Schooner Ardelle

Over the last few years the shipbuilding industry in Essex Massachusetts has faced the worst slump since records were kept in 1860, and likely the worst since it started there in the early seventeenth century. In an attempt to keep the tradition alive as well as provide a more sustainable income for his family, Harold Burnham of Burnham Boat Building constructed the Ardelle, a 45-ton, 49-passenger, 58-foot “pinky” on his own account, although he did not spend much on her. The Burnham’s have been building ships on the same Essex beach since 1650. Master Shipwright and 2012 National Heritage Fellow Harold Burnham has designed and built a number of period wooden vessels using traditional methods and tools.

For more on the Ardelle and Burnham Boat Building: http://schoonerardelle.com; info@schoonerardelle.com or 978-290-7168.