Lumber From 1860s Main Street Building Will Take on New Life as Boat
By Karen Gould

Roman Barnwell is working on the hull of the 11-foot sailboat he plans to have finished and in the water by spring. On January 21, he is in the process of securing molds to the keel around which planks will be fastened. (Photograph by Daniel Calvin)

A new vessel that will be seen sailing the waters around Mackinac Island this summer already has more than 100 years of history behind it. An 11-foot lapstrake sailing dinghy is being hand built using reclaimed lumber from an 1860s Main Street building.

The wood is coming from Edward's Gifts, on the corners of Main and Astor streets. Some of the original white pine no longer is needed as the building is remodeled, brought up to commercial code, and rooms are reconfigured on the second floor.

The boat's builder, Roman Emory Barnwell, is on Matt Myers' construction crew at Edward's Gifts project. Having returned in September after spending a year studying boat building in England, Mr. Barnwell said, the discarded wood caught his eye and he decided to make good use of the scrap lumber. With permission to use the wood from Mr. Myers and the building's owner, Al Arbib, Mr. Barnwell began his project.

Since early January he has been working on his boat in the evenings and on weekends, crafting it from an old design that he modified. His shop is a family shed in Harrisonville.

A graduate of the University of Montana with a bachelor's degree in recreation management, Mr. Barnwell decided he wanted to take his career in another direction. He always has valued the Great Lakes, he said. Having grown up in Harbor Springs, he spent his summers on the Island with his family and his grandmother, Margaret McIntire, who owns the Iroquois Hotel.

Learning how to build boats seemed an easy transition.

"I've always enjoyed being on the water," he said, "and it seemed like a good idea, the perfect career choice."

In the fall of 2006, Mr. Barnwell began classes at the International Boat Building Training College in Lowestoft, England. He was graduated with distinction a year later.

"Building a boat in my spare time," he said, "is just a way to keep my boat building skills honed."

This is his first winter on the Island and the project keeps him busy.

For the custom built sailboat, he is using traditional boat building construction methods. He will be making a steam box to bend the wood and he plans to use copper rivets.

"No fiberglass," he said with certainty.

He began his work by lofting, which is drawing the boat on the floor at full scale to allow construction of the molds, the stem, keel, and transom. He is modifying a ninefoot boat to about 12 feet.

"I wanted a bigger boat," he said, "so I scaled it up a bit and increased the angle of the transom."

At that size, the boat can easily be sailed by one person, he said, and it also can hold about three more friends.

The disadvantage of using the old wood is that he must plug all the old nail holes.

He will paint the hull and make his own sails later.

As for a name, "I'll worry about that in the spring time," he said. "I've got to build it first."