Monomoy lifeboat moves to new home

With two major projects complete, the Overfalls Foundation is celebrating Friday, Sept. 4, on the grounds of the Overfalls, on the canal in Lewes.

In late 2011, the Overfalls Foundation adopted what it called two derelict orphans. Since then, more volunteer hours than anybody could count has turned the orphans into valuable assets in the foundation’s collection.

The first orphan was a 26-foot Monomoy lifeboat boat, a craft that required 10 people to row. Built in the early 1940s to train merchant seamen in World War II, the lifeboat was last used to train cadets at the Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy in New York. Eventually, six boats, all in derelict condition, were given to the Cape May Maritime Museum in hopes of finding organizations that would restore them; the foundation agreed to take on the task of restoring one boat.

The second orphan was the pilot house from the Stephanie Anne, a local charter fishing vessel that was rehabbed into a yacht, which entailed removing its pilot house. The rehab crew recognized the historic value of the pilot house and donated it to the foundation.

Like most maritime heritage organizations, the foundation had limited funds for these projects, but it budgeted $1000 in seed money to get them rolling. Once underway, the foundation raised more than $50,000 in grants and $5,400 from selling the naming opportunities for the Monomoy's 12 oars. Many businesses contributed in-kind merchandise and Schell Bros., a local builder of fine homes, constructed the lifeboat’s $39,000 display shed at no cost. The fund-raising part of the project had highs and lows, but it finished on budget without tapping the $1,000 seed money.

When the Monomoy boat arrived, she looked pretty good at first glance, but closer examination revealed broken ribs, corroded keel bolts, disintegrated wood, and years of patching work designed to get just one more year out of a dying vessel. The broken ribs were removed one at a time and drafted so that new white oak could be steam bent to take the same shape. Any other wood that was serviceable was saved and rehabilitated; that which was unusable was replaced. Once the boat was rebuilt came caulking, painting and the final trim such as a new oak cap rail put together with scarf joints giving many pieces the appearance of being one plank.

The display shed for the boat went up quickly as Schell Bros. brought in a crew of 12 who worked full time until it was completed. The foundation then came in and added the finishing touches such as lighting, provision for oar storage and foul weather tie down attachments.

The pilot house came to the foundation in the same condition as the boat, possibly worse. The restoration turned out to be more of a rebuild, but the flavor of the old pilot house remains even though the only original parts are the windows, doors and a small amount of the framing. The pilot house was then moved to the foundation’s grounds and incorporated into the existing Ship’s Store structure. The interior was fitted out with display cases and the other fixtures needed to make it a museum housing a collection of artifacts that complement the Overfalls and tell the story of lightships and the crews who served aboard.

In June 2014 the structure was officially opened and dedicated as the American Lightship Museum.

Looking back, while this has been a major initiative, the foundation has spread its wings and become the Overfalls Foundation, home of the Lightship Overfalls, a National Historic Landmark; the American Lightship Museum; a Monomoy boat; and the Delaware Maritime Hall of Fame.

For more information on the project or the foundation in general, go to www.Overfalls.org.