Undine Project
Recreating the "Undine"- Bermuda's fastest racing sloop 1850-1890.
In association with National Museum of Bermuda.
Nearly twenty years ago Barry Brewer invested over 2,000 hours to research and to restore the "Larkspur" a 21 foot Bermuda cedar picnic boat built by Ernest Gibbons in 1918. The classic lines and hour glass stern of "Larkspur" can be seen through the summer months on the waters of Hamilton Harbour or on her moorings on Harbour Road in Warwick. Sadly there are few remaining examples of Bermudian built wooden boats like the "Larkspur" left in Bermuda. Our rich boat building history is also disappearing with passage of time. This is especially true for early fishing and transport sailboats and particularly pre-fitted dinghy Bermuda racing sloops. Virtually all of these boats were built without plans and were sailed mostly by black Bermudians who were the top sailors of the day.
Recently Bermuda's most famous original sloop restoration was undertaken by Hugh Watlington. "Shamrock", decked in white, green and varnish, now fully restored sails the waters of the Granaway Deep and the Great Sound throughout the year.
In 2008 Mr. Brewer began researching early Bermuda sailing sloops with the idea of raising the funds to recreate a Bermuda classic sloop as a stable-mate for the "Shamrock". As there were few if any remaining plans for any 100 plus year Bermuda built sloops the hunt began for drawings, photos, paintings, articles and artifacts of a Bermuda classic.
;)
While researching Mr. Brewer found and purchased an out of date book written by Jack Arnell titled "Sailing in Bermuda" (1982). The "Undine" was pictured twice along with her race measures, race pedigree and clues as to her ownership. Further research put Mr. Brewer in touch with Steven Masters, whose family owned her for over 100 years and donated her to the Bermuda Maritime Museum, (now National Museum of Bermuda) in 1979. The remnants of the "Undine" have been preserved in a dusty corner loft of a boat barn at the museum for the 32 years since then.
;)
On Saturday February 12th a collection of interested Bermuda wooden boat lovers and museum staff began the task of removing the remaining sections of the "Undine" from the storage racks. The task of reassembling the remaining pieces of the 150 plus year old "Undine" had begun. The below time sequence images detail the removal and tagging of the remnant pieces.
In the upcoming weeks the "Undine" will be moved to a new location within the museum and reassembled on a jig to enable the accurate measurement of her hull and creation of building plans. Once these plans are drawn a decision will be made whether the new "Undine" will be recreated as a working exhibit in Bermuda or whether she will be constructed abroad. In either case the plan is to build and sail a re-creation of Bermuda's most successful racing sloop "Undine' for all of Bermuda to enjoy while visually celebrating our deep maritime heritage.
We invite any and all persons with information regarding the "Undine" or similar vintage vessels to contact Barry Brewer at jbarry.brewer@yahoo.com or Steven Masters at smasters@saltus.bm
Well thanks to those "crabs" and Museum volunteers that braved the weather this morning to help us move Undine's remnants from the rack to the boat barn floor for assessment,tagging and photographing. What we learned is the following: 1) The Undine was cut in two sections across the middle, one section is 11 feet at the waterline and the other is 10. 2) Virtually the entire port side (beside the transom section) is accounted for so in theory Phase 2 (Reassembly for measurement) is possible. However if you look at the attached photos you may not think so. Certainly our biggest challenge will be to make sense of the 50+ pieces of the Undine that remain. JP Rouja of 3) Look Bermuda filmed Phase 1 with a time sequence camera and plans to do the same this Saturday when we plan to move the remnants Undine's reassembly room near the old casemates. 4) Please mark your calendar for Feb 19th at 9.00 to help us move the pieces and begin the process of re-assembling the jigsaw puzzle. 5) We also learned from Wendell that the Undine has some sort of ballast system with pulleys that helped "moved the silver" for each tack as she was unfitted (not no weighted keel).So the project is officially underway and 160+ years after being build the Undine will be reassembled and the reasons why she dominated the Bermuda sailboat racing scene for over 50 years will begin to be known.Please forward any and all knowledge that you may know about the Undine to mine or Steven's attention.ThanksBarry
;)
A painting by Bessie Gray, from the collection of Sheila West Gosling (click for full image):
EMM Gosling was an amateur photographer in the late 1800's and took most all pictures of 'Undine' in Arnell's book. He was good friends with Bessie and she most likely used one of his action photos as reference for this painting.
