Pow-Wow Craft and Robert Carr

[jpdcorp]

I'm new to this forum so thanks in advance for any info anyone could pass along...............
Wondered if anyone could help me learn a bit about a row boat I found?
Its a Pow-Wow Craft built in Amesbury, Mass circa I don't know when; looks like maybe the 20's or 30's.............
I'm thinking about digging in to it and putting it back in the lake but Id like to know what approach to take, just get her floating again or should I take some time to restore her. She was in a boathouse here in VT for over 30 years and except for a few small areas is dry and sound. Needs a few pieces fabricated/replaced but is all there otherwise.
I like her looks and am reminded of my very first boat that served me well in Hampton Creek many (many!) years ago
I think this Dropbox link might work for a few pictures:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ozde7bam7...7l4gNu-1a?dl=0

Also wondering (speaking of Hampton Creek) if anyone knew the last whereabouts of Robert Carr? I spent a bunch of time with him on the creek and in the bay on his Sirius (Spray replica) and the last I knew he was in Baddeck, NS....................probably passed on by now but curious if anyone on this forum knew him and where he last was.

Thanks

[nedL]

Nice little Amesbury skiff. I'd put her more 1950's - 60's maybe. There is a very similar skiff in a cow shed right near me.


Here is the one near me.





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Here is yours





Could you post some better pictures? maybe some close-ups.

My first question would be how is your skiff fastened? Copper rivets, copper clench nails, galvanized clench nails?

I don't know what you would mean by 'restore her', it looks like she would do well with at least a good clean out and a coat of paint.

[jpdcorp]

Thanks for responding nedL.
Better pictures will have to wait till I'm over at the airport again, next week.
Fasteners, cant be any that you suggest since they're rusting; might be worn galv fasteners; I will look closely and let you know.
By "restoring" I mean spending a few months vs a few days; just don't know the intrinsic value of the boat as is.......sort of like slapping a coat of paint on what you thought was a Ford Escort when in fact what you had was a Shelby Mustang. I just cannot find the slightest bit of intel online about Amesbury MFG; sort of strange but I'm not experienced with wooden boats.
Thanks for the pictures. It appears that the boat in the pictures is a bit shorter than mine. Does it have a data plate? Is it an Amesbury MFG? If so, they must've made several types. I have found one mention of Pow-Wow/Amesbury MFG marketing a sailing version of what I assume to be a vessel based on the same design; don't know...............
I love boats and cant seem to stop collecting them. Have a few here at home (Sea Hawk 245 and an old fresh-water Bayliner that's hanging between two white pines in the barn yard, plus a C&C 26 on the hard at Point Bay) Just want to do this little wooden boat justice.
Thanks again for the reply and Ill be back to you with pictures next week.
JPD

[nedL]

I'd suggest contacting Lwell's boat shop in Amesbury Mass. They still build their Amesbury skiff and may be able to shed some light on Pow-Wow craft for you.
It sounds like yours is fastened with galvanized clench nails. The galvanizing flakes off where they get bent over, adventually rusting. Even Lowoll's did it that way in the 50's and 60's.
As far as "rare and valuable",... Not so much (def. not a '69 Cobra). But it is a very recognized design in New England, built right where they were developed. There is a following for them,.. To the point they have even been built in 'glass for decades. A very popular design.
Your skiff is also one boat more rare. Your post prompted me to stop by that shed on my way home from work yesterday to check on that one here. Sad to say apparently one or more cows found their way in quite recently and got stuck in the shed. The skiff came out far the worse, it was trampled almost into unrecognizable splinters. Except for the stem and forward half of the planking the rest of the boat would need to be picked up in 5 gallon buckets. Quite unfortunate. I guess I should have asked about it a year or so ago.

[jpdcorp]

Oh no, sorry to hear about the demise of the "shed skiff", at least she was dry when she went to her maker!
I will contact Lowell's, have seen the site and thought about it.
I think I'll fix up the missing bits and pieces, caulk her and add some paint and just enjoy her.
Still haven't been to the airport, busy with other stuff here at home, fall's coming so plenty to do.................
Thank you very much for the replies and advice, I appreciate it.
JPD

[nedL]

And this just came up
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...ct-for-Someone

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/boa/5786795472.html

[jpdcorp]

Thanks, NedL, still here and appreciate the link to this new boat, thanks.
Ive asked this fellow if he'd be willing to share a copy of his brochure, standing by for a reply.
His boat looks like someone might've attempted to deck over the bow section for some purpose but it might also be one of the series of sloops they apparently built with centerboards, dunno....

