Summer 2000 Newsletter
Boat Shop Rowing Livery Expands
Lowell's Boat Shop livery has entered its second year after a successful launch last summer and now offers expanded hours and new programs. Mike Browne and new livery supervisor Jenn Parker are excited by the growth of the livery and the guided rowing trips they and other volunteers will be leading on the Merrimack River and other areas this year.
The Livery will be open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays from 4 to 7 pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 7 pm. Individual boats from 12 to 20 feet can be rented for $12 an hour and rowed by one or several rowers. Seasonal memberships are available that allow virtually unlimited rowing. Membership is $100/year for an individual rower or $175 for a family membership that allows any family member to take a boat out. Members can also bring along guests. Livery supervisors on staff check out all rowers to ensure they're ready to row, and issue life jackets and other gear. The Livery also maintains a chase boat in case anyone has trouble on the water.
This year members can look forward to special features such as guided rowing trips. Mike, Gail, and Isaac Browne plan to lead frequent Sunday morning trips in the Merrimack River and the nearby Powow River. "It's beautiful out on the water in the morning," says Mike. "The river is quiet and looks pristine, and you see a lot of wildlife." Trips will also be scheduled for the general public.
Mike also points out the value of becoming a volunteer livery supervisor. Volunteers put in at least 6 hours a month on the dock or leading scheduled trips, and in return they receive free access to the boats. Contact Mike at the Boat Shop for more information.
An early highlight of the livery this season was the June 3 trip from the Boat Shop up the Powow River and into downtown Amesbury. Seven Lowell's boats were rowed, accompanied by Nathan Felde's 20-foot Amesbury motorized skiff and a small fleet of canoes. "It's astonishing," said one participant, "you get back in there and it's wild and still completely natural. It's hard to believe you're so near civilization."
New Around The Shop by Jennifer Parker
Orders continue to pour in for new Lowell's boats and repairs of older boats, and the Boat Shop will again this year be conducting the Turning Point boatbuilding class and offering adult classes.
Coming Exhibit
Mark Sammons, Director of the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, is working on the design of an informational exhibit for the Boat Shop. Visitors to the Shop will be able to take a self-guided tour with informational displays that explain some of the history of the Shop with notes on boatbuilding techniques. This exciting new feature is slated for an opening this fall.
Another Browne in the Shop
Isaac Rodney Browne was born to Mike and Gail Browne on January 15 this year. Here he looks to sea from the bow of a Lowell's Atlantic skiff.
Boats to Visit Newburyport Boardwalk
Plans are moving into place to place a dory and skiff by the boardwalk for this summer. With the cooperation of the Newburyport Waterfront Trust and the Harbor Commission, the boats will be on display for visitors, and scheduled rowing tours may be provided to the public. Nathan Felde has donated use of his powered Amesbury skiff to ferry tour groups from the Boardwalk to the Shop. We hope this pilot program may grow in the future to promote awareness of the Boat Shop.
Cultural Council Art Show
The Amesbury Cultural Council Art Show is held in the Boat Shop again this year from June 22 through July 2. The theme is different perspectives-titled "Another Angle - Inside Out - Out of Sync." Some 20 artists are expected to show their work.
Coming Boat Shows
Sail 2000 in Boston
The Boat Shop will exhibit boats on the wharf of the Cottage Park Yacht Club during the Sail 2000 expo in Boston July 10 through the 16th. Cottage Park yacht Club, located in Winthrop, is hosting the Class C Tall Ships, which range in length from 40 to 100 feet. The Shp is grateful to David Williams of the Yacht Club for offering this space and to Tom Chamberlin of the Lowell's Boat Shop Trust for volunteering to organize Lowell's display. Additional volunteers would be appreciated!
Antique and Classic Boat Festival
Sponsored by Lowell's Boat shop and the Newburyport Maritime Society, the Festival will be held September 2-3 at Long wharf, Boston. This popular show includes exhibits, judging of boats, and entertainment. For more information or to register a boat for the show, call 617-666-8530 of 617-868-7587.
