The Mass Bay Maritime Artisans (MBMA) have certainly been busy over the past couple months! In addition to gathering materials for the Kingston Lobster Boat, they have also been working hard to finish some other lingering projects in order to make more space for the Kingston Lobster Boat (and some of these projects may provide a bit more funding toward the Lobster Boat too!).

For instance, MBMA is almost done fixing up an old 20-ft. cedar canoe and is working to rebuild a 1964 Beetle Cat, including replacing the stem, frames, keel, centerboard, and ribs. These projects are great learning opportunities for other projects, including the Kingston Lobster Boat!

As mentioned, the MBMA team has been getting materials and are in the planning stages for the Kingston Lobster Boat. They are in the process of securing materials for the keel. They also managed to track down a piece of wood with a single, solid curve needed for the stem of the boat. The wood is at New England Navel Timbers in Connecticut, and one of the MBMA members is heading there soon to pick it up. Stems oftentimes need to be made with multiple pieces of wood due to the curve – so, finding a single, solid piece is a great find!

All the molds for the Kingston Lobster Boat are now made too. This is an important step because this is the basis for the entire boat. Points East magazine recently ran an article, “Artisans start work on 1885-style lobster boat,” which includes a nice picture of the molds. Read the article →

Since the Kingston Lobster Boat effort began, five new people have joined the effort. The group is still meeting on Wednesday evenings (6pm) and on Friday afternoons (12pm) at the Jones River Landing in Kingston (55 Landing Road). All are welcome to come by to help, or just to learn more.

You can also support the project by donating to the project through the MBMA’s GoFundMe page →