Building the Schooner Lannon

Like lots of others before him, Tom Ellis had wanted to own a schooner for a good part of his life. One day in the spring of 1996, Tom was invited to sail aboard the Ellida with Jeff and Inga King and several other Annisquam buddies. That sail was what did it for Tom. He decided that that was about the size boat he wanted (Ellida is 63 feet on deck). Having been around boats most of his life and having been in the construction business for years, Tom knew that he wanted to build a new boat. He also knew that the only way he could afford to own such a vessel would be to make it a commercial venture. He had been working on his wife, Kay, for many years to try and get her to agree to build a schooner. What convinced Kay of the prospect of success was actually the sea kayak business Tom had started with two partners three years before. After managing the kayak business for two years, Kay realized that the tourists were coming to Cape Ann in great numbers each summer. And tourists are always looking for fun things to do while they're on vacation. She too came to believe that there was potential for a successful venture with a schooner taking people for sails around Gloucester Harbor.

Planning and Financing

So Tom spent a good part of the summer thinking his plan through. He developed a business plan and talked to anyone who would listen about what he had come up with. Of course, financing the project would be a major hurdle, though Tom didn't realize then how big a hurdle it would be. Buoyed by an extremely positive response by a Boston financier introduced to him by Sen. Bruce Tarr, Tom decided to go ahead and start building the boat with his own savings, confident that he'd be able to get the money necessary to finish her later on.

A Burnham Design, Built in Essex

Harold Burnham eyes a plank.

Tom had been talking with Brad Story for years about having Brad build the schooner, but when it came time, Brad was tied up with other projects and couldn't get himself free. Brad recommended Harold Burnham, another Essex character who had been around boatyards and who had been building and restoring boats all his life. In fact, Harold's family had been building wooden fishing schooners in Essex since about 1650. Harold jumped at the chance to be able to design and build a big schooner. Tom felt strongly that the only place to build the schooner was at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum's Shipyard, (formerly the A. D. Story shipyard, founded in 1813). The folks at the Museum thought it was a grand idea too. So, after meeting with the town boards to satisfy their concerns, a deal was struck. The Schooner would be built in Essex and would then take her place in a long line of fine Essex-built Gloucester fishing schooners.

Filming

Local filmmaker Albert Viator joined the crew with plans to create a documentary video of the project. His talents allowed him to become part of the background and to obtain some terrific shots of the crew in all phases of the construction. Lew Joslyn of Ipswich heard about the undertaking and volunteered to shoot still photographs on a daily basis.

Cutting the Trees

Harold soon came up with a design that Tom agreed with, built a half-model of her, and prepared to begin the process of lofting. Meanwhile, Tom had been talking to Jim MacDougall, the land manager for the Essex County Greenbelt Association. Jim was interested in offering the natural resources that Greenbelt had been overseeing (i.e., trees), for the Schooner project. He, Tom, Harold, and Doug Lachance, a local arborist, began walking the Greenbelt properties selecting white oak and black locust trees to cut. Other local landowners got wind of the project and came forward with donations of trees. Starting in October, trees were felled and hauled to the Shipyard, where sawyer Tony Chaplik of Marblehead had set up a portable sawmill. The Trustees of Reservations even gave Tom permission to cut white spruce trees on Hog Island to be used for the masts, gaffs, and booms. Just before Christmas of 1996, Tom and his band of 28 strong and able friends and relatives set out to Hog Island. After felling the select trees, they slid them down the steep incline of the back side of the island with block and tackle and brute strength, just like they used to do. Then Capt. Bill Lee of Rockport's Ocean Reporter, towed the load of trees up the Essex River to Perkins Marine, where they were offloaded and taken to Bruce Fortier's shop in Essex for finishing.

Melting Lead

Tom had hired Jim Lower, an experienced carpenter and shipwright, to help with the felling of the trees. Jim was a hard worker who proved to be a huge asset to the crew. Jim and Tom had been setting up the box for the lead for the keel at the Shipyard. Lead scrap was melted in a huge cauldron, then poured off into the 23-foot long wooden box. Fifteen thousand pounds of lead would serve as the outside ballast.

From Lofting to Framing

The lofting (or drawing) of the boat had been taking place in the loft at the Burnham Shipyard, located right next to the Museum Shipyard. Harold Burnham and Rick Saunders had been carefully creating the lines of the boat from Harold's half-model. From the lines they developed the molds, which were then used to saw the individual pieces (called futtocks). A good eye was required to find the right piece of wood to be used for each individual futtock used to form the frame, or ribs of the boat.

