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Vermont Family Forests
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Middlebury College

Bicentennial Hall LaForce Hall

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum

Rowing Gigs Schooner

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum

The Schooner

VFF is working with the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum on several aspects of the Burlington Schooner Project. In this project, LCMM will be constructing a full-size replica of a 19th century sailing canal schooner at the Burlington Shipyard. While the Lois McClure will not be completed until 2004, visitors can stop by the shipyard, view the extensive Project exhibits, and watch boat building in action.

VFF provided both technical assistance and materials for the exhibit construction. VFF maps and text interpret the past, present, and future of forests in the Champlain Valley lowlands and document the story behind the wood in the Lois McClure. VFF hemlock built the schooner cross-section that shows visitors the construction techniques that will be used in the schooner. VFF will also provide lumber for schooner construction.
The hemlock for the schooner exhibit came from Mike and Kathy Quinn's 55-acre North Ferrisburg woodland. Mike cut the trees, and Bob Growney of Shoreham milled and trucked the wood to the shipyard.

Dick and Pat Murphy's 39-acre woodland in Monkton provided white oak for the schooner. Dick and his son Patrick logged, milled and trucked the lumber.

White pine for the schooner dinghy and hemlock cribbing for the schooner came from Ron and Karen McEachen's 41.5-acre woodlot in Bristol, Vermont. Bill Torrey of West Bolton logged the trees and Bob Growney milled and trucked the wood.

 

The Lois McClure sails on Lake Champlain, Summer, 2004