The property at the former Breakaway Lodge is once again set to open up as a public facility.  Since March, we utilized the property to store our steam launches and other pending wooden boat renovation projects such as the 38' gaff rigged Sharpie.  In addition we have been working for the last few months to construct a new Paddle and Rowing Center that will tie into the AMM operations at 103 Water Street.  Our grand opening is planned for July 7th.  We have approximately 100 boats that will allow paddle and rowing enthusiasts to journey the 3 miles down the big river to the AMM site or take the more adventurous 4 mile route through the Four Tree Cutoff and then south along the Little St. Marks into the past Little Bay, Towhead Island and back to the AMM by crossing the river just north of the bridge.  The trip can be completed in as little as an hour and a half by a strong paddler or take as much time as you want. 

We will run trips by having a registration and check in at the museum location at 103 Water Street followed by use of a shuttle van to take paddlers to the Breakaway Lodge property where selection of boats, paddles, PFDs are made and assistance with the launch.  Upon completing the trip at the AMM docks, paddlers simply leave all gear at the docks or on shore and then check in with the AMM Visitor Center to verify a safe return and then go to their cars parked nearby.  For large groups we will coordinate for parking at the Breakaway Lodge and provide van shuttle as necessary.  The cost is $20.  Alternatively, you can still take our museum based craft out and about at $10 for half day or $15 for a full day and explore the riverfront, Scipio Creek or Treasure Island (aka Little Towhead) just across the river.  All customers are required to carry a cell phone in waterproof container so they can contact the AMM in the event of an emergency.  The AMM has a rescue boat to aid paddlers in trouble.  Note that trips are contingent upon tide and weather conditions.  

Overall, progress continues well with our crew of roughly twenty craftsmen working in teams on the many different systems including welding, painting, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, navigation and hydraulics. Even with this large of a workforce, the enormity of the project makes progress sometimes appear slow in coming.  When one considers that work has been progressing steadily for over ten months and the scope of what has already been done, the project does look to be closing in on completion now.  Most of our team is well seasoned and our planning tools are helping to manage the close process through a detailed list of tasks organized by component and team and prioritized based on hours estimates and workflow planning.  Bringing all the many steps of the project to completion at the same time with this vessel has heightened our focus on utilization of the Gantt style planning charts which illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of the project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the project and incorporate the dependency (i.e. precedence network) relationships between activities.  All of this relies heavily on thoroughly detailed tasks definitions and budgeting.  

A key advantage in these final months of the project is that we expect very few new surprises that have required the reassessments and led to the delays experienced in earlier stages of the renovation project.  All of this is to say that the launch date is becoming ever more certain as we close in on it.  Excitement is building among the team and everyone involved.  We have not purchased the bottle of champagne for the bow christening yet, but that day is now clearly on the immediate horizon.

New tongue and groove pine exterior walls and new windows in place

Painting of the trim on the pilot house.

Custom final trim prior to painting

Interior cabin work underway with overhead conduit runs in orange, new bathroom configurations and electrical

Furring strips in place ready for cypress tongue and groove wanescoting.

Engine room bottom work complete and being primed while engines and generators have been removed for rebuild

 Editor's Note: Renowned Naval Architect Jack Hargrave was the designer of this vessel. Originally commissioned for a family in Alabama, she was designed to capture the beauty and romance of the age of paddlewheelers while incorporating modern conveniences.  After changing owners a couple of times, Jean Mary was purchased by actress Debbie Reynolds. Unfortunately, her beloved boat sank in 2008. Ms. Reynolds donated the boat to the Maritime Museum so that she would be restored to her former splendor. Below is the text of a newspaper article about the boat's sinking from the St. Augustine Record:

Debbie Reynolds' boat sinks

'Jean Mary' was carrying antiques to Tennessee museum

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Movie star Debbie Reynolds, who played the lead role in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," bought a boat a few months ago. It sank on Friday in Green Cove Springs.  Reynolds, an actress, singer and dancer who came to fame in the 1950s and continues to perform, is also known for her collection of movie memorabilia that will become part of the Hollywood Motion Picture Museum next year in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

And that's where her antique-filled boat was supposed to be headed on Wednesday.  "It was an adorable boat," Reynolds said, in a telephone interview from California. "You know, just really as cute as anything could be."  She said she still didn't understand why a boat would go down.  "When you have antiques you don't dip them in water," Reynolds said.

Todd Fisher, Reynolds' son, said "Jean Mary" was featured on television as one of the world's top 10 finest houseboats.  Fisher said he's seen the salvaged boat from a live video feed.  "It's pretty hammered," he said in a telephone interview from his office in California. "When I told her, she burst into tears."

John Hall, vice president of Mobro Marine in Green Cove Springs, said his team used a 450-ton crane to salvage the boat. Part of the boat was sitting in eight feet of water while docked at Reynolds Park Yacht Center a mile away.  Hall said deterioration on the side of the 75-foot-long boat must have been overlooked when the boat was surveyed. That created a hole big enough to sink it in about 10 minutes.  When lifting the boat out of the water, Hall said, his crew was careful not to damage it any further.  "It's decked out with super-expensive stuff," he said, adding that it is not uncommon for boats to sink.

Fisher, also CEO of the Hollywood Motion Picture Museum, said about $100,000 worth of antique furniture was in the boat.  "'Gone With the Wind' Victorian furniture could've been in there," he said, laughing.

Reynolds' museum will hold the world's largest private collection of Hollywood memorabilia.  Fisher said his mother visited the $350,000 boat that was docked in St. Augustine by the previous owner.

"The family that owned it before put a lot of work into it for years and years," Reynolds said. "We were looking forward to living on it. We would sit out on the deck and sing and dance."

The plan was to float the boat up to Tennessee. Reynolds was to sing with her band on the boat around the museum as a publicity tour in October for a partial opening of the museum.  Fisher said he still would have to figure out if the amount of repair the boat needs is worth it.

Reynolds said she wouldn't replace a boat "you can't top." She said she would focus on filling up the 40,000-square-foot museum while on tour for the next couple months.  "You can see I won't be going by boat," Reynolds said.

Reynolds, an award-winning actress, has been acting for the past six decades and still performs.  Alongside Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor, she performed in the musical "Singin' in the Rain."  She received an Oscar nomination for her lead role in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."

She started a nonprofit corporation, Hollywood Motion Picture Museum, to preserve thousands of items she bought in an MGM auction in 1970.  Her collection includes dresses worn by Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.