History of the Col. Lewis

First Stages of Re-building

First float in 27 years

Sails and rigging

Re-building (frames)

Re-building (planks)

Artifacts

Fave Boat Building Schools

Assorted Details

Other Sharpie hull designs

Photos From WBF 2007

Back to Col. Lewis Home

 Finally, after 20 months (more or less) working on the re-build, the Colonel Lewis has been officially launched!  On 22 May, 2008 we assembled all the Lewis "kids" that had grown up using the boat and (re)christened the boat.  It took four really hard swings to get the champagne bottle to break, but the 1/2" steel breasthook held up just fine.....
 
Breaking the champagne bottle on the bow (still image captured from video).
Afloat (without the help of plastic wrap) for the first time since 1979.
 The Lewis Cousins on the hull of the "Old Wooden Sailboat," ca. 1984
(L to R, Berk, Serena, Robert [a.k.a. "Chico"], Liz, David)
 The Lewis Cousins in front of the Colonel Lewis, May 2008
(L to R, Berk, Serena, Robert [a.k.a. "Chico"], Liz, David)
 A boat full of Lewises and Etniers 
(with bubbles courtesy of Steve Jones and Julie Mulvaney; 
note that this Bermuda Rigged sail will be replaced with a tan-bark Gaff Rig)
 Another shot of a boat full of Lewises and Etniers 
(L to R, DAvid, Mike [at the helm], Robert, Berk, Liz 
[Serena is forward of the jib])

So is the boat finished?  Of course not--it's a wooden boat!  I suspect that there will always be something else that needs doing.  For now, the list is relatively short: 

1.  Design and build removable flooring
2.  Get sail panels from PT Sails and sew the replacement sail
3.  Refinish mast and spars, and lee boards
4.  Design and build a kick-up rudder

Meanwhile, I've basically finished the paint job (see more photos at "Assorted Details").  And I've taken her out now a couple of times and she seems pretty much water-tight:  only about 1/2 gallon of water seeped in on launch day, and that was with the boat in the water for a couple of hours!