Tag Archives: tall ship

Huron Jewel

HURON JEWEL: A Tall Ship for Drummond Island

by Captain Hugh Covert

The need for a bigger boat with more room, fused with a desire to sail a tall ship with passengers, resulted in a plan for a new boat which will be called the HURON JEWEL.  The current boat I have is in good shape, sails well, and has been a lot of fun for 17 years. It had grown in the planning stage from 18 to 20, 22, and finally to 36 feet long on deck. But, while it grew much longer and somewhat wider, it didn’t gain much in headroom. I have been captain of several big sailing vessels around the U.S. and the Bahamas, and have built several boats, so the idea of building one to sail close to home seemed natural. Continue reading →

appledore IV

Of Applecores and Deadeyes

by Bruce Niederer and Bill Bertelsen

Gougeon Brothers, Inc. has supported our local tallships—Appledore IV and Appledore V—since they arrived at their downtown Bay City facilities on the Saginaw River. These steel-hulled, gaff-rigged schooners are typical of the type that sailed the Great Lakes and coastal waters right up to the end of the age of sail. Schooners were the primary means of transporting goods and people over long distances. Continue reading →

Appledore IV makes her way upriver after a cruise on the Saginaw Bay with her restored topmasts in place.

Repairing Rotted Topmasts on Appledore IV

by Randy Zajac

Above: Appledore IV makes her way upriver after a cruise on the Saginaw Bay with her repaired topmasts in place.

The Appledore IV is an 85′ LOA topsail schooner owned by the non-profit organization BaySail, based here in Bay City, Michigan. She is licensed to carry 52, including a captain and crew of three, on educational tours of the Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. The main topmast and the fore topmast on Appledore IV were found to have rotted wood when they were inspected in the spring of 2006. Once the topmasts were taken down from the boat, they were brought into the Gougeon boat shop for paint removal and further inspection. Continue reading →