1

The sun has long set on the boatbuilding tradition here in Birchy Bay and Baytona. Once a common trade it is now only ushered by a few rare artisans and craftspeople. The boat commonly referred to as a punt or a skiff was the only means of transportation. The men who with their families sought shelter in the bay built boats for the summer fishery during the long winter. Many times a man would build a boat over the winter to sell in the spring to supplement his income maybe getting a couple hundred dollars. From Birchy Bay's tall forest, the men sawed trees to make lumber. They crafted each piece of prime selected timber to build a vessel fit for the Newfoundland Fishery with as skill that many people today have no knowledge of.
The story of the boat builders in particular is a very important one. These men were the first to help build paths to Birchy Bay. From here they started lucrative businesses providing ferry rides to the town of Lewisporte. Here was the nearest train station as well as many businesses which the people from our town dealt with. Boats were used a ferries, life saving vessels, hearses, recreation and for livelihood. We today cannot truly understand the vast importance of this knowledge

2

The process first began with choosing trees. To build a boat, the men were to first set off in the woods in search of prime timber. They needed logs with no flaws such as knots or bends. When the best pieces of timber were chosen they were marked by blazing the tree. In the winter the men would return. They would transport logs by horse, sled or by hand. This tree was then taken to a nearby pitsaw where it was sawn. A pitsaw usually required two men and allowed for a crosscut saw with the aid of an ochre line to saw out beautiful pieces of lumber.

3

Building a boat was a long process. Not only did it involve hours of precise work it also took patience. It took ingenuity that only our forefathers here possessed and a knowledge that was not learned in books but by watching the steady hands of their fathers.

4

They would build a model of a boat to see if the vessel would be sea worthy. Using a scale of one inch to a foot.This was a guide to follow by.

5

This lumber would then be dressed to ensure the finest quality so that the boat would be able to swiftly travel across the water. The men would then prepare a frame for the boat hand selecting a prime piece to form the keel. To this they added ribs to give it life. Then they began to plank the boat over. Each piece fitting exactly to the next to make it water proof. The men used all hand tools would work tediously to do such a job.

6

Many of the small skiffs and rodney's were painted black and fitted with a square sail to aid in sailing. At one time being the only means of transportation beside walking in Birchy Bay. It was the skill at choosing the right timber and knowing how to cut it made fisherman of Birchy Bay and Barr'd Islands into some of the best loggers found in Newfoundland and Labrador.

7

Gordon and Bernice Quinlan
20th Century
Birchy Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada

8

After all the planks had been laid the boat would be chauked with oakum. Using a brass corker they would place this in the seams to make the vessel completely water proof and finishing it off with putty, tar and paint.

9

Replica of "Over the Top" Schooner
1919
Birchy Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada

10

Mr. William and Edith French with Son-in-Law George Burt
20th Century
Birchy Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada

11

Alfred French
20th Century
Birchy Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada

12

In 1916 the French family decided to move ahead with plans to build a three masted schooner. The "Over the Top" was a magnificent sight to be seen gliding over the water, the wind striking her sails pushing her forward to foreign seas. This schooner had a tonnage of 166 and was measured 107.3 feet in length, 26 feet in width and 10 feet in depth.
Bishop Sons and Company of St. Johns had contracted out the French's to build her. So work began, cutting logs, sawing lumber, hiring on men to see to it that the ship was built properly. They worked at this ship for two years. Some of the people were Andrew Canning, Jeremiah Canning, Hezekiah Mews and James Mews. There were 8-10 people hired on from Summerford to help see to it that the ship was built in time. The foreman Mr. Boyde was also from Summerford he watched constantly making sure that everything was done correct to make the vessel a fine one. Finally on December 5, 1918 the "Over The Top" was launched into the icy waters of Birchy Bay.
She was first commanded by Captain Samuel Marshall. She had been one of the many vessels that were caught in the ice blockade in 1823. Not long after this, the "Over the Top" was sold to J. H McKinnon, T.H. McPeak anf finally to J.C Penney of Halifax who was also her fourth owner. Mr. Penney renamed the vessel the Sunner, which was thought to bring good luck.
The ship was used and loaded with cargo such as drums and half drums of Newfoundland Codfish which was billed to dealers in Brazil. A Captain Harry Thomasen from Grand Bank, Newfoundland had been consigned to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia with a load of molasses. While there he was offered the command of the "Sunner" an offer which he couldn't refuse, he accepted and became the new captain of this beautiful vessel.
Captain Thomasen had been skipper of the vessel for a while, when he had to go on a voyage to load salt from Turk's Island for Lunenburg, his wife and two sons had joined him on this mission. On March 9th, 1928 the "Sunner" was found off the Nova Scotian coast in a horrible March gale. With the wind, and pounding waves the "Sunner" put up a brave battle. She leaped, rolled, shuddered and shook rising on one swell, going down on another. The conditions were horrendous, only one part of the mainsail could be exposed to the wind. While the ship fought and laboured in the wind and the waves the main staff head broke off. With it came half of the foremast and the whole of the mizzen mast. The remains of the Mainmast was unstepped and hung at about a thirty degree angle over the side, while she still fought in the wind and the waves. In the pitch darkness every man had to help even the captain and the cook to clear the debris as so the spars by the force of wind and waves wouldn't puncture the hull of the "Sunner" as she fought her last battle.
The pumps were checked and it was found that water was leaking into the hold of the ship. She would eventually go down, so the crew decided to abandon ship. The life boat was carried on top of the deck house. It had been prepared for emergency to be hoisted and dropped into the sea below if such a need arose. But from the vessels hard battle she had lost her hoisting gear, all swept overboard with the masts. This boat was their only means of escaping the ship. Though the hardy crew had spent their energy in the labours of clearing wreck and debris they with their last bit of strength lowered the emergency vessel to the main deck, by manpower.
The vessel had been fully loaded with salt and had a minimum amount of freeboard. So Captain Thomasen with the aid of his axe cleared away the rail and the bulwarks on the side of the vessel that was the least exposed to the raging weather. He had planned to push the vessel off deck into the ocean, and offload his crew to safety. "Look, a ship" cried one of the crew and over the water in a short distance was a fishing vessel headed in their direction. The crew managed to send off a signal of distress and was rescued by the crew of the sailing vessel.
On the fateful night of March, 9th 1928 all of the crew escaped safe. The crew had no time to take possessions which they had, everything went down with the ship, with one exception. The son of the Captain had a pet parrot which he refused to leave and had taken with him, while they escaped. The boy loved his parrot and while his father thanked the crew of the ship that rescued them, his son came forward and presented the captain with the Parrot. The "Over the Top" or the "Sunner" now lies 43.16 North and 60.37 west. This 166 tonne ship, whose legacy is still remember and preserved here in the community of Birchy Bay.

13

Over the Top, The Sunner
1919
Birchy Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada

14

Launching the Over the Top
Birchy Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada