Tag Archives: Gloucester fishing schooner

Traditional boat builders join forces for interactive series

In towns like Gloucester, Salem and Newburyport, boats were traditionally built near the water, where locals could watch as their hulls took shape. It is a practice that Harold Burnham revived when he started building wooden boats in Essex in the early 1990s, so members of the community could follow each ship through the slow-developing drama of its creation. He has built five ships near the water, including the 65-foot Thomas E. Lannon, which was based on a traditional Gloucester fishing schooner and was launched in 1997. This Saturday, Essex Heritage will launch a series of talks and demonstrations on wooden boat building, rather than a physical ship, but the aim is the same as Burnham’s. 9 photos,  >click to read< 15:02