Craftsman
ne
70 nshoremag.com July 2014 photographs by fawn deviney
ucked back on one
of Marblehead's ancient
crooked streets, you'll find
Redd's Pond Boatworks,
the only shop of its kind in this historic
maritime town. Doug Park recently took
over the operation located in a classic
19th-century red barn on Redd's Pond
from Thad Danielson, who founded
the Boatworks in the 1990s. "I worked
with Thad for several summers as an
apprentice," says the Marblehead native.
Park's hope is to jump-start the wooden
boatbuilding trade. "Today, people have
T
Workshop: Doug Park restores all types of wooden
watercrafts in his Marblehead shop; opposite, Park with
dog Jasper
their wooden boats built in Maine and
Rhode Island. I want Marblehead to be
known for its wooden boat restoration
and building industry again," he says.
"In the 18th and 19th centuries, there
were several small boatworks dotting
the shoreline of Marblehead." Park is
enthusiastic about reviving the tradition
of restoring or building wooden boats—
one at a time.
Park, no stranger to the sea, sailed
as a boy every summer in Salem Sound.
And by the age of 17, his love of the ocean
prompted him to apply for and land a
Voyage Venture
Doug Park keeps the Marblehead tradition of
wooden boatbuilding alive at Redd's Pond Boatworks.
By Nancy E. Berry
NB_KJ_NS July 14 ReddsBoats.indd 70 5/9/14 11:57 AM
