of the boat shop's original volunteers (1998). "The boat was donated to the museum 26 years ago. The late Wendell Haynie towed her from Baltimore to a local marine railway, and the volunteers worked on her there and later at the museum dock," said Whitcomb. "Those volunteers were the original crew of the Somers," he added.
Tina McCloud
Bill Small notes the proportions of the varnish colors he mixed to match the old deck from a boat the shop is refurbishing.
The Somers has undergone many refurbishments though the years and was recently returned from a full refit. The boat shop helped the Somers crew with specialized tasks during her time on the hard.
The late Ken Pendleton was responsible for providing the museum with funding to construct the building that houses the boat shop and model shop (named in his honor) and the pavilion steps away (named in honor of Haynie), according to Whitcomb.
"Pendleton also donated money for those early volunteers to build a replica of the Capt. John Smith barge," said Whitcomb. Spirit of 1608 was built in the pavilion using wood cut from white oak trees that were downed by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. Whitcomb said he and Haynie used an SUV and pickup to drag the trees out of the woods and then took them to a portable sawmill to cut the lumber.
"The mast was an old fish trap pole we found floated up on shore," said Whitcomb.
In 2008, the crew rowed and sailed the barge up the Chesapeake Bay, making stops along the way. Upon reaching Washington, DC, it was displayed as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
The barge also is on the museum campus. Whitcomb still dons his period sailor's wear and gives presentations about it.
Tina McCloud
At last year's boat show, Lionel Whitcomb, wearing a period sailor's outfit, talked about the Capt. John Smith replica barge, built by Whitcomb and other volunteers about 20 years ago.
The shop also is involved with the museum's annual boat show, which this year is Aug. 29th, 10am–3pm on and around the campus. The shop takes in donations of tools and nautical items all year to sell at the flea market.
As for volunteering in the shop, Small said, "I would encourage people to come in Tuesday or Thursday, 9am to 11:30am, and see if they like it. Any skill level is fine."
Added volunteer George Kranda, "It's a wonderful group. The folks you come into contact with will brighten your day." Not just the other volunteers, he said, but the museum visitors who come in to watch the work.
Kranda noted that another prominent sign in the shop was given by a visitor who was impressed by what they saw. It reads:
One who works with their hands is a laborer. One who works with their hands and head is a craftsman. One who works with their hands, head and heart is an artist.
The Reedville Fishermen's Museum is at 504 Main St. Hours through Sept. 6 are 11am–4pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 1-4pm Sundays. Admission includes entrance to all museum exhibits: $10 for adults; $5 for seniors 65 and above; $5 for veterans; free for children 17 and under; and free for active duty military members. For more information about the museum, boat shop or boat show, call 804-453-6529, e-mail office@rfmuseum.org or visit www.rfmuseum.org.