Some of the Crew

As word of the project spread, shipwrights began appearing on the scene, looking for work building the boat. Fran Cleary of Rockport, Peter Little of Bath, Maine, Dave Savoie and Bob Parlee of Essex, all experienced shipwrights and carpenters, were added to the crew. Jeff Lane and Heath Ellis, both high-schoolers, were hired to work after school and on Saturdays. Stan Dulong, 77, who has been rigging boats in Gloucester for more than 50 years, was hired to do the rigging. And Lee Sails, of New York, was given the contract to make the sails.

Frame Up

Dave Savoie and Harold Burnham attach a frame.

The entire crew would come running when the words, "Frame-up" were yelled out. Everyone pitched in to raise the heavy rib and put it into place, forming the frame of the boat.

Electricity

Tom's brother Fred, a master electrician, worked to set up the power and lighting needed for the project. Lit up at night at this stage of the construction, the Schooner looked more like a giant Jack-O-Lantern. But her shape had been determined, and all agreed that she would be a beauty of a vessel.

Planking

Dave Savoie, Fran Cleary, Jim Lower (hidden) and Bob Parlee remove a white oak plank from the steam box.

Next came the planking. Because of the curves in the hull, a fair amount of the white oak that was used for the planking below the waterline had to be steamed before it could be fastened to the ribs. Tom's brother Mike, a regular Saturday volunteer, became known as TrunnelMan. He took on the job of making most of the 2000 treenails, (pronounced trunnels), out of black locust. Treenails are essentially that, wooden pegs that are driven in to secure the planking to the ribs. Above the waterline, mahogany was used for the planking. The final plank, known as the whiskey plank, was put on in mid-April. The story goes that when the old crews would finish the planking, the whiskey would start to flow, as the crew celebrated a major turning point in the construction. The Lannon crew saw no reason to break the tradition, so not much work was accomplished the following day!

Getting Ready for Launch

The construction process continued with the installation of the clamp and shelf, boards put on the inside of the frame at the sheerline to support the deck beams. Then the deck beams and deck were laid. Next, the stanchions, bulwarks, and railing were put in. In order to launch the boat by June 21st and begin taking passengers in July, Tom did not want to take the time to finish her down below, except for installing the head. (Over the next winter, Tom built a galley and simple sleeping quarters for ten passengers. Heath and Nick Ellis (a nephew) helped with the work).

The Launch

The Schooner Lannon was launched on the evening high tide at just a few minutes before midnight on Saturday evening, June 21, 1997. A few hundred onlookers cheered as she slid the last few feet into the water. It was with a huge sigh of relief that owners Tom & Kay Ellis watched her floating for the first time. She stayed anchored in the Essex River Basin for a few days (as her planking swelled up) to let the area's townspeople who had watched her entire construction see her floating at last.

A few nights before the actual launch, the Essex Shipbuilding Museum threw a great launch party. There was music, beer, and several thousand people who had come to watch the boat slide into the water. However, this was not to be a launch as in the old days, when they cracked the bottle of champagne on her bow and then pushed the boat down the ways into the river to launch her. This time there was no "ways" and no easy way to get this 50 ton vessel into the water. She had to be inched toward the water with heavy equipment, with Tom and Kay holding their breath the entire time. And on this particular night, things just weren't ready for the launch to happen. So, the partygoers had a great time celebrating the building of this new schooner. People enjoyed themselves even without the actual launch.

A week later she made her way to Gloucester harbor. After her masts were stepped at the Beacon Marine Basin, the Lannon headed to her berth at Seven Seas Wharf at the Gloucester House Restaurant to be rigged.

The First Sail

On Friday, July 18, almost seven months after her keel was laid, the Thomas E. Lannon received her Coast Guard certification and took her first passengers sailing out of Gloucester. The Lannon slid out of her berth at Seven Seas Wharf at 1:30 in the afternoon. After parading around the harbor, she sailed out past Ten Pound Island, Eastern Point, and Dogbar Breakwater, came about, and headed back along the coast toward Stage Fort Park. Onlookers at Cressy's Beach and Stage Fort were delighted by the view of the schooner sailing past.

As she began to head for Stacy Boulevard, owner Tom Ellis decided to come back around to Half Moon Beach. The Lannon picked up a mooring and dropped a ladder. It was one of those blistering hot, muggy days when the only places to be are on or in the water. Captain, crew, and passengers jumped ship into the cool clear water. Beachgoers cheered the spectacle. After everyone climbed back on board, the Schooner headed back for port. It was the first of many spectacular sails aboard the Lannon.                                                                      

Here you see her at the dock waiting to take you for a sail. Welcome aboard.