Stories and photos by Cindy Ruggieri
Fast forward to now and I’m here again, even more impressed at the changes and growth that has happened over the more than 10 years since its opening.
The mission of the boating museum has remained the same over the years: “For the education, preservation and celebration of the boating activities and boat building heritage of the Finger Lakes.” The museum has expanded to multiple buildings with more than 70 boats on display, along with a number of interactive activities along the way. It’s a long and storied history of Finger Lakes boating, starting with the steam boats that traveled the lakes with miniature to-scale models and continuing with the wooden beauties created by well-known Finger Lakes builders.
Boat exhibits include inboards and outboards, canoes, sailboats, rowboats and more. I chatted with Nicole Katsur, boatworks and collections manager for the museum, as I visited the collections.
“The Adirondacks has guide boats, the Thousand Islands has skiffs the Finger Lakes has trout boats,” she explained while we viewed the trout boat collection. Canoes, old and new, are displayed with the old winery murals in the background, and another section holds the lightening models.
When we entered the last building of the tour, I uttered, “Ah, these are the wooden beauties!”
“These are some of our favorites that we just had to show off,” Katsur said.
The museum’s newest exhibit, which opened in August of this year, is A Salute to Captains, in honor of Captain John Moretti, a late former captain of the Pat II wooden tour boat. “This exhibit was partially funded by his fellow captains, not only to honor John, but to recognize the contributions of boating captains,” said Katsur.
I enjoyed the fun facts related to boating or the Finger Lakes Region, such as the fish native to the lakes, how to tie a nautical knot and the names of the well-know boat builders from the region. The gorgeous murals throughout the buildings provided a beautiful backdrop to the displays, whether older ones left from the winery days or new ones created to complement the exhibits.
There are plenty of things to hold the attention of kids. At the junior boatbuilding shop, youngsters can build their own miniature wooden boats. In each exhibit hall, there is something for them to explore and enjoy. The tugboat is a fun hands-on attraction for kids (and adults) of all ages. “This is an exception to our mission of displaying only Finger Lakes boats,” Katsur noted. “It was a donation to the museum that we couldn’t resist, to be used as an interactive playboat for the kids.” Sawbelly’s Bait Shop in the trout boat room and the Lakeside Cabin in the Wightman Hall are both intended as interactive play areas for young visitors.
There are two boat building shops: the smaller original shop in the main building and the large, newer one across the street. Both are open to the public. Visitors can wander around and chat with the volunteers who spend hours there building or restoring wooden boats. This is also where they hold their various workshops for specific skills such as finishing, canvasing and wood bending, or more advanced classes such as boat building.
A mahogany deck caught my eye in the boat shop, and the volunteer Peter stopped his work to chat with me. “This was pretty much a wreck, but fellow craftsman Rob rescued it and was determined to restore it,” he said. “There is still a way to go, but after hundreds of hours it has come a long way.”
It’s a 1941 K-boat made in Dundee by Murray-Wright, one of only about 100 that remain out of the original 323 created. Peter explained about wider mahogany wood used and the painstaking art of properly curving the wood – almost every piece of wood used has a curve. “Boats are built for function, and then the form follows function,” Peter said, showing me the curves for function and then beauty.
This is all part of the museum’s commitment to involve the community, whether in teaching classes such as boater safety, coffee lectures on specific skills or planning field trips for students from pre-K through college. It also holds events during the year to give people a night out at the museum. The March cabin fever event is a themed night out, with music by a cover band, food and drink tasting, and tables decorated by attendees with voting for the winner. The fall Legends and Lore event features actors doing skits and telling Finger Lakes stories and a behind the scenes tour of the underground tunnels that connect the museum’s buildings.
The basement level of the main building is gorgeous with all the remnants of the previous winery. The curved stone walls, huge wooden wine barrels and Corning glass tubes used to pump the wine through the building are still intact. This area is used for social events and is available to the community to rent.
From June through mid-October, daily boat tours are offered on the historic Pat II, a 101-year-old wooden boat, one of the early reconstruction projects for the museum. With more than 18,000 volunteer hours spanning seven years, the Pat II is the museum’s flagship boat to be used as a public vessel. Tours depart from Depot Park in Hammondsport and cruise Keuka Lake, with narration about the Pat II, history of the lake, steamboat history and historical houses and landmarks.
Katsur has high praise for all volunteers. “The museum is mostly operated by volunteers, whether driving the boats, working on restoration or conducting classes, planning events throughout the year or all the behind-the-scenes facilities work such as repair and maintenance. We couldn’t do any of this without our volunteers. They make this place so special.”
What’s next for the Finger Lakes Boating Museum? “We are always looking ahead, planning for additional new and exciting exhibits in the coming years” stated Katsur. “We have a couple hundred boats in storage waiting for restoration, display or to potentially use for our day camps.”
I can’t wait to see what happens next, and I won’t be waiting another 10 years before I visit again.
Visit flbm.org for more information.
