Boat builders put their craftsmanship to the test
KINGSTON – Much fun was had on Saturday during an all-day event hosted by Hudson River Maritime Museum in Downtown Kingston. It was the city and regional premier for the National Wooden Boat Building Challenge, part of a growing East Coast waterfront trend.
Almost 1,000 people showed up to witness 12 teams competing to quickly construct small wooden rowboats, using only hand-held tools. Later they relay-raced against each other in the creek channel alongside Rondout marina.
Winners are invited to participate at a much larger contest in Georgetown, South Carolina scheduled for late October. Similar semi-final rounds also take place in Beaufort, North Carolina and Belfast, Maine. Next year, Essex, Massachusetts will join the tradition, which began in 1981 at the Wooden Boat Show in Newport, RI.
“Everybody’s got the same materials, building the same boat, they get judged for speed and quality, and then we put them in the water,” explained Rob Dwelley, a carpenter from Camden, Maine, longtime organizer and former champion. “The energy that is coming out of this museum and the desire to do this is unprecedented. What is happening here in Kingston is really special. I have been watching this in other places for 30 years. Something is happening here. There is an energy.”
Teams included four doctors, four local Bruderhof members, Kingston brewer Tommy Keegan, and a burly pair of men with matching beards, who drove up from North Carolina to defend their title. In addition, a pair of high school undergrads also came up from down South.
A cannon boom commenced the race segment, as each paired-off team took turns paddling around a buoy marker located halfway between the shorelines. Several boats showed signs of leakage, but none sank, although one got marooned by a wind gust, and many had difficulty switching pilots.
The champions, Bobby Staab and Josh Fulp of Carteret County, North Carolina, put together their little ship, named Carolina Flair, in 2 hours and 16 minutes. The duo holds the world record of 1:35:26 for constructing the current Carolina Bateau design plan, achieved last year during the 2016 Georgetown event.
A secret weapon gave the winners a distinct advantage for the rowing race – a set of special oars made with strong wood and curved blades, allowing maximum power with each stroke of their muscular arms. Rules specify that oars used must be hand-made prior to the event.
Staab urged parents to get their children involved in future boat building challenge events, to help develop manual skills.
The next boat building semi-final occurs on August 19 in Maine, only 400 miles away.
“There are people here who have the talent to make money on that one,” Staab said. “I’m not going to be there. I’ve got a daughter going to college, unfortunately I’m going to miss that one.”
