Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Shipyard Manager Michael Gorman reports restoration work on the nine-log hull of the 1889 bugeye Edna Lockwood is coming to an end. Two years of work on the National Historic Landmark will come to an end with her relaunch at CBMM’s OysterFest in St. Michaels on Oct. 27, 2018.

With the completion of planking and fairing this fall, the shipyard crew then finished caulking all seams, knifed in seam compound, and gave the bugeye a couple of coats of paint. Her decorative red bead has been painted and trailboards have been installed. Edna has now been floating for a few weeks and swelling up nicely.

CBMM’s shipwright apprentices have been busy finishing pieces of the restoration ahead of her relaunch. Shipwright Apprentice Michael Allen is working on some windows, while Seip Family Foundation Shipwright Apprentice Spencer Sherwood installed her trailboards and built out the trim that goes around them. Seip Family Foundation Shipwright Apprentice Zach Haroth headed up paint and lead flashing details that protect various bits topsides, while also putting in final bolts in the deck structure, and Apprentice Sam Hilgartner built the new standing rigging for Edna in CBMM’s Corn Crib. This marks the first time CBMM has built its own rigging, providing a much-needed upgrade to Edna and her ability to undertake a National Park Service-funded Heritage Tour next summer.

The final steps in the project will include pulling out Edna’s masts, putting on the new rigging, and stepping them. After this, her push boat and centerboard will be installed, and booms and sails created by Traditional Rigging Co. in Maine, will be added.