Belated boat update...

The boys and I (and their Granddaddy) spent several hours on the boats early this summer. We will repaint them in the fall, but first we oiled the inside of both with great care.

The larger is a 14 foot Whitehall (named after the street in NY where they were first made and famed for their speed in the harbor (the first boat to meet a merchant ship coming in got dibs on the best cargo, speed was important)). She has beautiful 9 foot oars and she just flys (all the more so when there are two oarmen). This whitehall was retrofitted to take a small sail.

The other is a wee pram. A dear friend asked a local boatbuilder to make him the smallest boat possible that could safely hold three adults and gear. This 6 foot pram was the result. He has moved away for a bit and left it on indefinite loan, to be cared for and used vigorously by Thing 1 and Thing 2. Thing 2 is learning to row this summer...additional photos are likely to follow.