From Martin Hatfield
Feb 25th: Well today was a big day for the project as Bermuda wooden boat expert Anson Nash and members of the the Maritime Museum (now Bermuda National Museum) and I were able confirm that there are enough original remnants to enable the partial reassembly of the Undine and take her measures and lines. Sifting through the hand shaped ribs, elbows, knees and planks we could find enough of the critical structural pieces to enable us to eventually pull together the bow, stern , keel, planking rudder areas to then attach to a custom jig and enable an accurate measure. The remnants still need to be moved to the reassembly room (Likely in April) which itself needs to be secured and made ready to receive the 150+ year old Undine artifacts. What also became known today is that there are many more photos that were taken before Undine was dismantled in 1977. Additionally we have some new black and white images of her under sail. Sections were marked and noted as well. Along with the previously mentioned 1927 Yachting magazine article about the Undine, (that has yet to arrive) the clues continue to come together. Very encouraging.
Barry
YACHTING 1927
Thanks to Alex Davidson another piece of the Undine puzzle was found. Below are photos from a 1927 Yachting magazine article on the Undine. We are hoping it will assist with the re-assembley. I will share the article in due course.
Barry
;)
;)
;)
March 3rd: Attached are some of the most recent photos that ongoing Undine research has turned up. To achieve an accurate recreation you may be aware that we are needing a break to enable us to figure out how the deck was configured (that is presuming that we are successful in reassembling the hull). Last evening I chanced upon a James Heyl's early Bermuda book with photos around Bermuda from1868-1897 and I believe that we may have found ourselves the deck view that we were seeking. Maybe??? In the second pair of attached images their are two starboard side images with Undine on port tack above and a boat that I believe is Undine on starboard tack showing the deck layout. Steven Masters still has the racing tiller and this may be an important clue to whether this is in fact the Undine.
Barry
;)
March 7th This evening Paul Doughty shared with Alex Davidson and me the half model of the "Undine" that has hung on the wall of the RBYC for many decades as well as Undine images and excerpts from the book "Under the calabash tree". We also viewed photos of "Nea" and "Thetis" two boats that raced against "Undine". "Nea" was apparently a cutting edge Olin Stevens design that for the first time separated the rudder from the keel. Very cool to see her revolutionary hull shape.
;)
;)
Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2011, 5:41 PM
Well over the last few weeks there has been a lot going on with the Undine project.
The really big news is that Anson Nash completely and totally suprised Steven, Elena and me by producing a magnificent rendering of Undine's lines after carefully measuring the Undine model that the RBYC's Paul Doughty and Peter Shrubb graciously agreed to loan the project. A photo of the plan is attached. Undine is as magnificent on paper as she will be on the water some time down the road. Anson believes that the drawing is close to the stated measures in Arnell's book, althought the official measures indicate the draft to be 6 inches deeper (could be a removable keel?) and 6 inches broader. Anson is somewhat concerned that there may be some difficult turns required to plank her in the stern based upon the model measures. (But at least we now know what the stern looks like!!!!)
So the project focus shifts somewhat. Now armed with a working plan we will focus on assembling the 200 year (approx) Undine remnants to affirm the measures taken from the model. As such Elena has secured a more accessible assembly room near the gated entrance to Dockyard. This room has been cleaned and the windows and doors will be attached this week. As such the long awaited move of the Undine hull remnants (maritime artifacts) will be scheduled. The room is 30x16 and will be carpetted with the hull pieces of the Undine puzzle laid out on the floor ready for the creation of the jigs. Assembling the jigs and mounting the pieces will be the next phase and may take several weeks.
One of the team kindly forwarded me a great painting picture of one of the traditional Bahamas racing dingies that features a hiking plank. The vessel is seen cruising nicely to weather. This image is useful as it reminds us of the opportunity that still awaits us as we begin to celebrate of Bermuda's deep maritime heritage on the water. Ultimately we are hopeful that as the original Shamrock will have inspired inspired the recreation of the Undine and eventually several other classic recreations. Warren Brown for example is restoring the original War Baby fitted dinghy.
As such the ask at this time is for ideas on how the "build phase" should be considered to keep the project "grass roots" relevant, accessible and inspirational. It has been suggested that a meeting be organized with the various sailing club executives, the Bermuda Maritime Museum and the Bermuda Sloop team (and others) to include and inspire others. We look forward to hearing ideas that you may have in this regard.
Barry
Date May 23rd
After 10 car/truck loads and a lot of effort by Kyle, Elena, Steven, Heather, Madison, Andrew and Anson, Undine was successfully moved on Saturday May 21st to the lockable reassembly room near the entrance to the Dockyard gates. Thanks to Dennis Souza and Dougy Brown for the used carpet donations. The largest section, which is the port bow half, was lifted onto the roof of the BMM truck and carefully transported ¼ mile across the top of the Northern Wall with straps and Andrew tethering the piece to the truck. The move took about 2 ½ hours and the heavens opened as soon as we moved the last section inside. With the help of Anson Nash the remnants were arranged on the floor with the stern to the West and the bow to the East matching the Undine drawing mounted on plywood against the wall. (See photos). Anson has offered a new system to help with the reassembly phase with a strap system to be mounted to the overhead beams to carry the weight of Undine in a keel up position. This phase will take several weeks as the puzzle needs to be fitted together. The work will be done on selected evenings through the summer for anybody that is interested in joining us.
;)
Date: September 21st
After a summer break from the project another piece of the Undine puzzle presented itself earlier this month. While attending a function in the Masterwork's library with Tom Butterfield, Elise Outerbridge and others I immediately noticed a new addition to the Masterworks collection hanging on the wall with a sign stating "New addition". In fact Tom and the Masterworks team had funded the restoration of the attached painting that was found dark, dirtied and holed in a garage and about to be thrown away. It is in fact an original unsigned 1850 oil painting of the competitive fleet sloops from the Undine era racing off the North Shore. Undine would have been one of the participants as was apparently documented from the day. A very exciting, important and historic find for Bermuda's Maritime heritage. Congratulations to Tom and the team for understanding what they found and investing in the restoration of this fabulous piece of Bermudiana.
Soon we will be back to the hanging and measuring of the Undine remnants this Fall FYI.
Barry
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J-P
The race is on to replicate the Undine
Published Apr 19 by the Royal Gazette
All that’s left of Undine — the Island’s fastest known racing sloop from the 1800s — is sitting in 50 or so pieces at the Bermuda National Museum in Dockyard.
But Barry Brewer, a boat lover and enthusiast, is on a mission to replicate the historic vessel so it can serve as a teaching tool for generations to come.
With no building plans, Mr Brewer has had to dig up old pictures, articles and artefacts in a bid to discover how the prize-winning boat was constructed.
He has enlisted help from members of the boating community, including Steven Masters — whose family owned the vessel for over 100 years before donating it to the Bermuda National Museum.
Anson Nash, Paul Doughty and Alex Davidson have also helped to gather information.
Now Mr Brewer is appealing to the wider community to help him save an important part of our maritime history.
“The information is dying with past generations,” he said. “That’s part of what we hope we can do is encourage people to share what information they’ve got.”
Undine is believed to have been constructed sometime between 1808 and 1830. She was owned by a number of military officers before finally landing in Bermudian hands in 1884.
The vessel is considered one of the Island’s greatest racers of her day and was called “the most durable boat in competitive sailing in Bermuda” by JC Arnell in 1984 in his book, influential book, ‘Sailing in Bermuda: Sail Racing in the Nineteenth Century’.
Mr Brewer said the boat was raced during a time when sailing was at the forefront of local culture.
“There were no televisions or motorboat races back then. It was about going to church and then races that were either in your canoes or rowing skiffs, or these sail boats, pre-fitted dinghy sail boats. There was money [involved] and everyone would bet on them.
“Most of the crews were black because they had the most experience in the fishing and piloting and they were the best sailors [of that time].”
When he started the research project three years ago Mr Brewer had no idea whether there would be enough information to piece the sloop back together.
It’s believed about 40 percent of the boat is missing, but the plan is to lay it all out to affirm what the measurements are and get a better understanding of how it was built.
Mr Brewer has already exhausted his social circle for information and made a public appeal on advertising site emoo.com.
He said: “We are trying to see if there is anyone out there who has kept memorabilia about those early days of 1880s and 1890s when photography was first getting started, about the Undine that would help us understand how the foredecks and topsides were constructed.”
He hopes they will gather enough information by the end of this year so the research side is over. The next step will be figuring out how to get the project funded, which is estimated to cost around $150,000.
