{"id":69858,"date":"2021-07-13T14:49:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T18:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=69858"},"modified":"2023-05-06T23:02:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T03:02:43","slug":"the-kin-of-cape-cod-shipbuilding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/sailboats\/the-kin-of-cape-cod-shipbuilding\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kin of Cape Cod Shipbuilding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"A <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Wendy Goodwin and her father, Gordon, at Cape Cod Shipbuilding in Wareham, Massachusetts, where many of the region\u2019s older one-design classes come for repair and winter storage. Behind them is a Bull\u2019s Eye, of which they\u2019ve built more than 900.<\/span>\n Joe Berkeley<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Wendy Goodwin had been so busy running Cape Cod Shipbuilding, the 122-year-old family business, she didn\u2019t have time to have a family of her own. Then the pandemic hit, the opportunity arose, and she began the process of fostering to adopt an 8-year-old girl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

On a day in early spring, when the sun shines on the Cape and the winter is almost forgotten, Goodwin\u2019s daughter is in her office attending math class remotely. Goodwin is in a spare room, once the domain of the parts manager. Long before that, this space was where her grandfather, Les Goodwin, slept with his ballerina bride, Audrey, in the early days after they purchased the boatyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The place today certainly looks its age. Past Cranberry Highway, on the south side of the two-lane Narrows Road, a sign welcomes visitors onto the waterfront property along the swift-running Wareham River, which feeds into Buzzards Bay. A dozen buildings of different sizes and shapes are strewn about the 9.5-acre grounds. Most wear their patina of age with pride. All serve their purpose. No one ever said that a working shipyard had to be fancy, but quite a few boats inside and under Cape Cod\u2019s care certainly are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"A <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Many of Cape Cod Shipbuilding\u2019s original buildings were lost during the Hurricane of 1938, but No. 20, with doors facing the Wareham River, survived. From here, boats once traveled to the water by rail.<\/span>\n Joe Berkeley<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

The past here is omnipresent. Outdated molds gather moss and have become part of the landscape, proving the longevity of fiberglass. Old-growth wooden floors inside the buildings are worn smooth by generations of boatbuilders. Big machines, lathes, jigs and tools created by dearly departed artisans live on, ready to put in an honest day\u2019s work on designs that may well be immortal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

A nautical archeologist would have a field day here; it seems that bits of the past are behind every open door or cracked windowpane. Beneath these buildings and buried deep in the soil, he or she could very well unearth artifacts from the late 1800s, the time when\u2014according to local historians\u2014brothers Myron and Charles Gurney were manufacturing wagons and carriages on the western bank of the river. The Gurney brothers later got into skiffs and dories, and then \u00adsailboats\u2014namely the Cape Cod Knockabout, an 18-foot one-design by Charles Gurney, first built in 1925 and still raced in parts of New England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"A <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Gordon Goodwin commands his office at Cape Cod Shipbuilding. Goodwin, who joined the family shipyard in 1969, sees no point in \u00adretiring because too many sailors rely on CCS\u2019s services, which include new builds, refurbs and restorations.<\/span>\n Joe Berkeley<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Upon the passing of Charles Gurney, a fellow by the name of G.S. Williams took ownership in 1935, but according to company legend, Wendy Goodwin\u2019s grandfather Les Goodwin, a dealer from New Jersey, bought the company after visiting to complain about the quality of the builds he was selling. He and Audrey relocated to Wareham and moved into the office to run the new company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

In 1940, so their story goes, Goodwin purchased the Sparkman & Stephens-designed Mercury and built more than 200 of them while also building military tugs and launches for the US Navy. Postwar production then returned to small craft and one-design sailboats. According to the company archives, the Goodwin family enjoyed a rush of fiberglass production: Herreshoff Bull\u2019s Eyes (derived from the Herreshoff 12\u00bd) in 1949, followed by Ravens in 1951, the W. Starling Burgess-designed Atlantic in 1956, the Knockabout in 1959, and the Capt. Nathanael Herreshoff-designed Goldeneye in 1960. It was 1962 when now-Hall of Fame inductee Cornelius Shields turned to Goodwin to build his eponymous one-design, drawn by Sparkman & Stephens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"A <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Wendy Goodwin and Gerald Andrews polish a new Day Sailer.<\/span>\n Joe Berkeley<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Goodwin\u2019s son, Gordon L. Goodwin, began working full time for the family company in 1969 and led Cape Cod Shipbuilding through its next chapter as a full-service boatyard. As it should come as no surprise, in 1993, Wendy Goodwin joined and brought a generational trifecta to the yard. The following year, E.L. Goodwin passed away at the age of 95, right before the yard was contracted to build new boats for the Day Sailer one-design class, which continues to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Family is the keel of Cape Cod Shipbuilding, and it has kept the business upright and on course for more than 100 years. Goodwin\u2019s first memory of the shipyard is feeding ducks from the dock when she was 4 or 5 years old. When we meet in early April 2021, she was out of breath, having just launched a flotilla of docks, which marks the beginning of another busy season on Massachusetts\u2019 south coast. It\u2019s the ebb and flow of every New England boatyard: Good weather brings customers out of the woodwork, and on this day, Goodwin\u2019s phone and email inbox are blowing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"A <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Foreman Karl Drolet, in the carpentry shop, pulls the tape on a set of new Herreshoff 12\u00bd floorboard cheeks.<\/span>\n Joe Berkeley<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

