Sea Mew was purchased on September 29th and restoration began the following week. Cooperatively owned, she is being restored by four owners with the hopes of being launched by May of 2015. Work is being done on a trailer outdoors under tarp cover. The photo above is some 10+ years ago of the boat under sail in New England.
Sea Mew was built in 1981 by John E Wilbur in Noank, Connecticut. With a catboat hull and a gaff-sloop rig she was designed after the Noank Sloops. These workboats were intended for oystering, lobstering, and line fishing in the open waters off of Connecticut. Their design can be traced back to the similar New York sloops. Sea Mew is 26 feet long overall, 20 feet long at the waterline, has an 8 foot beam and a 3 foot draft. She weighs in around 4000 lbs. Frames and structural wood is white oak and the hull is carvel planked with white cedar. A centerboard compliments the full length shallow keel to allow for beaching and shallow landings. There is an inboard Palmer Wisconsin PW-27 single cylinder 8 horsepower gasoline engine currently not operational. Max powered speed is 4 knots with a cruising speed of 3 knots.
As of today the cabin top has been removed as has most of the interior of the cockpit. The entire deck will need replaced as will most of the upper starboard quarter. Many upper frames are rotten and will need replaced to new frames sistered in. After being out of the water for 10+ years the planks have shrunk and the whole hull will need to be recaulked. See photos below taken today:
More updates to come as time permits and work progresses.
Have fun along the way, its looks like you got yourself a great project there
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