16 Jun

With the summer season gearing up, the Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center will expand its operating hours to accommodate our region's residents and visitors. The Watercraft Center and the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort will be open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting June 18. This change gives visitors an extra hour to explore our sites. Starting June 27, the watercraft center and the museum will resume Sunday operations. Both sites will be open from noon to 5 p.m. to wrap up the weekend....

14:34 / Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Blog
1 Like
10 Feb

It's been way too long since I last wrote about what is happening in the Watercraft Center. So I thought I'd update what's been happening. 2020 Raffle Boat We've completed and installed our new 2020 raffle boat, and tickets are on sale for $5 at the museum gift shop. The new boat is a traditionally built dinghy called a "Catspaw," and the plans are available from Wooden Boat Magazine. The 13-foot rowing/sailboat was originally drawn and built by Nat Herreshoff and updated by Joel White. We built the boat in the traditional style using white oak for the backbone and steam-bent frames, Atlantic white cedar (aka Juniper} for the lapstrake planking and mahogany for the sheer plank, transom and seats and thwarts. The boat also comes with a beautiful set of handmade fir oars. The mast and sprit are also fir. This is a sweet boat that would be perfect for rowing or sailing...

15:54 / Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Blog
0 Likes
18 Feb

Like any nonprofit, we could not accomplish nearly all that we do without the help of a team of dedicated volunteers. All those awesome boat building projects? Completed with the help of our skilled volunteers. Our ability to showcase a working watercraft center? Impossible without the volunteers here working on projects. Even the plaques we gave out today to recognize the Volunteers of the Year from the Watercraft Center, Maritime Museum, our Friends group, the Junior Sailing Program and Bonehenge Whale Center? Built by a volunteer — a volunteer who, coincidentally, was our top volunteer of the year. William Shrader was named the Watercraft Center Volunteer of the Year. He was recognized by center Manager Grant Caraway for not just helping out but helping out on the less glamorous parts of boat building and restorations: painting and scraping and sharpening tools. Congratulations, Will! A second volunteer was recognized with an award specific to...

16:39 / Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Blog
0 Likes
15 Feb

We are in mid winter-mode in the Watercraft Center and working on several interesting projects. One is the restoration of our old 28-foot Barbour Work Boat, circa 1937. We are Several months into the restoration of the boat, which is new to our collection. We started work in October. Right off the bat it was evident that the stem and several planks on the forward starboard side below the waterline needed replacement. It looked as though the boat had been damaged in that area at some point and the repair was less then adequate. So our first plan of attack was to replace the stem and several planks on both sides forward below the water line. We also refastened the whole boat as best we could. And we removed the cabin house, which was obviously not original (or correct).  [gallery columns="2" ids="2690,2686,2689,2691"] Currently, we have completed that work and are in the process of...

17:25 / Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Blog
0 Likes