Havre de Grace's Chesapeake Heritage Conservancy was hoping to restore the historic skipjack Martha Lewis by last summer, but repair work and funding problems have taken a lot of the wind out of the project's sails.
The 60-year-old vessel, one of a handful such wooden boats left in the state, remains in Baltimore, mast-less. Last spring, the Conservancy had a special, 66-foot loblolly pine shipped from Virginia to be carved into a historically-appropriate mast.
"We tried to put her down in the water and found some more boards we need to replace," Cynthia Beane, head of the Conservancy, said, about the aging skipjack. "We are hoping for early summer to have her back and operating but of course it's all depending on funding."
Beane has temporarily stepped down as executive director, the Conservancy's sole paid position, so the group can put all of its funding toward the Martha Lewis restoration.
The eight-member board is also set to add as many as seven new members in hopes of getting "new blood" and improve its chances of raising the remaining $21,000 needed for the skipjack, Beane said. The group spent $48,000 last year on repairs, which included fixing rot in the mast, planks and bottom boards, she said.
With overhead eliminated, the Conservancy's operating costs are being covered for the next couple of months by Stewart Companies, she said. Stewart, an industrial and construction products and development company based in York, Pa., has land holdings in Perryville.
Beane said she is confident the deterioration in the bottom boards, which was discovered in October, will be the last problem the boat will have for a while.
She is also optimistic about getting the boat sailing this summer and having a community-wide party to celebrate the mast-stepping this coming October.
"We have got some big corporations that are showing a lot of interest, so we are pursuing things," Beane said, adding the Conservancy is always seeking any donations.
"No amount is too little," she said with a laugh.
The non-profit Conservancy has overseen and operated the Martha Lewis for bay cruises since 1994.