There's another side of Mystic Seaport Museum. In addition to the 'theme
park' with interesting ships and larger boats, snack bars, gift shoppes and
people in costumes saying quaint things like 'blubber' and 'trunnel', there's
a marvelous set of resources for builders of small boats.

In no particular order, there a
- courses in traditional boatbuilding methods. The crafts won't be lost.
- A fine collection of small boats. I could spend hours studying NGH's
Alerion alone. The genuine article! (Please genuflect on entering the shed).
The whitehalls and canoes in the North shed are a religious experience,
too. The not-on-display collection is stunning in its quality and
diversity.
- A livery of traditional boats. Go sailing or rowing.
- Events for boatbuilders such as the John Gardner Small Craft Weekend each
June.
- The 'Ships Plans Department", a repository of documentation of the
collection and of the work of some very fine designers (LFH, Bill Garden). I
highly recommend the book "87 Boat Designs: A Catalog of Small Boat Plans
from Mystic Seaport", by Benjamin A. G. Fuller (ISBN 0-913372-97-8),
published by Mystic.
- The Rosenfeld Collection of marine photgraphy. Enormous.

So, go where the crowds aren't and have a lovely time.

Jim


dale austin wrote:

Greetings all;

Got back from a trip East last week. Managed a day in Mystic,
Connecticut. Here are some shots from the trip:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mrwiz...ic/mystic.html

Dale Austin