The last part of the equation will be deciding how to make it available to as many people as possible “so it celebrates who we are”, Mr Brewer said.
“There are other people that we know are interested in similar-type projects and if we inspire them maybe within the next 20 years we have four or five of them, so when you go out in the evening you say ‘Wow, Bermuda made the most unbelievably gorgeous boats’ — and they did.”
Mr Brewer has nearly two decades of experience in this kind of restoration work. Back in 1993, he spent nearly 2,000 hours bringing the last remaining Bermuda cedar picnic boat, Larkspur back to life.
Since then he has taken on a number of boats and repaired them in his yard.
He took on this particular project in a bid to find a stable mate for Shamrock, the last remaining inter-Island sloop built in Bermuda.
During his research he stumbled on Dr Arnell’s book which listed the boat’s measurements, along with other important details.
He soon learned the boat had belonged to Mr Masters’ great, great grandfather, Samuel Alexander Masters.
Mr Masters, an artist and teacher at Saltus, said the boat played an important part in his childhood. Undine’s beauty, shape, texture and colour also inspired much of his art work.
He said it was an honour to be included in the project and praised Mr Brewer for his work. “Barry has included me in a project that is basically his and he has taken all of the responsibility and is doing all the work.
“But he has chosen to include me because he knows it meant something to me and my family’s history, so that’s a gift. That collaborative behaviour is unique, special and rare.”
Though the project is hard work, Mr Brewer said it was also a really fascinating undertaking.
“Instead of me working on fibreglass boats, which is fun, this is about building and celebrating our history. Before I worked in the insurance industry I was in shipping.
“My family’s business has been in shipping for five generations. I am a Bailey’s Bay Darrell. My children are 13th generation Bermudian, so shipping and boats have been in my life forever.
“So to me this was an opportunity. I see all the boats becoming modern, I see all the wooden boats disappearing, along with part of our heritage and understanding.”
The replica project falls under the auspices of the Bermuda National Museum.
For more information or to pass on photographs or other details about Undine visit the project blog: http://blog.lookbermuda.com/undine-project.
Reader Comments (12)
Well today was a big day for the project as Bermuda wooden boat expert Anson Nash and members of the the Maritime Museum (now Bermuda National Museum) and I were able confirm that there are enough original remnants to enable the partial reassembly of the Undine and take her measures and lines. Sifting through the hand shaped ribs, elbows, knees and planks we could find enough of the critical structural pieces to enable us to eventually pull together the bow, stern , keel, planking, rudder areas to then attach to a custom jig and enable an accurate measure. The remnants still need to be moved to the reassembly room (Likely in April) which itself needs to be secured and made ready to receive the 150+ year old Undine artifacts. What also became known today is that there are many more photos that were taken before Undine was dismantled in 1977. Sections were marked and noted as well. Additionally we have some new black and white images of her under sail. Along with the previously mentioned 1927 Yachting magazine article about the Undine, (that has yet to arrive) the clues continue to come together. Very encouraging.
Barry
Today my daughter blackberried photos of the 1927 Yachting article about Undine from Boston. What a find for the project! Lots of valuable construction details for us.
First there the are three great pictures featured. 1) An outstanding photo taken from astern (detailing the shape of the missing stern) as she approaches the stake boat (very wide transom unlike what I originally thought) 2) An image on Undine in her later years on the beach at low tide at Pitts Bay showing her water line and other important details.3) Beam view under sail (is a view that we already have)
In addition (and imagine this) the article apparently states that the Undine was built by a Mr Gibbons and two direct relatives of my wife Heather, Thaddeus Outerbrdige and Dr Henry Wilkinson who apparently helped build the boat while in their teens in Bailey's Bay. A very cool piece of history. (More builder details when I get the actual article tomorrow).
A new and interesting avenue to explore is to see whether the Undine builder Mr Gibbons is directly related to Ernest Gibbons (Lenny's grandfather) who built "Larkspur" which is the 21 foot cedar launch that I restored 20 years ago.
The Undine story continues to be quite a read as it unfolds.
Barry
The following was sent to Anson Nash after specific questions arose regarding important missing remnant parts of the Undine..
