Mudlark's Ghosts

Book excerpt: Mudlark, build in 1953, is a modified version of the iconic Meadow Lark, a shallow-draft leeboard sharpie ketch designed by L Francis Herreshoff. But she is about to sink. Ian Scott decides to save her, and to do the work himself. This is the story of why and how he devoted many years to the restoration of Mudlark, and of what he learned in the process about wooden boats, the timbers they are made of, the designers and craftsmen who make and repair them, the tools they use and, not least, about himself. It is also the story of his imaginary conversation with Mudlark's ghosts: the designer, the naval architect who modified the sail plan, the commissioning owner and the builder. All are long dead, but their work lives on in Mudlark.