[nedL]

I was curios about that also. It looks like it may have some tumble home aft, which would be more appropriate on a little sailor.

[Rich Jones]

Will be following with interest. A friend of mine just found an old wooden rowboat in an old barn. He knows nothing of wooden boats but described it as flat-bottomed. I'll be taking a look at that in the near future.
If you could post this in Building and Repair, you might get more responses.

You're in Middlebury, I'm just south of Rutland, not that far away.

[jpdcorp]

In Rutland a lot, I live in Cornwall, pretty close to Middlebury. Been at the Middlebury Airport for 45 years or so.
Im not Forum litterate so not sure what you mean when you say post in Building and Repair, you mean move the whole post over or just start anew in that forum?
Wonder what your friend found in the barn? Couldn't be another Pow Wow, could it, that would be stretching things a bit!
Thanks, Rich

[anexoldman]

Bob Carr, 1915-2001, (aboard SIRIUS) was run down in broad daylight by a tanker (which didn't stop) off Cabo Blanco, C.R in 1989. He was 73 and on voyage from Lopez Is, WA, USA to the S. Pacific Islands. Damaged and dis-masted, he made Puntarenas, CR, he remained aboard (there) until 2001 when all hope of repair was lost, v/l was beached and abandoned. He returned to Victoria, Canada where he died on Oct. 16/2002. Lies with family in Ukiah Cemetery, Russian River, District, Ukiah, CA. Best.
Anexoldman.
HS.jpg

[jpdcorp]

Bob Carr, 1915-2001, (aboard SIRIUS) was run down in broad daylight by a tanker (which didn't stop) off Cabo Blanco, C.R in 1989. He was 73 and on voyage from Lopez Is, WA, USA to the S. Pacific Islands. Damaged and dis-masted, he made Puntarenas, CR, he remained aboard (there) until 2001 when all hope of repair was lost, v/l was beached and abandoned. He returned to Victoria, Canada where he died on Oct. 16/2002. Lies with family in Ukiah Cemetery, Russian River, District, Ukiah, CA. Best.
Anexoldman.
HS.jpg

Thanks very much; a sad end from the sounds of it.
I had some wonderful times with Bob when I was a child. He spent a summer moored in front of our house on Hampton Creek. Id row out after school, my Mom would ring the dinner bell and Id row back in and pick up a kettle with food for us both and row back out. Learned a great deal from him. I was born just a few miles from his farm in Monkton, VT; small world.
JPD

[anexoldman]

Thanks for that. A photo from those Vermont days (Fall of 1957) is attached. You can see your old pal Bob (ca. 1975) on film at :https://www.nfb.ca/film/scoggie/ Best to you - AXOM.
Late 1957 near Shelburne Vt LoRez.jpg

[jpdcorp]

Looks like he's headed south, looking west. Another old friend of Bobs named Paul Aschenbach might be with him in this shot. Scoggie was a great film and it seems as though he and I shared some time with Bob in much the same fashion. Thanks so much for the link. Got me thinking about ages and years. I must've been 9 or 10 then, 57/58 so not long after this photo. Hampton might've been one of his first stops, don't remember. I do remember distinctly how we met: I was practically living on the Jones fuel dock, right next door to our house on Bridge Street. Id help out where I could, trying to stay out of the way but just living boats and anything waterfront-ish. Bob rowed his dingy in with a large oak water barrel athwartships; empty and needing filling. I helped handle the dockside hose and had on a Lake Champlain tee shirt. He wondered how on earth I came to have a shirt like that. We got to talking about Vermont and the rest is history. My Dad was in the Air Force and stationed at Langley AFB then. Mom and 3 out of the 5 of us were born in VT, her parents were dairy farmers from Hardwick. Wonderful memories; a great man who occupies a large place in my life..........thank you again

