Cookie Butcher’s Buoy Boat Project

Click here for one of many posts on buoy boats.  Just recently I learned the first three wooden buoy boats were built in Tonawanda by the Richardson Boat Company.  That explains why they have lines that hint at yacht origins, no matter they were designed for maintenance tasks on the Canal.  The next two photos I took back in 2014.

And here’s Cookie’s story:

“I started about 18 years ago taking care of the flower bed that was in front of the boat.  Over the  years the bed was falling apart.    This year I decided to build a new flower bed.  I am currently working with our local Boy Scouts.  I designed the flower bed and they will build it as an Eagle Project along with helping me paint the boat.  As for the boat over the years I have watched the boat deteriorate and thought what better time than now to update it.  It is  a piece of our history that was just rotting away and I didn’t want to see this happen, especially since the boat faces one of the main entrances to our city.

Here is Cookie’s  task list:

The flower bed and dirt were removed.  Ditto the “Welcome to Lockport” sign to be cleaned and repaired.

The boat was sanded and scraped.

Holes in the boat were patched.

New paint applied.   Old windows removed, holes caulked, old door replaced, windows made and painted, and new windows cut from Lexan.

Inside there are a couple tanks that are being cleaned and rust proofed. The inside the hull is scraped and debris removed.

Tasks remaining:  rustproof paint the interior, re-install the tanks, install new marine decking, rebuild the flowerbed and plant it, re-install the welcome sign, install a “Thank you” sign to individuals and businesses that have helped in the project.

Put on new BB 110 sign.  Raise three flags:  US, NY, and NYS Canals.

Hats off to Cookie and her crew.

And while we’re on the western end of the Canal, check out this excellent addition to blogs about the NYS Canals.  It’s called  Travels with Tug DeWitt Clinton.

Meanwhile, up in central New York, here’s an article about a floating protest of Canal vessel reefing from the Finger Lakes Times.