Anson,
I do not know the actual answers to your questions about missing structural pieces (maybe STeven does) but the pictures that I am now sending you should help answer some of your deck, mast mount and transom questions. What I am now in piecing various historical pictures together is that she lived in Pitts Bay for most of the time the Undine was in the water and while the Masters family owned her (1882-1965? approx). I have a access to a series of photos of Pitts Bay with Undine anchored in the bay. It is clear from these pictures, and Jack Arnell's book, that a small cabin was added after she finished her storied racing career in 1896.It is clearly visible in photos taken in 1890 and 1903.
There is also some discrepency as to when exactly she was built as the Yachting magazine indicated that the date she was built was 1808 and mentions that Thaddeus Trott and Henry Wilhknson were boys. In fact they were boys in 1840s. As Undine RBYC records also indicate that Undine was raced from the 1850's to the 1890s it is in my opinion highly unlikely that she is now 203 years old and was instead likely built in around 1848 not 1808 or thereabouts.This theory needs to be tested of course.
Barry
J P Rouja will soon be posting photos from the 1928 Yachting magazine article about the Undine with 3 valuable pictures.
Barry
Undine or not????
OK attached are some of the most recent photos that ongoing Undine research has turned up. To achieve an accurate recreation you may be aware that we are needing a break to enable us to figure out how the deck was configured (that is presuming that we are successful in reassembling the hull). Last evening I chanced upon a James Heyl's early Bermuda book with photos around Bermuda from1868-1897 and I believe that we may have found ourselves the deck view that we were seeking. Maybe??? In the second pair of attached images their are two starboard side images with Undine on port tack above and a boat that I believe is Undine on starboard tack showing the deck layout. Steven Masters still has the racing tiller and this may be an important clue to whether this is in fact the Undine.
What do you think???
Well today National sailing team coach Paul Doughty confirmed that the RBYC is in possession of an original half model of the Undine as well as new unseen photos. I will be meeting with Paul on Monday evening at 5.30 to view the artifacts. His opinion is that the Undine was in fact built in the late 1830s or early1850s, which makes sense knowing other key bits of racing and builder information.
The discovery of the half model is of course outstanding news for the project.
Barry
On Mon, Mar 7, 2011 at 9:58 PM, Barry Brewer wrote:
This evening Paul Doughty shared with Alex Davidson and me the half model of the "Undine" that has hung on the wall of the RBYC for many decades as well as Undine images and excerpts from the book "Under the calabash tree". We also viewed photos of "Nea" and "Thetis" two boats that raced against "Undine". "Nea" was apparently a cutting edge Olin Stevens design that for the first time separated the rudder from the keel. Very cool to see her revolutionary hull shape.
The cedar half model of the "Undine" is outstanding. She has a big brawny bull dog shape forward that feathers to become a long clean aft section that gathers in a modest but shapely transom. The pictures really tell the story. So after many weeks of research we finally now have a more complete understanding of her hull shape although it will be the reassembled hull shape that will tell us how accurate the half model really is.
Thank you Paul and Alex for both sharing new information of value regarding our girl Undine. JP will post all of the half model images in the LookBermuda website.
Barry
Malcolm Kirkland responded with..
Cod's Head/Mackerel Tail. "Efficient in flat water, but bouyant lee bow generates weather helm in heavy air and/or sea way"
Alex Davidson wrote:
Re Olin Stevens,
Nea was not his design, but story was, he was shown it as an example of prior design, when he was talking about separating the rudder from the keel ie what he was talking about had already been done, so often the case with boats
Paul Doughty wrote:
Barry,
Nea was not an Olin Stephens design, she pre dates him. She is thought to be one of the 1st boats in the world to have a seperate keel and rudder. Olin came to bermuda and had told Shorty of his idea, so Shorty took him to see Nea already well into her mid life.
Just to let you know that there will not be a move of the Undine's remaining hull "treasures" for at least a couple of weeks as the reassembly room is prepared / secured etc. More importantly this will give Anson some time to heal from his recent hip surgery. Anson will direct the reassembly effort. Meanwhile today a communication was initiated to see whether any sloop models, that were apparently crafted of early Bermuda racing sloops in the 1800s, and were shipped to England by Bermuda based Royal Navy Officers, are still in existence. Stay tuned.
Barry
Well over the last few weeks there has been a lot going on with the Undine project.
