[Ben Wilson]

I've been searching for my great grandfathers early 1900s gaff sailboat for awhile now. I already found his other boat, 1932 33ft Richardson Aft Cabin Cruiseabout he kept on Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, NY.

The Original Name was Orphan owned by Leslie and his brother Hudson Wilson. Leslie was my great great grandfather.

The Orphan sailed out of Ithaca yacht club and lived at Willow Creek Point on the west shore of Cayuga, just south of Taughannock Falls.

Any information would be super helpful. I know its from the early 1900's and its very close to a Linnell. Looks forward to hearing from every one!

 

[deniseO30]

Suggestion post over on the wooden boat forum, some of the guys there pull information from very obscure places!

 

[Ben Wilson]

Awesome- THANKS!

 

[Barquito]

I hope you have success with your search. Are you aware of it's location any time after your Great Grandfather owned her? If not, I would think the odds are that it no longer exists.

 

[mikel1]

Check with the library in Mystic Conn. Wealth of info there . . . I traced a 1926 Consolidated for a friend and found the whole history . . . . an obscure boat with no reason to find anything . . .

 

[Jeff_H]

I can't swear that this is the same boat, but there was a similar wooden boat hauled out at a small Boatyard in Union Spring on Lake Cayuga back in the 1970's. The boat appeared to be abandoned and in terminally bad condition. She was there for several years.

I have no idea if that boat was chopped up (more likely) or restored but a rebuild would have been wildly expensive since she had sprung planks suggesting that minimally she needed refastening but more likely her frames are shot. That boat was badly hogged. At that point in time there was the remnants of a canvas winter cover which masked the cabin, and a pile of stuff below the boat.

I don't know if that yard still exists and whether the current yard owners would remember that boat, but it may help your description that she was in a corner of the yard near a large wreck of a wooden power cruiser.

Jeff

 

[Tanley]

Have you reached out to any of the local shipwrights or historic resources? Not sure Phil or Dennis would know, but they might "know someone that would know":

Cayuga Wooden Boatworks - Home page

Also:

Home

 

[Ben Wilson]

Have you reached out to any of the local shipwrights or historic resources? Not sure Phil or Dennis would know, but they might "know someone that would know":

Hey Tanley, those guys ended up helping me find his other boat- the Richardson a few years back. When I called over there someone pointed me to one of the Richardson old timers. My grandfather, Stu Wilson, owned that marina in the 70's. I'm still trying to figure out the make and model of his sailboat.

 

[Ben Wilson]

I can't swear that this is the same boat, but there was a similar wooden boat hauled out at a small Boatyard in Union Spring on Lake Cayuga back in the 1970's. The boat appeared to be abandoned and in terminally bad condition. She was there for several years.

I have no idea if that boat was chopped up (more likely) or restored but a rebuild would have been wildly expensive since she had sprung planks suggesting that minimally she needed refastening but more likely her frames are shot. That boat was badly hogged. At that point in time there was the remnants of a canvas winter cover which masked the cabin, and a pile of stuff below the boat.

I don't know if that yard still exists and whether the current yard owners would remember that boat, but it may help your description that she was in a corner of the yard near a large wreck of a wooden power cruiser.

Jeff

I'll give them a shout and see if they can point me in the right direction. At this point the yard has probably changed hands but a quick call might be worth it! Orphan was definitely on Cayuga for many years.

 

[Ben Wilson]

I hope you have success with your search. Are you aware of it's location any time after your Great Grandfather owned her? If not, I would think the odds are that it no longer exists.

I'm only aware of her travels around the finger lakes, statistically it's a long shot. But it's easy to dream.