by Peter Arenstam

The most hair-raising part of the whole journey of the Elizabeth Tilley from Plymouth to Augusta Maine was the few feet we had to lift and turn the shallop right at the building site. We built the shallop in the field out side of the Craft Center about two feet off the ground on some large posts. In order for the boat transportation trailer to pick up the boat on launching day we had to lift the shallop off the building stocks, lower it to the ground and turn it about ninety degrees. This whole process was accomplished with hydraulic jacks, large levers, blocks of wood and a whole day for eight people.

Simms Brothers boat haulers from Scituate, Massachusetts picked up the boat the morning of July 8th and brought it to the town boat ramp at Plymouth harbor. Nancy Brennan, Plimoth Plantation’s executive director, gave a short speech, John Howland of the Pilgrim John Howland Society, christened the boat with champagne and the driver slowly backed the trailer down the ramp until the Elizabeth Tilley floated free.

We had equipped the boat with pumps, hoses and buckets, not so much as a reflection of our abilities as boat builders but as a precaution against any embarrassment with so many people watching the launching. Try as we might, on the short trip from the boat ramp to Mayflower II where the shallop would spend several weeks, we could not find enough water in the bottom of the boat to even sponge out.

A support vessel aids
the Shallop in docking
Photo by Rob Vanbuskirk

We let the boat float next to the ship for about a week so that the hull planking could swell tight. During that time we prepared the mast, rigging and sails. We suspended a block and tackle off the main yard of Mayflower II and used it to lift the shallop mast and fit into the hull. The rigging was quickly set up and Friday, July 25th was set as date for the first sea trial.

There is a sailor’s superstition about never starting a voyage on a Friday. Technically this wouldn’t be a voyage so much as a pleasant sail around the outer harbor. With several members of the crew who would sail on our trip to Augusta, the building crew and a few other advisors aboard we set out. Too timid to row the shallop so close to Mayflower II, we got a tow from our work stiff out away from all the expensive moored boats in the harbor. The wind was just the right strength, the sun was shining and there was nothing left to do but set the sails.

All I can remember of the rest of that morning was the overwhelmingly pleasant feeling of seeing the Elizabeth Tilley sailing about the harbor. The white curl of the bow wave, the tug of the main sheet, and the gentle rise and fall of the deck as we moved through the water.

This article appeared in the September 2003 issue of The Howland Quarterly.