The really big news is that Anson Nash completely and totally suprised Steven, Elena and me by producing a magnificent rendering of Undine's lines after carefully measuring the Undine model that the RBYC's Paul Doughty and Peter Shrubb graciously agreed to loan the project. A photo of the plan is attached. Undine is as magnificent on paper as she will be on the water some time down the road. Anson believes that the drawing is close to the stated measures in Arnell's book, althought the official measures indicate the draft to be 6 inches deeper (could be a removable keel?) and 6 inches broader. Anson is somewhat concerned that there may be some difficult turns required to plank her in the stern based upon the model measures. (But at least we now know what the stern looks like!!!!)
So the project focus shifts somewhat. Now armed with a working plan we will focus on assembling the 200 year (approx) Undine remnants to affirm the measures taken from the model. As such Elena has secured a more accessible assembly room near the gated entrance to Dockyard. This room has been cleaned and the windows and doors will be attached this week. As such the long awaited move of the Undine hull remnants (maritime artifacts) will be scheduled. The room is 30x16 and will be carpetted with the hull pieces of the Undine puzzle laid out on the floor ready for the creation of the jigs. Assembling the jigs and mounting the pieces will be the next phase and may take several weeks.
One of the team kindly forwarded me a great painting picture of one of the traditional Bahamas racing dingies that features a hiking plank. The vessel is seen cruising nicely to weather. This image is useful as it reminds us of the opportunity that still awaits us as we begin to celebrate of Bermuda's deep maritime heritage on the water. Ultimately we are hopeful that as the original Shamrock will have inspired inspired the recreation of the Undine and eventually several other classic recreations. Warren Brown for example is restoring the original War Baby fitted dinghy.
As such the ask at this time is for ideas on how the "build phase" should be considered to keep the project "grass roots" relevant, accessible and inspirational. It has been suggested that a meeting be organized with the various sailing club executives, the Bermuda Maritime Museum and the Bermuda Sloop team (and others) to include and inspire others. We look forward to hearing ideas that you may have in this regard.
Barry
After 10 car/truck loads and a lot of effort by Kyle, Elena, Steven, Heather, Madison, Andrew and Anson, Undine was successfully moved on Saturday May 21st to the lockable reassembly room near the entrance to the Dockyard gates. Thanks to Dennis Souza and Dougy Brown for the used carpet donations. The largest section, which is the port bow half, was lifted onto the roof of the BMM truck and carefully transported ¼ mile across the top of the Northern Wall with straps and Andrew tethering the piece to the truck. The move took about 2 ½ hours and the heavens opened as soon as we moved the last section inside. With the help of Anson Nash the remnants were arranged on the floor with the stern to the West and the bow to the East matching the Undine drawing mounted on plywood against the wall. (See photos). Anson has offered a new system to help with the reassembly phase with a strap system to be mounted to the overhead beams to carry the weight of Undine in a keel up position. This phase will take several weeks as the puzzle needs to be fitted together. The work will be done on selected evenings through the summer for anybody that is interested in joining us.
-------------------------------
December 2011:
Just a quick project update.
First to say that it now appears that that there may not be enough Undine remnants to reassemble and enable a full confirmation of the half model dimensions. In examining the parts we now believe that when Undine was broken up for transport that only portion of the remaining hull were kept for storage. All is not lost however as we fortunately do have a plan from the half model that was kindly created by Anson Nash. So this development is not a major set back. We will still likely attempt to place the parts in place, to photograph the existing construction and affirm as best we can the stated dimensions.
This week I met with Barbara Trollope (Masters) great great grand daughter of the builder Samuel Masters. Samuel and his son Henry were apparently both sailboat designers. She shared 2 "Undine" photos from the family collection both of which were the original photos featured in Jack Arnell's book. While they are outstanding igages they really do not help us with our immediate need for a better understanding the deck construction. Barbara is checking with her mother for any other potential photos. However Barbara did deliver a valuable piece of the puzzle for the project. She shared a copied article from a New York 1891 publication quoting well known "Club man" Jordon Mott, who was the brother of America's Cap owner "Magic"establishing that Undine was then considered the oldest yacht afloat and noted that she was still racing and winning at that time. He quoted her owner Samual A Masters, who said that Undine was built in 1834. So her remains are 177 years old. I will scan the article and place it in the blog for you to read.
Soon we will likely want to do a feature article in the paper inviting people to offer any photos or knowledge that they have.
Once that is completed discussions regarding finishing the drawings and planning for the build (where, when, how and by whom) will begin.