Like most folks’ personal trajectories, mine arcs through unlikely sequences, unpredictable turns. Before moving here, I lived in coastal northeast Massachusetts and southeast New Hampshire for 15 years. I might be biased, but modern lobsterboats, I still think, are beauties. The sixth boro needs a dozen lobsterboats to enhance the diversity of vessels working here; of course, I don’t know what work they would do.
Here are some fotos taken very recently in Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
Gloucester (Choice made with Peter Mello in mind),
Seabrook (I needed to fit a tugboat in here) ,
Seabrook again and
I just love them. Some background links here on two places synonymous with wooden square-sterned lobsterboat construction: Beals Island once and Beals Island again. A good although slightly dated book is Mike Brown’s The Great Lobster Chase.
Some interesting short videos from GoodMorningGloucester follow: lobsterman venting about snapping two wooden davits in three days and talking about his new steel replacement.
All fotos by Will Van Dorp.
One more link: check out Gloucester’s answer to the Rockerfeller Center Christmas tree, a NYC tradition begun by construction workers back in 1931.
8 comments
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November 19, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Mage B
Goodness, I am having a grand time in your back pocket. 🙂
November 20, 2009 at 12:32 pm
paulthepirate(yar!)
I ran a lobsterboat just south of Boston for a long, long time. New wooden boats are so rare, but so beautiful. The old ones have their charm, but the antiques are real beauties. There’s a gap (imho) in aesthetics in lobsterboat construction- from the mid 60’s to the early 90’s, the designs seem to lack grace relative to boats built outside that period.
It looks like you’re fond of Novi boats!
November 20, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Brian
Hey, I’m all in favor of bringing lobster boats to NYC! If you buy ’em, I’ll deliver ’em and drive ’em around so people can see.
November 20, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Buck
Who doesn’t love a working boat?
November 20, 2009 at 2:28 pm
tugster
i love the novis.
November 30, 2009 at 11:03 pm
bowsprite
ok. WHO is this boatbuilder Novi? where does she live?
November 20, 2009 at 5:48 pm
capeannpainter
Novis are my favorite too!
They look like they’re moving even when they are docked.
November 30, 2009 at 9:59 pm
bowsprite
lovely lovely lovely!!!