New Doors Give Look into Boathouse’s Past at Rockland Breakwater
By Bob Trapani,
Jr.
The boathouse
at Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse is sporting new wooden doors as of
August 2009, and in the process, adds to a collection of notable
restoration achievements at the historic site by the Friends of Rockland
Breakwater Lighthouse.
With that
said, one might ask, “what boathouse?”
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
A close-up view of the boathouse at
Rockland Breakwater Light with its new doors
If you have
enjoyed the comfort of sitting down on one of the memorial benches at the
lighthouse while taking in the beauty of Penobscot Bay, then you were at the
boathouse – or on top of it to be precise.
Boarded up and
unused for decades, the public consciousness of the boathouse and its
one-time important purpose seems to have drifted out to sea on the ebb tide
of history.
Many people have
journeyed out to Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse on more than one occasion,
walked completely around the structure and even
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse
in August 2009
climbed the
tower without really taking notice of the small white building on the
light’s north side.
Regardless of
the little building’s often times anonymous status when it comes to
visitors, thankfully the Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse (FRBL),
a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation,
have not forgotten
about this important component of the light station.
The boathouse was
always in the FRBL long-range restoration plans, but more pressing
preservation needs on the exterior and interior of the former keeper’s
dwelling, and inside the brick light tower required the group and its
volunteers to prioritize those projects ahead of the boathouse.
When the powerful
April 2007 Patriots Day Gale swept across Midcoast Maine and caused serious
damage to the east side and northeast corner of the boathouse, priorities
were adjusted to ensure the protection of the historic structure.
Following
consultation with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission on the
boathouse project, the Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse worked
with Maine Coast Construction (MCC) to carry out repairs – but FRBL
didn’t stop there.
Ted Panayotoff,
Project Coordinator for the Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse
explains by saying, “In consultation with MCC we decided to expand the
scope of work for the boathouse restoration to include the fabrication
of new access doors.”
“These will
allow access to the boathouse, which has not been
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
(L to R) Mark DeMichele of Maine Coast
Construction and FRBL Project Coordinator Ted Panayotoff examine the new
boathouse doors
possible for
probably over 40 years, and will also allow for monitoring the health of the
structure and permit volunteer to perform general maintenance.”
Panayotoff went on
to note, “The original specification drawings were use as a guide to design
and fabricate the replacement doors, which was accomplished by the firm
Bench Dog Woodworking of Rockland.”
“Bench Dog
Woodworking was selected because of their past experience in working with
the Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse and Maine Coast Construction
on the fabrication of the wooden shutters that protect the windows of the
light tower and keeper’s house.”
Before the
lightkeepers at Rockland Breakwater left for good when the light station was
automated in 1965, the boathouse possessed wooden doors
Photo by Ted Panayotoff
View of the historic wooden gate that
drops
down from the ceiling to prevent
unwanted access to the boathouse when the doors
are in the open position
to allow
keepers to store and safeguard their boat and other important items such
as tools inside the building.
Often times
the keepers would prop the doors open during the day to permit fresh air
to enter the structure and help dissipate moisture, but when this was
done, how did they prevent curious onlookers from entering the
boathouse?
The answer was an
ingenious wooden gate that hung from the ceiling of the boathouse and could
be swung down in place to cover the entryway when the doors were in the open
position.
“The gate, which
can be lowered to allow the doors to be opened for ventilation and still
keep unwanted visitors out, was a fascinating discovery inside the
boathouse,” said Ted Panayotoff. “We now intend to repair the gate so it
can be used and therefore be able to have the door open so visitors can see
into the boathouse.”
Panayotoff
goes on to say, “In the future we hope to complete the restoration of
the interior of the boathouse, as well as restore to the degree possible
the historic boat winch inside. There are also plans to possibly have a
pea pod boat to exhibit in the boathouse if a proposed donation of such
a boat to the Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse occurs.
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
A look into the boathouse, which has seen
its storm damage repaired and new
doors installed in summer 2009
In all, FRBL
invested $17,200 in storm damage repairs to the boathouse, and another
$9,000 in the fabrication of new wooden doors for the structure in 2009,
bringing the total boathouse restoration project to just over $26,000.
With the new
boathouse doors in place, the Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse not
only improve another facet of the light station structurally, the
achievement will now permit the visiting public to peer through the
boathouse’s ‘doors of history’ and gain an even greater sense of
appreciation for the lighthouse and the work of its bygone keepers.
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Duane Overlock
of Maine Coast Construction installs
hardware on the new boathouse doors at Rockland Breakwater Light
Charlie Thieme of Maine Coast
Construction carries a section of plywood that once covered the
boathouse entryway back inside the building following the installation
of new wood doors
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.
(L to R) Rick Hayden, Duane Overlock and
Mark DeMichele of Maine Coast Construction stand in front of the
boathouse doors following their installation on
August 11, 2009
FRBL Project
Coordinator Ted Panayotoff shows there is
ample room for visitors to walk by the boathouse to the lighthouse when
the doors are in the
