Roann (Eastern-Rig Dragger) Restoration

Built in 1947, Roann sustained three New England fishing families for 50 years. One of the last surviving examples of the eastern-rig dragger, Roann replaced sailing schooners like the Museum's L.A. Dunton. Powered by a diesel engine, and dragging a large conical fishnet along the seabed, Roann and her crew caught groundfish in the shallow coastal waters off Cape Cod. Her fish hold could keep approximately 55,000 pounds of iced fish. Roann's last owner, Tom Williams, sold the ship to Mystic Seaport in 1997 directly from her fishing career, complete with food in the galley and trawling gear on deck.

Hauled from the Mystic River in 2004, Roann is undergoing extensive restoration in the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. Within a few years, Roann will re-enter the river a new (old) vessel -- while only 25 percent of her original material will remain, all of her restoration materials will be steam-bent and arranged just as they were when Roann first entered the water in 1947.

Learn more about the restoration of Roann in the articles below.

Breathing New Life Into an Old Ship
For Roann's Volunteers, This Restoration is Personal

Originally published in Mystic Seaport magazine's Summer 2006 issue

From the outside, she is simply a ship out of water. Resting on a skeleton of scaffolding, she hovers several feet above the ground. From the inside, she is but a shadow of her former self. A tangled web of wiring, chains and caution tape crisscrosses her empty interior.

She is Roann, Mystic Seaport's eastern-rig dragger -- a striking example of the New England fishing culture just before it moved into a new era of steel hulls, regulated catches and GPS technology.

Hauled from the Mystic River in 2004, Roann is undergoing extensive restoration in the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. Within a few years, Roann will re-enter the river a new (old) vessel -- while only 25 percent of her original material will remain, all of her restoration materials will be steam-bent and arranged just as they were when Roann first entered the water in 1947.

In the meantime, a dedicated, passionate team of shipyard staff and volunteers continue to breathe new life into this traditional fishing vessel. Supervised by lead shipwright Walt Ansel, the team includes professional shipwrights Kevin Dwyer, Rob Whalen and Sean Kelly as well as a number of enthusiastic volunteers. Mystic Seaport magazine recently sat down with four of these volunteers to find out why they dedicate their time, energy and skill to the Roann restoration project.

What do you enjoy about volunteering in the Shipyard?

Wayne Whalen: It's a learning experience for me in just how the draggers were put together. I take what I learn working on Roann and apply it to the ship models I build. Whalen owns a metal fabrication business in Cape May, New Jersey, and volunteers three days a month in the Shipyard. He is repairing and fabricating Roann's ventilators.

Jim Collins: You're treated as if you were a regular employee. Your advice is sought by other people at the Museum. They find out what your talents are, then find things that you're capable of doing. Collins spent 24 years in the U.S. Navy and 34 years as an engineer at Electric Boat. He, Dick Wing and Dick Burke volunteer once a week in the Shipyard. They are currently rebuilding Roann's engine.

Dick Wing: I really enjoy working with these guys. I can't wait to get down here every Wednesday morning. Wing is a retired professor from URI's fisheries and marine technology program.

Dick Burke: I enjoy working on different things that are mechanical or electrical or nautical. It's nice that the nature of the work always changes. Burke is a retired engineer. He began volunteering in 1997.

Do you have a personal connection to Roann?

Wing: Forty years ago, I did some mechanical work on Roann's engine for Chet Wescott, her second owner. To me, he epitomized the highest class of fisherman there was. To be involved in the restoration of his old boat is dear to me.

Burke: Before Roann came out of the water, Jim and I were her volunteer shipkeepers.

Collins: We did maintenance on her just like you would on your car. We kept up the engine, took care of the electronics, things like that.

Whalen: I have a lot of family members who were in the fishing industry, many using eastern-rig draggers, so I've always taken a shine to boats like Roann.

Why is it important to preserve Roann?

Burke: Roann represents a unique stage in the fishing industry when people shifted from sail to mechanical power, from hook-and-line fishing to net-dragging. And all three of her owners took very good care of her.

Wing: There couldn't be a better representation of the eastern-rig dragger. She's about medium size and of quality design and construction.

Whalen: The Roann could be a tremendous learning tool for the Museum. A lot of people love seafood, but they don't know a flatfish from a yellow tail or a scallop. The Roann would show them where their fish come from and how they're caught.

Restoration Report: Roann Renewed

By Walt Ansel, Lead shipwright, Roann restoration

Originally published in Mystic Seaport magazine's Summer 2005 issue

After months of major disassembly work on the Eastern-rig dragger Roann, the hull has been stabilized with external molds and shoring posts to prevent sagging. In a painstakingly detailed process, all the gear, fittings, hardware and machinery have been removed and catalogued. Large timbers have been saved as reference when the time comes to duplicate them. As the fall begins, shipwrights are working on the backbone and framing of the vessel. The backbone areas, including the stem, apron and forefoot knees, are being shaped from nine-inch thick white oak timbers, some up to 12 inches long. At the same time, the shaft log, a large 15-inch square timber, is being bored out with a shipyard-built custom boring bar. This bar accurately produces a dead straight hole five inches in diameter. While work on the bones of the vessel continues, new frames of clear white oak are being bent on. Roann was built with steam-bent frames, which is rather unusual for a trawler of her type. To build 120 new frames will take 300 knot-free, 18-foot 2 x 4s of clear white oak frame stock. Ultimately, about two-thirds of the vessel will be new wood.