How about this dining room full of half hull models! I love the Maine accent and flavor of this clip. Spoken like a true wooden boat nut, here’s what Sonny Hodgdon has to say about his plethora of half hull models:
“My wife is a little bit on the mad side, I’ve got about 125 of these models now. They’re all up over the wall, as you can see, and I don’t have any place for these. She’s said ‘not in the bedroom,’ and the bathroom I don’t dare to put them cause the moisture would bother them. So right at the moment they’re scattered on the dining room table. But I have orders to move.”
Excerpt from “Tales of Wood & Water” – Half Hull Boat Models by Maine Boatbuilder
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From the video’s description: “This was part of an excellent Discovery Channel documentary called “Tales of Wood & Water,” which aired in the 1990s. I share this only for educational purposes, and in the hope that the owners will make this documentary available again. It is a real treasure as some of the people profiled in it, such as Joel White and Roger Duncan, have since passed on.”
Anyone here familiar with the full length film? Sounds lovely.
Check out another room chock full of half hull models in our recent video Herreshoff Marine Museum, Part 1-The Model Room with Halsey Herreshoff.
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David Tew says:
Ha! I see that Sonny made a half model of N. G. Herreshoff’s SHADOW. Using Sonny’s methods as shown in the WB article when it first came out I did the same around the time I worked for him. But until now I didn’t know he’d made one of that sloop also.
Maynard Bray says:
Nice clip! Sonny made half models of all of the America’s Cup defenders, challengers and even some of the contenders. They were acquired by the Herreshoff Marine Museum and are now on exhibit there. There’s also an article in WoodenBoat No. 33 about his model-building process that OCH members might find of interest.
John Macone says:
Agreed! I have the full video on VHS. It is a treasure! Would love to see it available on DVD.
Tom Lucas says:
Are they for sale?
Dustin Urban says:
It being a 20-year-old film, who knows…