[jpdcorp]

You know, Bob couldn't have gone south out of the Lake; must've gone north up the Richelieu then up the St Lawrence, down around Cape Charles and up the Bay to the creek (no C&D back then?). Just thinking what that must've been like alone. I remember a sail or two in the Bay with just he and I aboard. I wasn't worth much with the sail handling and I remember he was very, very busy; usually on the leeward side, awash up to his knees; long pants always......don't remember cigarettes, just a pipe. I was an insatiable reader even then and he made sure I read Slocum and pointed out all his wry humor that would've otherwise been lost to a boy my age. He delighted in those parts! Still one of my favorite books; have it stored on my phone and listen to it over and over when I travel

[anexoldman]

I wish I had contact u earlier. Last yr I self published a book about him etc. Could have included ur details. He changed his orig. plan, he & Joe Skinger went d'n the lake/river to St Laurence and on to Sydney, NS (Oct. 5 - Dec. 10, 1957) then Baddeck, CBI arriving just before freeze up. Had a hard trip. In spring '58 to C'ston USA, then over-wintered '58/'59 at Hampton Va , d'docked and re-registered her Hampton. Do you know if he went back to sea on ships that winter? I sorta suspect he may have. Thanks for memories AXOM

[jpdcorp]

I would love to read your book, how would I get a copy?
As for Bob wintering over, I just don't know; been too long. One if my sisters might though, I'll ask. I cant really remember how long he was around or even what time of year it was. The weather was so unlike what Im now used to. I remember the day he left and I being plucked off the rail by a friend in a motorboat well out into the Bay. It couldn't have been winter or even fall; water just wasn't that chilly but just can't remember. When you mention him leaving to work ships, that certainly rings a bell but I just don't recall him leaving the boat moored in the creek, leaving and then returning sometime later and I know he didn't haul it cause there were only two railways and I rode through them both every day; no real room there to haul and leave a boat on the hard either. Usually just out, fix whats ailing, then back in again. All workboats and no time for lazing about. But, you know, he well may have packed up for a bit. I vaugley remember rowing by the boat and not going aboard......never wouldve happened had Bob been aboard......so maybe yes, he was gone for a bit. Jogging my poor old memory; love it! I turn 70 next week.................I think I may have a few pictures, probably not with the boat in them but of the house and the view out over the creek towards Hampton Institute.

[jpdcorp]

Asked my younger sister if she remembered Bob:

"Oh yes, for sure. Mom would ring the bell and we would be out on the lawn anxiously awaiting him to row to shore. And he would tell us where he had been and where he was going. We were fascinated by him, particularly you and mom. He was very kind. And he came twice to us, didn't he?"

I then asked her if she recollected that he went away and then returned:

"Yes. He dropped anchor twice, maybe a year or two apart."

Now, I don't remember that at all, not at all....................

[anexoldman]

Hampton Creek: http://www.trbimg.com/img-5ab95aff/t...rsity-20180322. I only published 80 copies and all sold. Had a friend photocopy one, worked OK, expensive, about 140 pgs., 125+pics. Interesting what memories you have. In 1959 he used a PO box in Hampton. He seems to have wintered 1958/9 at Hampton. Bob refitted at Wadamalaw Island, South Carolina, following spring, wondering if he returned to Hamp. from there? I dont know when he would have been there twice. It would be nice to know for sure. At Hampton, shows 2 anchors and rigged down.
At Hampton VA 1959, Laid up, anchors down. LoRez.jpg

[jpdcorp]

Wonderful picture, thanks
I tend to doubt Bob came back to the creek, do you know when he first arrived? and from where?
Why don't you scan your book? I'll do it for you if you lend me a copy. Wouldn't take long then you could offer it online fairly simply.
And I don't remember being able to see Virginia Hall from that perspective from the creek; wonder what changed
Thanks again

[anexoldman]

jpdcorp
Pls make contact using a private msg. to discuss further.
AXOM

[anexoldman]

I believe he had been on route from Savannah to Baddeck, NS. AXOM

[Gino]

I have watched "Scoggie" so many times and am fasinated on the Robert Carr journey. I would love to hear some of his story especially his time in Cape Breton with Scoggie,

