The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 15 No. 13 - January 21, 2015

FEATURE

Boat builder commences historic endeavor

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

joe hendricks | sun

Herman Kruegle and Rick Stewart at the bow of the recently
purchased San Francesco.

CORTEZ – Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) Boatworks Manager Rick Stewart has embarked on his most ambitious project yet – restoring the San Francesco, a 66-foot wooden schooner built in Italy in 1870 and currently docked at the Seafood Shack.

In addition to serving as the Boatworks program manager, Stewart also sits on the FISH board of directors, and earlier this month, he received the board’s permission to move the ship to the Boatworks property on 116th St. W.

“I want to take the Boatworks to the national level, and this will give us national credibility,” he told the board. He said he plans to invite students from Northern boat building schools to spend their winters restoring a ship that is 10 years older than Cortez.

“This might bring some amazing boat artisans to the program,” said board member Linda Molto.

Stewart sought no FISH funding for the project. As the ship’s principal owner, he expects the volunteer-assisted private restoration to take at least two years, at an estimated cost of $2 million. He hopes interest generated by his “Tales from the Teak” documentary show that debuted last week on the Sarasota County School Board’s Education Channel will bolster the private fund raising efforts.

The first episode of the planned multi-part series provided an overview of the Boatworks and included footage of the San Francesco being towed to Cortez by John Banyas on Dec. 19. Future episodes will further chronicle the ship’s restoration.

Assisting Stewart is Herman Kruegle, a Boatworks volunteer who has championed Stewart’s leadership of the boatbuilding and restoration program.

Kruegle shares partial ownership of the San Francesco, and his duties will include publicity and private fund raising, beginning with the thousands needed to transport the ship to the Boatworks. The pair does not plan a public fundraising campaign or applying for government grants, but said monetary gifts would be accepted.

A moral quest

Standing aboard the San Francesco, Stewart said, “She’s got stage-four cancer, and I feel a moral obligation to save this ship.”

He does not intend to sell the restored schooner for profit, and he hopes to keep it in Cortez as a public asset.

“This isn’t about money. This is the diamond of my career and the last boat I’m going to restore. I hope the community will rally around the Boatworks and preserving craftsmanship. I’d like volunteers to have the opportunity to touch a piece of history, and I intend to turn this into a classroom,” he said.

The ship will eventually be towed to the nearby N.E. Taylor Boatworks, where the wooden masts will be removed, and the 14-ton vessel will be hoisted onto the hydraulic semi-trailer that will carry it to the neighboring FISH Boatworks.

The ship’s condition will be thoroughly documented before the European Southern pine hull is replaced with cypress, a waterborne wood Stewart says is termite resistant and more conducive to Florida’s subtropical climate. When the structural improvements are done, the ship will return to the water, where new teak decks will be installed, and the staterooms, bathrooms, lounge, galley and other features will be restored to their previous glory.

An international odyssey

Assisted by a Sarasota librarian, Kruegle located the ship through an online search. Once the Hungarian owner was located, a translator helped broker the sale.

Originally used as a freighter to transport granite to European ports, the ship’s Italian builders, who are still in business, named her after the patron saint of sailors.

When sailing ships gave way to steamers, she was used to transport contraband, including elephant tusks and art, but capture by the British Navy led to decades of non-service before she was converted into a sailing yacht by wealthy Italian owners in 1966.

Her last oceanic voyage began in Aruba in 2007 and continued through Jamaica, Cuba and Key West before landing in Clearwater in 2008, where she fell into disrepair. A few months before Stewart and Kruegle bought her, the ship sank and remained submerged at the dock for two hours, where the water damage was later magnified by the failure to air the boat out after it was raised and kept afloat by pumps.

Before Banyas towed the ship to its new home, Stewart hired a scuba diver to affix pre-constructed patches he created in order to make her seaworthy for the journey.

Aboard the San Francesco, Kruegle said, “This will be a living, breathing museum.”

He also suggested the Boatworks may be FISH’s greatest contribution to the community because it preserves Cortez’s boatbuilding heritage.

“Tales from the Teak” can be viewed online at You Tube or at www.TheEdChannel.net, and those who wish to assist with the San Francesco restoration can call Stewart at 941-580-1036.

 


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