Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway, otherwise simply known as G&B, celebrated its 30th year in the business of building beautiful wooden boats at its Vineyard Haven beachfront location on July 24th. Central to the festivities was the book signing on the new book Schooner, written by Tom Dunlop with photography by noted Vineyard shootist Alison Shaw.
The book chronicles in beautiful detail the building of the 60-foot schooner Rebecca--the largest sailing vessel created on the island of Martha's Vineyard since the election of Abraham Lincoln. Also on hand to celebrate was The Martha’s Vineyard Museum and scores of well-wishers who ate, drank, listened to music and purchased books which were then signed by author and photographer as well as Ross Gannon and Nat Benjamin themselves.
See below some photos from the event, plus some shots of the near-legendary tools and shop where all the magic begins.
Kids get into the spirit of the event and the place.
In the shed.
Precious boards waiting to become part of a larger whole.
Out of such chaos, beautiful shapes emerge.
Every nut and bolt has its place.
More storage and a wondering of what's behind drawer No. 3 and No.4 and No.5 and....?
The good kind of vice to have.
A full house.
Tom Dunlop and Alison Shaw sign their book for enthusiastic fans.
A boat awaits repair.
On the cradle another wooden gem gets prepared for launch.
