ROCKLAND, Maine — Noah Barnes said when he saw schooner Nathaniel Bowditch sitting unused and at risk of losing its Coast Guard certificate, he knew he needed to take action.
Now the veteran schooner captain is in the middle of a massive project to restore the vessel built as a racing yacht in 1922 and formerly named Ladona, which for the past 30 years has been part of the windjammer fleet in midcoast Maine.
The restoration crew was picked by Barnes, and work is underway on the grounds of Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding in Thomaston.
The 82-foot Nathaniel Bowditch was foreclosed on in early 2014, when its former owners, Owen and Cathleen Dorr, were unable to make payments on a $375,000 loan to mortgage holder Thomas Federle. Federle was the sole bidder — $250,000 — at the February 2014 auction held by the U.S. marshal.
Barnes purchased it from Federle.
The amount of work needed was more than what Barnes planned.
“It’s like an old house,” Barnes said. “When you begin working on it, you find more and more things that need to be done.”
In the case of the Bowditch, that involves gutting the galley, replacing the entire deck structure, redesigning the interior cabin layout, replacing 30 percent of the planking, replacing the transom, and the stem. The electronics and plumbing of the vessel also will be replaced.
“I don’t want to do a half job,” Barnes said of the overhaul.
He would not specify how much money he is putting into the overhaul but said it was a lot. He said if he needed to have the work done by a yacht yard, it would have cost millions of dollars.
Barnes has a 12-person crew working on the vessel, which was hauled out of the water Oct. 2. He said he expects the crew will increase to 16. The goal is to have the vessel back in operation as a commercial passenger schooner by July.
When it begins to sail again, the two-masted schooner will carry 16 passengers, which is fewer than it previously carried. The vessel will be a more exclusive adventure, he said.
The Bowditch has a rich history, according to Barnes. Built in East Boothbay as a racing yacht, the then-Ladona won the Bermuda Cup in 1933, patrolled New York City Harbor for submarines during World War II after being commissioned by the Coast Guard in 1942, then later served as a fishing vessel off the New England coast. In 1971, she was rebuilt to be a commercial schooner and renamed the Nathaniel Bowditch.
Barnes said despite the amount of time, work and money being put into the Bowditch, it will be worth the effort.
“She was a classic beauty, a stunning yacht,” Barnes said. “I want that boat back.”
Barnes acknowledged he has the schooner life in his blood. His parents, Ken and Ellen Barnes, were captains of the windjammer fleet for many years. Noah Barnes was 6 years old when his parents purchased schooner Stephen Taber, which he bought from them 11 years ago.
“It’s in my blood,” the 41-year-old said. “I am unsuited for anything else.”
The Bowditch will be operated by a captain — whom Barnes has hired but did not yet want to announce — and four other crew members. The trips will be multiday, he said. The Bowditch, built as an ocean racing yacht with an engine, has the capability to make longer voyages, he said.
“But there is no real need to leave Penobscot Bay. There is no better place on Earth to sail,” he said.
The Bowditch will berth at the Windjammer Wharf in Lermond’s Cove in Rockland. It will be next to the Stephen Taber and the J & E Riggin.
Barnes thanked Lyman-Morse for leasing him space in its boatyard to rebuild the vessel with his hand-picked crew. He also praised his crew.
“They are a crackerjack team. They are the best freelance boat builders,” he said.