Wooden Boat Rendezvous

The Wooden Boat Rendezvous is an annual gathering of classic wooden boats that takes place in the Fall (late September, early October) at the Monmouth Boat Club. The gathering celebrates local and not so local classic boats, but all boats are owned by people who are passionate about designing, fixing, restoring, running, rowing sailing and building their own boats. Since 2001 when about 15 participants gathered to show their boats and discuss their renovations, the event has returned to Monmouth Boat Club with an ever larger circle of exhibitors and viewers.

After a hiatus of a number of years the Classic and Wooden Boat Rendez Vous returned to Monmouth Boat Club in 2016. The event followed a modified format to provide support to the wide range of wonderful organizations and boat lovers in the Two River and Bay area. The following organizations were represented: NMHA, MBC, Baykeeper, NJFOC, NSIBYC, and USCGA

About a dozen boats ranging from the magnificent Naval War College admiral's barge to the Green Sardine were exhibited.

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page for a link to some really beautiful photos by Amy Milnes of Sheer Line design of the event. 

The event ran as follows:

0900: Boats arrived at MBC

1000-1400: Private viewing (attendees, MBC, NMHA members)

1200-1400: Music by the Clarity Porject and BBQ. 

1400-1700 Public viewing and NMHA yard sale.  

At 1400 boat owners provided short discussions of their boats and at 1500 the larger boats provided rides to exhibitors, the band, friends and the public.

Many public visitors got their first introduction to the wonderful Red Bank MBC/NSIBYC waterfront and its rich history. 

At 1600 the audience votes were tallied and the NJ Friends of Clearwater Pete's Banjo narrowly nosed out the Naval War College admiral's barge.

The following boats provided registration descriptions (Download full .pdf photobook):

Mystical              Auxiliary Sailboat             22 ft       2002

"Mystical" is a reproduction of a 7 meter 1928 wood French Daysailer ("The Tofinou"), designed for coastal sailing, with shallow draft and a centerboard designed for beaching at low tide for coastal exploration (and napping).  Built by Latitude 46 in France in 2003 elegantly fitted with teak decks and varnished mahogany. Lazy jacks, tiller lock, halyards and sheets are accessible from the cockpit. She is powered by a Yanmar 9hp inboard diesel engine, she draws only 18" making it very Navesink and Shrewsbury river friendly. Over 400 of these have been built, to owners including Jimmy Buffet and Harrison Ford, and the boat was featured in "What Lies Beneath" a popular movie in 2000.

"Mystical" was a survivor of hurricane Sandy, purchased from the insurance salvage auction at Allaire Airport, and then rebuilt by family and friends. Everything above the hull/deck was replaced after the storm (mast/boom/rigging/etc) and all wood was stripped and coated with 7+ coats of Epithanes spar varnish etc.  She has become a dear member of Steven Smith and his family and when she is not sailing, she is moored in the Red Bank harbor at Monmouth Boat Club.

Alert                     Powerboat                        25 ft       1996

This is a 25' open skiff built locally at Pedersen and Sons in Keyport, NJ. The boat is a typical Jersey shore SeaBright Skiff type powerboat developed in the 1950’s as a fishing boat and runabout.  The vessel is inboard powered with an OMC 454 cubic inch gasoline engine. The Alert is now used by Monmouth Boat Club as the Race Committee boat for officiating the multitude of races competed every summer. She is the most recent of a long line of locally built Sea Bright skiff MBC committee boats.

Green Sardine   Canoe                                 15 ft       2007

The Green Sardine is a Six Hour Canoe designed by Mike O’Brien in the 1980’s. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Six Hour Canoes have been built around the world, often by first time amateurs. Navesink Maritime Heritage Association has built over 100 of these boats in its community boat building program and the boats are used in its River Rangers program. While normally built with less exotic materials, this Six Hour Canoe was built by Rik van Hemmen with okume marine plywood and mahogany and is a little lighter than the typical 6 hour canoe. The boat is epoxy glued and for clamping purposes was fastened with brass nails.

Naval War College           Navy Barge         50 ft       1957

The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard built this vessel in February 1957 to the plans of the standard 50′ Area Command Cutter. Made of oak framing with double planked Alaskan Cedar sides, it was designed to carry a machine gun on the forecastle, but this vessel was fitted out as an Admiral’s Barge.  The vessel was overhauled in 1966 and extensively rebuilt in 1983 at the Bend Boat Basin in Portsmouth Rhode Island. For more than 1/2 a century more than 20 Presidents of the Naval War College have used the Command Cutter, as their Admiral’s barge and to entertain distinguished visitors.  It has carried U.S. and international Secretaries of Defense and Navy, Chairmen of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chiefs of Naval Operations and Fleet Commanders.  Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, King Constantine of Greece, and Secretaries of State Dean Rusk and Dr. Henry Kissinger have all been guests.  In addition to its ceremonial role, the vessel has also served as a Ready Rescue Boat in case of emergency. She was retired from the Navy in November 2015 and purchased by Joe Ruffini at auction.  After making her arrival here in New Jersey, it is now a private vessel, but continues to serve the Country as a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Operational Facility in the local area. Today the barge is berthed in Oceanport Landing, NJ. She is powered by twin diesel engines and provides comfortable day accommodations for about 12 people plus her crew.

