Nova Scotia Yawl Porn

[Steve McMahon]

Unfortunately our cruise was cancelled because the winds were gusting 50 knots on the lake.
This is the Yawl Elsie that was commissioned by Alexander Graham Bell for his daughter Elsie in 1917. An interesting point for me is the planking, 1 7/8" thick pine! This boat has only left the lake once, in 2002 she sailed to Halifax for the Tall Ships. Her skipper is now Peter Brown. Brown was the Chief Engineer of the Bluenose II for many years.
In the pictures of the forepeak and bosun's locker note the aluminum knees and steel straps over the floor timbers!

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[mmd]

Thanks for the photos, Steve. I have been beside Elsie, but not had the chance to go below. Pretty boat.

Are we going to see you at the Mahone Bay Festival?

[Steve McMahon]

I will be there with the guy that I am building the Pooduck for, and of course the Pooduck.
Hopefully better weather than last year!

[mmd]

It looks like I'll have to miss the SWBANS meeting at the pub - I'm giving a presentation on the main wharf at 0930hrs Saturday morning. Bummer.

[John B]

thanks Steve.interesting looking boat. Looks like she's kept her sheer. Very straight in that department isn't she.
I can't seem to find who designed her.

" In 1917 the yawl Elsie was launched in Baddeck for Alexander Graham Bell, who had his summer home nearby. In the early 1990s she was rescued from disintegration, rebuilt and is going strong today as a charter vessel. William Roue, of the schooner Bluenose fame, designed several notable yachts in the years between the wars. The 45 ft schooner Malay and her sister ship, Northern Light, enjoyed considerable racing success in the United States. Malay won the 1930 Bermuda Race, beating out yachts by Alden, Crowinshield and other top American designers. The South Shore town of Shelburne was popular for yacht building and developed an excellent reputation. Starling Burgess had several of his designs built in this old Loyalist community. The early days of yacht building, in what was then a remote area of Nova Scotia, were not without their challenges. Weston Martyr, writing in the 1920s, gave a colourful description of his experiences in the book The Southseaman. Martyr's misadventures included having the cast iron keel of his new schooner sink into a swamp on its way from Halifax (we now have much better roads!). "

I don't know if that means Roue or not ?

Interesting that the Weston Martyr book the Southseaman should pop up in that same paragraph. I hated that book.Still hate it. I bet I nearly hate it as much as the guys who built the boat .

[Steve McMahon]

John:
The Elsie was designed by Bell along with 2 others who's names slip my mind at the moment. Bell was the driving force that lead to the unusual scantlings such as the 1 7/8" planking and double sawn frames, aluminum knees etc. She was designed specifically for the challanges of the lake. Shallow waters and high gusty winds. The skipper, and the info at the Bell Museum state that Bell researched the death out of it for years before construction started.