Purchase this issue from
Issue No. 308
January / February 2026
Rescue Renovation
Saving BAGHEERA
COURTESY OF PORTLAND SCHOONER CO.
The schooner BAGHEERA, launched as BEACON ROCK in 1924 by Rice Bros. Shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine, was saved from oblivion in the early 1980s by a rebuilding in Southern California. Today, she is the centerpiece of a charter business in Portland, Maine.
In 1985, I had just started my career as an apprentice marine surveyor with the Lloyds agent in San Diego, California, when I took a call from a rather distraught boatowner seeking advice on what he should do with his 1924, 72' Alden schooner, BAGHEERA. Intrigued, I agreed to meet at the boat, which was docked behind the Carl Eichenlaub Boatyard on Shelter Island.
BAGHEERA’s owner and I met at the head of the dock, and I looked down at the blue-plastic-tarpaulin-covered black schooner, and could tell from a distance that the boat was in terrible shape. Half of the caulked teak deck had been removed, corrosion in the chainplates had affected large areas of rotten planks, and the hull planking had open seams everywhere. The spruce masts had long checks, the paint was shot, and the standing rigging was barely there.
A closer look at the partially removed deck revealed rotted deckbeams and knees, and with half the deck missing the interior had been exposed to the elements for a long time. The boat had been fitted with a 110-volt automatic bilge pump that was cycling every 15 seconds. It was clear that the boat was sinking at the dock.
Once aboard, I immediately noticed that the cockpit engine hatch had been removed. The Perkins engine below was lying on its side, and its cylinder head had been removed. The Monel fuel tank had also been taken apart, and the forlorn yacht had no functioning electrical system.
The once-beautiful mahogany joinerwork in the saloon had scrape marks on every surface, as if someone had gone around with a hook scraper trying to see how difficult it would be to remove 61 years of accumulated varnish. It was heartbreaking to see a boat of this historical pedigree in such terrible condition.
To read the rest of this article:
Click the button below to log into your Digital Issue Access account.
No digital access? Subscribe or upgrade to a WoodenBoat Digital Subscription and finish reading this article as well as every article we have published for the past 50-years.
ACCESS TO EXPERIENCE
2-for-1 Print & Digital Subscription Offer
For this holiday season, WoodenBoat is offering our best buy one, get one deal ever. Subscribe with a print & digital subscription for $42.95, and we’ll give you a FREE GIFT SUBSCRIPTION to share with someone special.
1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION (6 ISSUES)
PLUS ACCESS TO MORE THAN 300 DIGITAL BACK ISSUES
PRINT+DIGITAL $42.95
Subscribe
To read articles from previous issues, you can purchase the issue at The WoodenBoat Store link below.
