The Beaver (Boston, Massachusetts)

 ship, replica

The museum ship Beaver was built as a schooner 103 years ago on the island of Aero, in Denmark. The ship was used for freighting and fishing. Her voyage to celebrate the United States’ bicentennial was nearly a disaster when hot exhaust ignited old timbers in the stern. With flames shooting out of the hatches, the fire crept close to the fuel supply. A lengthy bucket brigade finally contained the blaze and, following the repairs in England, she finished the voyage.
At the nation’s oldest marine railway, Gloucester Marine Railway in Gloucester, Mass., the Beaver underwent a major rebuild. The vessel has been given new frames, hull planks from the water line up, a new bow and she received new bulwarks, deck, masts and rigging.

To better replicate the appearance of the original Beaver, researchers found that the ship, Columbia, famous in her day for the exploration of the Pacific Northwest, was the same size and had been built in a shipyard near the 18th century Beaver. Because of her fame, Columbia was well documented. Based on the period paintings of Columbia and her illustrated log books, the look of the Beaver was significantly altered during the reconstruction to more closely resemble her sister ship, Columbia.
Fun facts about the Beaver:
• Fir planks used of the decking in the on the Beaver are 100-year-old wood reclaimed from a factory in Fall River, Mass.
• The 400 sheets of copper on the sides of the Beaver were from the Paul Revere Copper Company, founded by Revere in 1810 and still in operation.
• It took 22,000 bronze nails to install the copper.

www.bostonteapartyship.com/video/restoring-the-beaver-t...