This morning we loaded up the pooch and a cooler, and headed north to Clayton NY, a sleepy little town on the shore of the St Lawrence River. Monday we will return to Clayton to board a glass-bottomed boat tour to a nearby lighthouse on an island. But today the mission is to visit the Antique Boat Museum.
This place is not just a building full of boats, it is a campus of five buildings plus a working yacht house and docks on the St Lawrence River and operational antique boats on display that you can ride. I took over a hundred pictures but will try to keep this short, kind of !!
The Museum starts in the Haxall building where you pay a small admission fee, watch a movie, learn about the museum's origins, and see some introductory displays. There is even a library if you want to research anything related to old boats.
From there we toured the Small Craft Building. On display is half a building of paddle craft - old canoes and kayaks of all sorts, from the 1820's to the present.
The other half of the building features skiffs. The term "skiff" is a catch-all for a variety of small boats with specific characteristics. Skiffs are known for their simplicity, open design, and shallow draft, which allows them to navigate in shallow waters like rivers, estuaries, and flats. These skiffs have been meticulously restored and are amazing.
Next stop was a photo-op and Doreen looks like a natural skipper! This is a 1960's Rocket Runabout, a 14 ft Arkansas Traveler that was found in a field just a few years ago. It was donated with the intent it would be used as a photo-op. It was beautifully restored, but it is Fiberglas! It was finished to make it look like it is wood!
We then entered the E. J. Noble historic stone building. This is where craftsmen restore the old boats. There was no work actively being done today as it is Sunday, but you can tell it is a real live workshop. There were some interesting displays around the perimeter including various woods used in boat building and tools.
Built in 1886, the stone building housed the steam engine and boiler that powered a wood working mill for a timber and staving industry
In 1931 the building was badly damaged by fire. Charred beams and wall areas are still visible.
A boat being restored
Next stop was McNally Yacht House. There were some absolutely beautiful antique wooden boats docked and ready for use. Apparently you can pay to ride in these. I cannot imagine the amount of maintenance required to keep these beauties looking so nice.
The "Flat Top" is a 1955 Chris-Craft semi-enclosed cruiser and was donated to the museum by country music star Alan Jackson. It is an incredible boat!
On our way out we passed through the Dodge Launch Building that is full of more beautiful boats, engines and a nice display of very old outboard motors.
Last stop was across the street in the Morgan Building. The theme for this building is "Quest for Speed. The Story of Powerboat Racing". The building is full of old racing boats, all the way back to 1929!
Pardon the picture dump, but this museum is incredible and the boats and craftsmanship are amazing. I am thankful we were able to visit here.
From Clayton NY we drove SW about 40 miles to visit the Tibbetts Point Lighthouse. There are several structures here including the original keeper's quarters, the fog horn building, an oil house, the visitor center and another old house. The lighthouse is a working lighthouse, so it cannot be climbed and the other buildings are not open to the public, so except for the visitor center, we walked around outside, took some pictures and departed. The wind was blowing strongly and it was starting to rain.
The original keeper's quarters next to the lighthouse
The oil house
The fog horn building. Notice the horns at the top of the tower
That is it for tonight. Tomorrow I am going to try for an oil change on the truck in the morning and then we have the glass bottomed boat ride in the afternoon. Hoping for good weather!
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