By Nick Patch, Champlain Longboats Director
As you’ve probably been following our updates, the Museum’s boat shop team has been finding creative ways to continue our boat shop work from home. It’s worth recognizing their creativity and work, as finding ways to do what we normally do in the shop from home is not an easy ask. This is definitely not your normal work-from-home position! We recently shared an update about two boats our team is completing at home. Today, we’re sharing an update on one of our volunteers and his work-from-home project.
Ron Ulmer of North Ferrisburgh has been one of our most consistent volunteers in the boat shop over the past few years. Ron is a retired mechanical engineer who with his wife Cindy moved to the area to be near his son, daughter-in-law and now just arrived granddaughter. Ron has been our master wood turner in the boat shop for the past two years. He has taught many of our boat building students the art of the lathe. His expertise is very much needed as all the seat posts in our 32’ pilot gig rowing boats are delicately and decoratively turned on the lathe as well as the handles for all of our oars. By our estimations, Ron has turned the oar handles for more than 50 oars.
Ron was looking for a boat shop project to do at home during these socially distant times and we landed on making oar handles and seat posts. The results speak for themselves. Ron took some videos turning oar handles and seat posts on his lathe at home, along with some photos of his finished products and we’ve posted those below. Thank you Ron for all you do!!
