Buxton Boats – Traditional Wood Boats

by Mike Crowe

New cedar planking on the shallow draft oyster sloop. The keel and entire backbone are also new. An 8-foot center board that brought draft to 8' helped counter the large spread of sail these vessels carried. Fishermen’s Voice photo

There probably isn’t enough boat building-grade wood left in the country to build the annual production of boats with wood. Both wood and fiberglass boats have their pros and cons. But the relatively few builders in wood who are carrying this ancient tradition into the future are the keepers of the craft. Given the competition with the fiberglass side of the industry, it be might be said they are the obsessives of the boat building business or, as one Maine master of wooden boat building has said, “You’ve got to love this work.”

After graduating from the boat building school in Eastport, Maine, Peter Buxton took his love of the work to the market. He worked in boat shops and fished in the early days after graduating. He worked at Wade Dow’s Bridges Point Boatyard for 8 years where he built 24s and lobster boats – a lot of Duffys and Hollands, said Buxton. At one point he bought a Spencer Lincoln designed hull from John Hutchins’ shop in Cushing, redesigned parts of the hull and finished it from the hull up. That boat became Andy Gove’s Uncle’s UFO. Since then he has designed, built and restored both work and pleasure boats at his Deer Isle boat shop.

Ellen Goethel, NEFMC member. “Last week, the co-op told the fishermen not to go out, because they were getting 40 cents per pound for fish that they were paying over $1 per pound to lease. That brings us a grim picture of what the fishery is going through.” Fishermen’s Voice photo

This summer he had an historic 1903 Long Island, New York commercial oyster sloop, the 37' Nellie H., in his shop. That there was a major commercial oyster fishery in New York as recently as 100 years ago would be enough of a surprise for most people. That they sailed extraordinary vessels during a day at work harvesting oyster is something else.

The Nellie was built in Northport, Long Island, New York by boatbuilder Erastus Hart for his son-in-law to fish oysters. In 1910 the boat was sold to the Johnson family there, who owned it for nearly a century before selling it to the current owner who found it stored in a backyard in Maryland in 2008.

The new owner has contracted with Buxton to rebuild it to its original working oyster boat condition. Oyster sloops carried a lot of sail for the power needed to haul oyster dragging gear across the bottom. The Nellie’s 45' mast, 20' boom and 12' bowsprit may be reusable.

Buxton has replaced all the frames, floors, planking, and built a new centerboard trunk for the new 8-foot centerboard. The boat draws about 8 feet with the board down. All but a supporting piece of the stern has been replaced in the rebuild.

Frank Gotwals’ Buxton built 38' Sea Song hauled at Billings for bottom paint. It is Gotwals’ second wood lobster boat from Buxton’s shop. Fishermen’s Voice photo

The shallow draft hull of the Nellie is similar to the vessel Joshua Slocum rebuilt in Fairhaven, Massachusetts and sailed around the world alone beginning in 1895, a trip he documented in his 1900 book Sailing Alone Around the World. That book quickly became an international best seller and remains a classic adventure story.

Alongside the Nellie in Buxton’s shop was a 1950s Boothbay 33-footer built at Goudy and Stevens. The motor yacht has been given a new bottom with six floors added for greater strength, and refastened and repowered. Unlike the oyster sloop, the wood in this boat was in good condition for its age.

With new builds, Buxton works in the traditional way from a carved wooden half model. He works out a final design on paper to consider things like how the boat will go through the water, optimizing fuel efficiency and reducing spray. One of his recent lobster boats is the 38' Sea Song, designed and built for Stonington lobsterman Frank Gotwals. It was Gotwals’ second Buxton lobster boat.