[anexoldman]

Hi Gino: Will summarize the adventure for you. By 1950 construction of Sirius u'way. Launched Oct 1956 at Shelburne, VT. Lived aboard. Trials, sailed Oct '57. Dec 1957, Rough dangerous voyage - storms. Due to late season Bob forced to end maiden voyage tow'ds Carrib. at Baddeck. Spent hard winter onboard and caught Pneumonia. Mid-summer sailed Bahamas/Savannah/Hampton, VA 1958, laid up. Hauled out in S. Carolina, sailed north 1959. At Pictou Landing ca. 1961-64, worked Car Works, Trenton. Moved to Baddeck ca. 1964. Worked CB Boatyard, lived aboard at anchor, wintered ashore. In summer he occ. sailed, sometimes freighting gravel from Marble Mt, CBI to Baddeck and Pictou Landing. Left area 1976, sailed Azores/(maybe Canaries)/Barbados/Colon, arriving injured, rested up)/Panama/Golfito, CR/ for Victoria, CA/arrived Honolulu under jury rig, weak and disabled after 137 day voyage. Recovered, sailed Victoria 1982, 42 days at sea. Remained Vic.-Gulf Is area (USA), renewed mizen mast, sailed 1987 bnd S. Pacific. Arr San Diego injured. Recouped there. Sailed 1989, run down by unidentified tanker off Costa Rica, dis-masted, adrift. Eventually towed to Puntarenas, CR. Remained at anchor several years finally beached, abandoned 2001, returned to Vic., passed away 2002 age 87. Hope you find of interest, Bob was a fine fellow and Sirius was a well built and unique vessel. Hope this is useful. Anexoldman.

[Gino]

Hi Gino: Will summarize the adventure for you. By 1950 construction of Sirius u'way. Launched Oct 1956 at Shelburne, VT. Lived aboard. Trials, sailed Oct '57. Dec 1957, Rough dangerous voyage - storms. Due to late season Bob forced to end maiden voyage tow'ds Carrib. at Baddeck. Spent hard winter onboard and caught Pneumonia. Mid-summer sailed Bahamas/Savannah/Hampton, VA 1958, laid up. Hauled out in S. Carolina, sailed north 1959. At Pictou Landing ca. 1961-64, worked Car Works, Trenton. Moved to Baddeck ca. 1964. Worked CB Boatyard, lived aboard at anchor, wintered ashore. In summer he occ. sailed, sometimes freighting gravel from Marble Mt, CBI to Baddeck and Pictou Landing. Left area 1976, sailed Azores/(maybe Canaries)/Barbados/Colon, arriving injured, rested up)/Panama/Golfito, CR/ for Victoria, CA/arrived Honolulu under jury rig, weak and disabled after 137 day voyage. Recovered, sailed Victoria 1982, 42 days at sea. Remained Vic.-Gulf Is area (USA), renewed mizen mast, sailed 1987 bnd S. Pacific. Arr San Diego injured. Recouped there. Sailed 1989, run down by unidentified tanker off Costa Rica, dis-masted, adrift. Eventually towed to Puntarenas, CR. Remained at anchor several years finally beached, abandoned 2001, returned to Vic., passed away 2002 age 87. Hope you find of interest, Bob was a fine fellow and Sirius was a well built and unique vessel. Hope this is useful. Anexoldman.

WOW....What an amazing journey...I am from Cape Breton, moved to Halifax in 1993...Do you know what boatyard he worked at? Thanks so much for posting his amazing story.

[Gino]

WOW....What an amazing journey...I am from Cape Breton, moved to Halifax in 1993...Do you know what boatyard he worked at? Thanks so much for posting his amazing story.

[anexoldman]

Hi again Gino: Glad to help. RC worked at Cape Breton Boatyard at the foot of Ross St. Baddeck.
See: https://marinas.com/view/marina/g9cz...deck_NS_Canada.
AXOM

[Gino]

Thanks AXOM...all the best

[Gino]

Hello AXOM....I have a few questions regarding Robert Carr. Do you know why he came to Baddeck in the first place? Did he have relatives here? Any reason why he stayed here for 13 years?
cheers
Gino