One of the many challenges of keeping this boatbuilding business afloat in the United States in general, and on Cape Cod in particular, is balancing repairs with new builds. When people are not commissioning new boats, Goodwin takes on more repairs. Managing customers\u2019 expectations, she says, can be more challenging than managing the workflow. \u201cThe hard part is letting customers know that we have an abundance of new boat orders and we can\u2019t get to a repair,\u201d she says, \u201cor vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Some in the industry might call that a good problem to have. Diversification is a sound financial practice. It\u2019s also a wise strategy for a boatbuilder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fact that we don\u2019t have all of our eggs in one basket is the reason why we are 122 years old,\u201d Goodwin says. \u201cWe don\u2019t do just one thing. Right now in my shop, we have three Day Sailerss, one Heritage, some Bull\u2019s Eyes and Herreshoff 12\u00bds. If I didn\u2019t have the Herreshoff 12\u00bds to varnish every year, we couldn\u2019t keep the payroll going. There\u2019s no one bread-and-butter boat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

At times, being the president of the operation means difficult decisions must be made, such as retiring boats like the Cape Cod Knockabout, which are no longer financially viable. \u201cDad didn\u2019t talk to me for a week after I decided that,\u201d Goodwin says, \u201cbut it was the right decision for the company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Regarding Wendy\u2019s work ethic, the tree isn\u2019t far from the fruit. Gordon could be retired at his age, but instead, you\u2019ll find him at the boatyard every day. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to get out and get the men and get them going so they can build the boats so I can go home and put bread on the table,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"A <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n James Stapel, a carpenter and electrician, is a young local who started as an intern.<\/span>\n Joe Berkeley<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Is building antique one-designs romantic? Wendy Goodwin laughs when I ask\u2014it\u2019s something she does quite frequently. \u201cThis is not a romantic job,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s how people sell books and \u00adstories\u2014the romance of boatbuilding. In reality, boatbuilding is dirty and smelly. What I find fantastic are the relationships and connections I make with other people through boatbuilding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

One of those people is Matt Holt, the new owner of an older boat. Holt lives in the British Virgin Islands, and his boat, Tern<\/i>, is a Cape Cod Marlin, designed by Herreshoff and built at Cape Cod Shipbuilding in 1961.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Holt describes Tern<\/i> as \u201cyour most comfortable pair of jeans,\u201d and says before he took ownership, Tern<\/i> was cared for by Englishman Dr. Robin Erskine Tattersall. Tattersall modeled for the famous photographer Richard Avedon, represented the BVI in the Soling class in two Olympic Games, and cared for the medical needs of his community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

For 40 years, Tattersall loved and sailed Tern<\/i>. Two back-to-back Category 5 hurricanes, Irma and Maria, however, did a number on it. Tern<\/i>\u2019s dock was ripped out, it was struck by numerous charter yachts, and partially sunk deep in the mangroves. Its spars were broken, but the hull was intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"A <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Master varnisher Kostantenos Kelley assembles a spruce gaff for a Herreshoff 12 1\/2, handcrafted with block plane in the carpentry shop.<\/span>\n Joe Berkeley<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Tattersall sold Tern<\/i> to Holt for $10, with the understanding that he was its new steward. Holt reached out to Goodwin, and a trip to the records room in Building No. 33 revealed that Tern<\/i> had indeed been built by her grandfather in 1961, and she was able to locate the paperwork, which documented all of its parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The historical records collection at Cape Cod Shipbuilding is vast, not so much because grandpa Les Goodwin was trained as an archivist, but because he didn\u2019t throw away anything. The old invoices, Goodwin says, are invaluable when new owners of older boats \u00addiscuss refits. \u201cThe fact that these boats are going on three, four generations, it\u2019s pretty awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Goodwin and her team were able to re-create a spirit of a \u00adtraditional rig for Tern<\/i> featuring a single extrusion tapered mast, a new boom, standing rigging, running rigging, sails and covers, all shipped to the BVI. \u201cThe crate they built for me was two-by-fours \u00adcovered in carpet. The rigging was laced into the crate using the sails as cushion,\u201d Holt says. \u201cThe two-by-fours were covered in plywood. They hit a home run with the delivery, which was no small feat getting it down to this little island in the Caribbean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