Lowell's-Built Boats: Where Do they Go_
We all know Lowell's first built dories for fishing in the Atlantic, but how are Lowell's boats used now_ Past newsletters have related the stories of some Lowell's boats and where they go when they leave the shop. Last issue we reported on one found rowing Boston Harbor all summer long and a historical one used to trap muskrats (which has been donated back to the Boat Shop, where it can now be seen). This issue we report on one that will stay in the neighborhood and others about as far away as you can get in the continental U.S.
17' Atlantic Skiff on the Merrimack
Howard Redgate lives nearby and drives past the Boat Shop frequently and watches boats being rowed on the river. That's enough to make almost anyone want a wooden boat, but Howard was interested in rowing also as a form of exercise. After extensive conversations with Mike about types of wood and plans to customize the boat with outriggers, lockers, and an adjustable footrest, Howard placed his order. His Atlantic is being launched the end of June.
Surf Dories in Alaska
Eric Nelson of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wrote Mike Browne recently about Lowell's-built dories used by that agency in Alaska. Bob Jones of the USFWS apparently trusted only boats built by Lowell's and ordered at least five, the first two in 1951. Four 21-footers are still present, and one has recently been restored through a grant between the USFWS and the Kachemak Bay Wooden Boat Society. Shown in the photo is the USFWS dory "Wandering Tattler" at Buldir Island, Alaska, in 1963. (Photo by Karl W. Kenyon, courtesy of the Alaska Geographical Society.) Because of the rugged conditions encountered, these dories were built with reinforced oak bottoms and further modified by the USFWS with a dodger, motor transom, and hydrofoil that was hinged to be raised for rowing.
Profiles: Two Women and Lowell's Boats
There's an unfortunate stereotype that boats and boatbuilding are somehow a masculine activity-but this has never been true around Lowell's Boat Shop. This issue's "Profiles" section takes a look at two women who have and continue to play key roles in operations of the Shop.
Eleanor Noyes, Then and Now
Eleanor Noyes is and was always a woman ahead of her times. In 1933 when she was very young, her father, Walter Elmore Lowell, died, leaving her mother, Ethelyn Morse Weare Lowell, and Eleanor along with five other siblings. Eleanor's grandfather, Fred A. ("Tinky") Lowell, was then running the Shop with the help of Eleanor's brother Ralph. When Ralph left to join the forces in World War II, Eleanor stepped up and took over the running of the shop, learning quickly from her grandfather. This was not a quiet time at Lowell's, with over 1200 boats built during the war years. Many of these boats were built for fishermen and Boy Scout troops. Eleanor remembers she was the only woman at the Shop but says, "The men all felt like family to me." She was the first to occupy the new office addition that was added to the building, and in addition to other managerial roles she handled all the paperwork and bills. After the War, she married Bill Noyes, which whom she celebrated her 46th anniversary before he passed away in 1992. She raised four children and taught for twenty years at Pentucket High School. Eleanor has also raised a wide variety of cats, dogs, horses, and grandchildren, and the resilience and strength of her spirit are still evident today. She's a proud member of the Lowell family that has played such a major role in New England's maritime history.
Jenn Parker: Intern and Future Designer
Jenn Parker hasn't always known she loved boats enough to choose a career involving sailboats and yacht design-only since spending a week aboard The Spirit of Massachusetts in the seventh grade. Now a freshmen in the engineering program at Johns Hopkins University, Jenn is spending her summer at the Boat Shop in a wide variety of roles, from livery supervisor to helping out as a volunteer intern building and finishing boats and giving tours. A Newburyport native and president of her high school class for three years, Jenn brings boundless enthusiasm to everything she touches at the Boat Shop. She can't imagine a more perfect summer experience. In the fall she'll be back at school using a computer to design her hulls, but for now she finds it even more rewarding to be working with her hands and traditional tools. "I love it," she says, "to see and feel the results of your work is very special." Future boat owners who may one day sail Jenn Parker boats may never know their connection with historical designs and traditional materials, but we feel sure her boats will gain from the connection.