"Taking the Lines" of the Eleanor

Alan Hamilton and Robert Rasner at work measuring the Eleanor

The ambitious effort of restoring the 109-year-old Hudson River sloop Eleanor began in earnest yesterday as boat restorer Casson Kennedy and a trio of volunteers began "taking the lines" of the Eleanor. As Kennedy explained when, at the end of the work day, he talked about the day's progress, a boat restoration project ideally begins with the original plans for the boat, and the restoration brings the boat back to conformity with those plans. In the case of the Eleanor, the original plans cannot be found and may have been destroyed in a warehouse fire, so the plans must be re-created based on the evidence provided by the boat itself. By measuring the boat from three different perspectives, reference points are discovered that are the starting point for re-creating the original plans, which will guide the restoration. 

The Eleanor was built to be fast on the water. She is the last surviving example of a class of boats known as "raceabouts." Kennedy explained that over the years the Eleanor has lost a lot of her shape. In particular, the ends have sagged down. The goal is to put the boat back into its original shape so it can sail again as it was meant to.  

To learn more about the Eleanor and the restoration project, see Audra Jornov's article in today's Register-Star: "Better days ahead for the Eleanor"; and the Hudson River Historic Boat Restoration & Sailing Society website.

Volunteers are needed on Wednesday night, starting at 5 p.m., to begin scraping paint from the boat and release hardware on deck. Volunteers must be members of the Hudson River Historic Boat Restoration & Sailing Society and are asked, if possible, to bring with them the equipment they will need: screwdrivers, paint scapers, dust masks or respirators, work gloves, and eye protection.