This dedication to craftsmanship brings all types of customers back to Cape Cod Shipbuilding. One fan is Olympian, sailmaker and world champion of many classes Steve Benjamin, who once fell in love with Atlantic No. 128, Cassidy<\/i>. Benjamin was struck by the beauty and sailing capabilities of the W. Starling Burgess design. He also was impressed by the competition, the camaraderie, and the opportunity for mature sailors to remain competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Wooden <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Patterns for boom rests, rudders and wooden components hang at the ready.<\/span>\n Joe Berkeley<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

A skipper known to keep his race boats in Bristol condition, Benjamin has refit at least 10 boats over the years. Cassidy<\/i> needed new deadwood on the keel, which was completely waterlogged, a topsides paint job in Awlgrip, and a bottom job coated with Baltoplate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Past Olympians are not the only sailors who enjoy boats built by Cape Cod Shipbuilding. Geordie Shaver has sailed in five America\u2019s Cups, and these days he gets his kicks racing in Newport, Rhode Island\u2019s cutthroat Shields fleet. Shaver estimates that 90 percent of the Newport Shields fleet were built by Cape Cod Shipbuilding. And when there is a problem, people are happy to have an active builder nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Like many boatbuilders, Cape Cod Shipbuilding would like to receive group orders for one-design fleets because building one boat at a time is less efficient. In fact, if a group order of six boats arrives for a retired design, Cape Cod Shipbuilding is happy to build the boats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

With the Shields class, Goodwin says, the goal is to always keep things one-design. \u201cWe\u2019re walking a fine line keeping the class alive and making sure the competition is fair,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t want the new boats to be slower or faster than the existing boats. We\u2019re loyal to all of our fleets to make sure things don\u2019t change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"A <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n CCS\u2019s original machine shop was once powered by a steam engine.<\/span>\n Joe Berkeley<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

After listening to all of her customers, Goodwin noticed that many Herreshoff 12\u00bd owners were tired of wrestling with outboards and outboard brackets. Looking to the future, Cape Cod Shipbuilding invested in crafting a redesigned Cape Cod Marlin Heritage. Designed by Herreshoff, the classic combines the best of the Fish and Marlin designs, and offers modern amenities such as inboard power, an iPod-ready sound system, and USB charger ports. A just-built flag-blue example sits on a railway cradle that leads to the water, freshly varnished brightwork shining like a gem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

No amount of cajoling will get Goodwin to name her favorite boat at Cape Cod Shipbuilding, but she will admit that the boat the family owns is a Shields. She was the Shields-class secretary for quite a few years and co-wrote a book about the class turning 50. \u201cI adore the racing and the competition,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I like better than getting together in the cockpit and working together to make the boat move. It\u2019s about the people in the cockpit and the smarts that\u2019s shared between them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Goodwin\u2019s love of sailing would strike a chord with her grandfather Les, who once wrote, \u201cSailing is a family sport that can be enjoyed by young and old together, so I hope my little girl may learn to sail, race and love small sailboats as real insurance against becoming a \u2018sailboat widow.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

In due time, Goodwin may well say the same thing to her daughter, who, should she keep up with her math homework, could be the next Goodwin to keep Cape Cod Shipbuilding sailing into the future. \u03bd<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heirlooms and albums get passed down through generations, but for the Goodwin family, it\u2019s the shipyard and the pride of building everlasting one-designs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Joe Berkeley","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20210713","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"160","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"One of America's oldest sailboat builders continues to craft classic boats out on the Cape. Here's the Goodwin Family story.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"SX6AXOJUDNHFXNTW2IV4IFXBJU","arc_website_url":"story\/sailboats\/the-kin-of-cape-cod-shipbuilding\/","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[291,1357,1598,232,1582,164,295],"class_list":["post-69858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sailboats","tag-boats","tag-day-sailer","tag-herreshoff","tag-one-design","tag-print-2021-summer","tag-sailboats","tag-shields"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}