As mentioned above Alec used the holiday break to gain more experience in classic yacht repair and he filed this report:
I know the Oakcliff month-long holiday break is designed to make up for the long hours, days and weeks we work in the summer but I was still unfamiliar with the concept of having a whole month off. I wondered how I was going to keep busy and best utilize this time off. The two main choices that came to mind were go south and race or find some other work to keep myself busy.
I decided to reach out to Gannon and Benjamin of Vineyard Haven, Martha's vineyard to see if they needed any help. Oakcliff has three amazing classic yachts has under it's care, Nautilus a New York 30, Dolphin a Newport 29, and Annie Caie a Crooker cutter. Gannon and Benjamin are one of the last custom wooden builders left. IS THIS THE MAGAZINE OR A BOOK??They have become a bit of a legend in the wood boat culture in the past few years due to some articles in the "Wooden Boat" publication. Wooden Boat is the story of the building of Rebecca the 60 foot schooner launched in 2001. As it turns out, when I called, they were in the middle of two 40-foot refits as well as a brand new 22 foot build.
I decided this is what I wanted to do with my January. I took a wild ferry ride in the middle of the snow storm of December 26th and I started working the next Monday. Over the next three weeks I did everything from sweeping the floor to installing planking. At first glance you would think the shop was straight out the 30's. Everything involved in the build of the hull is hand selected for the individual boat by the builder for that boat. My plan was to learn as much from these amazing craftsmen as possible to be able to add my new knowledge to the amazing care that our three classics receive and deserve. I learned a lot from the Gannon and Benjamin craftsmen who had hundreds of years of combined experience working on beautiful wooden boats. I also quickly realized that even if I spent years working with them, there would still be more to learn.
PS: Alec also borrowed Maurice while Andrew was in Seattle - he enjoyed posing for photos in classic surroundings.
