
Our Work ▸ Boatbuilding ▸
Kingston Lobster Boat
MBMA has built up a strong and experienced group of volunteers over the years who have been working on building the first Kingston Lobster Boat on the Jones River, the site of its origination, since the early 1900’s. We hope this project can help educate the local community about its maritime past, inshore waterways, and the importance of an active stewardship of the marine environment for future generations.
The Kingston Lobster boat was a sailing, rowing and racing watercraft designed, built and used in the waters around Kingston, Duxbury and Plymouth, Massachusetts in the latter half of the 19th century. Boat builders and America Cup Champions Edward Ransom and Nathaniel Watson, working in shops near each other on the Jones River in Kingston, Massachusetts developed the model about 1880, each improving on the work of the other.
In the 1880’s, a Kingston boat cost about $250 complete – but the world has changed since that time, and our costs will be much higher. Funds raised will be used for materials, sails and rigging, and use of the Shiverick Boatshop at the Jones River Landing in Kingston.
Our boat, once complete will live here on the Jones River. Not only will it be a symbol of the long tradition of working water craft and all the trades necessary to put a boat like this together, but it will be a practical object, used to teach adults sailing, demonstrate lobster fishing of a bygone era, and bring groups of young people together to learn the skills of rowing, sailing and teamwork.
Background Image — The Ransom, a 1904 Kingston lobster boat racing in the Shiverick Regatta (2024). The Ransom is the same design that is currently being built from scratch at the Jones River Landing boat shop.