Topsfield Vocational Academy Shipyard Crew

After being away from the shipyard for a few weeks due to snow cancellations and winter break, the TVA shipyard crew returned to the yard refreshed and ready to work.  The crew was tasked with building another sliding door for the Hay Barn storage shed, and they took advantage of the mild, sunny weather and set up outside for the first time this year. 

Because of their experience building the first set of doors, work on the frame progressed very quickly and it was soon ready for the windows and sheathing.

The completed door is now ready for hardware and hanging!

TVA Garvey Crew

With the Garvey fiberglassed and the skegs and spray rails in place, the crew (with a little help from our boatbuilder Jeff) painted, sanded, faired, and repainted the hull, giving it a clean and fair surface.  We chose to prime the boat in pink because it will very subtly show through the top coats and give the finished boat a warmer glow.

Work also continued on the bronze rub strips, which the crew fastened onto the boat after a little bit of final shaping.

Upcoming Events

Frame Up to Fit Out - Sylvina W. Beal: A Learning Journey

Join Katherine Dench, Mass Cultural Council’s granted apprentice to master shipwright Harold Burnham, as she chronicles her experience in taking part in the restoration process and wooden boat building - from sketch to launch.

When: Second Thursday of every month from 7-8pm from March to June via ZOOM 

March 11, 2021 - 7pm

Boat Design: Where do you start?

In this talk KD will introduce her apprenticeship which has started with planning. The development of the plans, and design of vessels to meet the needs of those plans, are essential for the success of the craft. She will display samples of the plans and models she has developed to date, and discuss the challenges faced through this process.

A Visit to the Archives

Among the photographs in our collections are numerous postcards of Essex scenes, including this postcard of the schooner Gossip. Gossip was launched from the A.D. Story shipyard in October of 1900, although this particular postcard was not mailed until 1905.

The original Boston address the card was sent to has faded and has since been written over with notes about the scene. The inscription reads: “The old Oliver Burnham Shop on right still standing 1953. The old Prince house on left demolished a long time ago, the small shop in center is the old David Park Burnham Shop he built vessels there and launched them in that dock that runs up to Burnhams court the shop set right on the B. court”

In addition to postcards of Essex scenes, we also have postcards featuring Essex vessels, like this one of the passenger steamer Cape Cod. The steamer was the fifth largest Essex built vessel, and the largest to be launched in the year 1900.  A.D. Story’s crew began working on Cape Cod on February 1st, and it slid down the launching ways just 3 months and 4 days later, on May 5th, 1900.  The new steamer was then towed to East Boston, where the firm of Bertelsen & Petersen fitted out the vessel, installing the vessel’s water tube boilers (4 in total), triple-expansion steam engine, and other gear. 

Cape Cod was built for the Boston, Plymouth, & Provincetown Steamship Company, and was used on the passenger run between Boston and Provincetown, where both of these photographs were taken.

A large and exuberant crowd is aboard the newly launched dragger Tina B. for the trip around Cape Ann to Gloucester, where the dragger will receive its machinery and fit out for sea.  Built in John Prince Story’s yard, the 75 foot vessel was launched on September 23rd, 1945.

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