NY/NJ Baykeeper            Powerboat         30 ft       1984

This is a Pedersen Pilothouse Sea Skiff. In style and design this vessel is typical of the larger 1950’s and 1960’s fishing and utility vessels along the New Jersey shores and is a derivation of the traditional Sea Bright beached launched skiff. It was built by Hans Pedersen & Sons, Keyport, NJ, one of the last remaining wooden boat yards in the area. She is fitted with a diesel engine and was originally built for rescue towing. At present the vessel serves as the primary patrol vessel of the NY/NJ Baykeeper Association and is captained by Pete Cangeloso and Steve Delaney. The vessel is built of oak frames and mahogany lapstrake planking. Her small boom is fitted to help the crew recover debris and place oyster reef components on the local bay and river bottoms.

Unnamed           Fixed Seat Rowboat        16 ft       2016

Sharpies are flat bottomed traditional commercial utility boats. They are designed to be simple and quick to built, but are often very good rowing boats. They row easily when light and when more heavily loaded they have good water line length that provides good carry. Today these boats are used for recreational rowing with one or two rowers each with double oars. This boat was built by Charles Gross with marine plywood and fiberglass taped seams and she is for sale.

Pete's Banjo       Sailing Garvey                  26 ft   2015

Inspired by the Tuckerton River Sailing Garvey, with interesting variations, this vessel is the successor of the all wooden Adam Hyler sailing garvey which is now in the collection of Tuckerton Seaport. This vessel was built over the course of a number of years by volunteers and was modified to allow more sailing, a longer life and less maintenance. While she was entirely constructed of wood and used Adam Hyler’s rig, her hull is covered with fiberglass cloth and epoxy to reduce rot and to obviate the need for caulking and hull swelling upon launch. Her uppers are still wood and her white oak forward splashboard is carved with a motto that refers to Pete Seeger’s Banjo.   Pete’s Banjo is New Jersey Friends of Clearwater's principal vessel for its Environmental Sail Program.

River Runner      Powerboat                        18 ft       1992

This is reportedly the last power Sea Bright skiff that Charlie Hankins built, and was originally named Charles Hankins. She was purchased by Dannie Schade and Rik van Hemmen in 2010 and was recently renamed River Runner. She is a direct descendant of the traditional beach launched early 1900 Sea Bright Skiffs, but instead of a small gasoline engine, has an 18 Hp Yanmar diesel engine. She is of traditional Sea Bright Skiff construction with long leaf yellow pine keel, oak steam bent frames and white cedar planking.

No name             Outboard Runabout       14 ft       1956

This is a Yellow Jacket model 202U cold molded wooden outboard runabout. Yellow Jackets was a molded wooden boat producer that built boats in Texas from molded wooden bare hulls produced in Canada between 1949 to 1959. At that time these boats were also sold in the Sears catalog. This boat is owned by Kate Ketchum and Michael Wu and was recently restored at Fair Haven Boat works. 

Second Wind     Sailing Dinghy                   14 ft       2000?

This is one of the last designs by Nat Herreshoff, America's greatest yacht designer and possibly the world's greatest yacht designer. It was designed in 1925 as a training dinghy and is referred to as the Herreshoff 14 or the Biscayne Bay sailing dinghy. It continues to be built, often by amateurs, and this one was built by Darrell Jackson. He donated it to Sea Scout Ship 5 of Red Bank last year and it has been sailed by the scouts this summer. It is built of marine plywood on steam bent frames, and has South Amboy made Eggers sails.

Froetjers                             Iceboat                14 ft       1960?

This is a double DN iceboat. It is a two seater modification of the famous DN iceboat. This boat is constructed of marine plywood, with solid douglas fir runner plank and springboard. It has been a North Shrewsbury Iceboat Club boat for many years and was recently purchased by Rik van Hemmen.

Nereid                                Stuart Knockabout replica           28 ft       1933 (orig. hull)

This is a fiberglass and teak wood trim replica of the original L. Francis Herreshoff 1932 design, #53, of which only one was built in Boston, MA for a Mr. Stuart of Long Island, NY in 1933. She was christened “BEN MY CHREE” and was sailed and maintained at the Stuart family’s summer home in Maine.

In the mid-1980’s, Bill Harding of Harding Sails in Marion, MA spotted the boat in Maine and had her restored. She still is sailing today.

Mr. Harding obtained a license from the Herreshoff Foundation in Bristol, RI to build fiberglass replicas of the design at Eddy & Duff of Mattapoisett, MA, and Ballentine’s Boat Shop of Cataumet, MA finished the boats. More than 80 of them have been built. Following the bankruptcy of Eddy & Duff, Ballentine’s Boat Shop continues to build the Stuart Knockabout on order today. Harding Sails of Marion, MA still manufacture the sails. L. Francis succeeded admirably in using his earlier experience and familiarity with his father's great designs, and advancing them with his own independent genius and artistry. What evolved is his own pure creation, and an exceptional daysailer. Her self-tending sail rig allows her to be sailed single-handedly. Nereid is hull #58 and owned by Chuck Hunnewell of Red Bank and sailed from Monmouth Boat Club.

And here is the link to Amy Milnes photos. Feast your eyes!

We hope to see many more boats next year.