the L.A. Dunton

Restoration of the the L.A. Dunton

Early photos of the beloved L.A. Dunton show the vessel appearing as gracefully sheered as a seabird. Today at the age of one hundred, the Gloucester fishing schooner is in need of a major restoration. The Dunton was economically built in 1921 of working vessel timbers that had an expected life of 25-30 years. A sign of a weakened vessel’s structure is the loss of shape resulting in the dropping of the ends, known as hogging. The Dunton has hogged 3 feet, 6 inches in her life, but we are committed to restoring the vessel's lovely appearance and full strength.

The Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard is humming with activity. The ship lift is in constant use short hauling our own and visiting vessels. With the steamboat Sabino and the oyster dredger Catherine M. Wedmore currently occupying the long-term

sidetracking restoration spot, we were faced with the question of where to place the Dunton for a long-term restoration. While planning the Coronet crane launch in Newport, Rhode Island, in December of 2022 it became apparent that we could use the same lift gear and method for hauling the Dunton, which has been placed at the north end of the Shipyard alongside Hobey’s Dock. The added bonus of placing the Dunton in this spot is re-creating the appearance of a 19th-century shipyard with very large vessels placed onshore for major work.

We reached out to Astro Crane in Boxborough, Massachusetts, to handle the Dunton lift and placement onshore. They proposed two mammoth 600-ton Liebherr cranes to do the lift. Preparation required the Museum to design and construct a concrete pad

for the Dunton’s keel blocking to support the vessel’s weight. Engineered drawings adapted from old docking plans were used to build the hull support system. The rigging for the lift—cables, spreader pipes, and heavy straps—were rented from Holloway of Houston, Texas. Crane setup took three days and by December 20 we were ready. The day was bright, clear, and cold with a NNW wind of 10 knots, an ideal day to move a large ship from the river to land. All went well as the talented crane operators “flew” the 123-foot L.A. Dunton between the cranes, threading through a gap of 59 feet.

The Dunton now rests ashore while we plan the next steps in the restoration. The Museum received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to remove and document the

vessel’s interior joinery work. The deck and hold will be accessible via a stair tower. There will also be access to the hold via a limited mobility lift. A greenhouse cover will be constructed over the Dunton’s deck to keep out the elements. A National Park Service Save America's Treasures grant is supporting materials acquisition for the restoration; a National Maritime Heritage Grant from the National Park Service helped to underwrite initial survey and documentation work. Visit the Museum’s Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard to view the progress.

Walter Ansel, Director, Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard