CRYSTAL RIVER BOAT BUILDERS
The Courthouse Heritage Museum
Exhibit and Demonstration
Covered a story for The Citrus County Chronicle on this group of boatbuilders dedicated to traditional building techniques and hand tools. There is a foot-powered lathe and a shaving horse (used to carve wood blocks into different shapes). The models include a sailing scow based on the Wartappo Civil War boat, which was built into a full-size replica and christened the Spirit. The boat has been on display in the Crystal River Preserve State Park but was recently removed to be given a permanent land-based home. The 6-foot long mullet skiff ice boat is a model of the group’s next replica building project, representing an important piece of the county’s history. The mullet skiff had a gas engine and was able to tow fishermen in rowboats farther out to fishing grounds, which allowed more fish to be caught and then packed in ice and transported by rail to sell in northern cities. The 3/4 sized replica (24 feet long) will be built using a 1903 make break gas engine.
The Old Courthouse Heritage Museum
1 Courthouse Square
Inverness, FL