Nonprofit plans replica of historic dredge

The Ida May plied the shallow waters of Oyster Bay scooping up oysters for almost eight decades after being launched in 1925.

Then, the dredge languished on the harbor's southeastern shore for eight years, deteriorating beyond repair until its demolition last spring.

Now, a nonprofit group that a decade ago restored the Christeen, a sail-powered Oyster Bay shellfish dredging craft, is creating a working replica of the Ida May in a shed near where the original spent its last years.

When completed in early 2013, it will be turned over to the adjacent nonprofit WaterFront Center for environmental education and fishing trips.

The project is expected to cost $400,000. Billy Joel, who has a large home across the harbor in Centre Island and worked on another oyster dredge in the harbor as a teenager, donated $125,000. That money will carry the project until the end of the year, said Clint Smith, a former town harbormaster who is president of the Christeen Oyster Sloop Preservation Corp. The group is trying to raise more funds.

When the Ida May, one of the first oyster dredges with an engine, was retired in 2003 by Frank M. Flower & Sons of Oyster Bay and Bayville, the plan was to restore it for a new life as a museum vessel. But after eight years on the beach, "it was too far gone to restore," Smith said. Marine architect Ian McCurdy of Oyster Bay had examined the Ida May, determined it would cost too much to restore and suggested building a replica.

All that was saved from the original was the oak keel and stem -- the horizontal backbone for the boat and the vertical timber that formed the leading edge of the bow -- along with some hardware and fittings that might be incorporated into the replica. The keel and stem are on display outside the shed for now.

A replacement keel arrived from Virginia last week, and a keel-laying ceremony to mark the beginning of the assembly process will be held Dec. 10 at 10 a.m.

Even if the original 45-foot-long, 15 1/2-foot-wide hull had been salvageable, it couldn't have been used the way the group had intended.

"If we rebuilt the original hull the way it was, it would never pass the Coast Guard inspections for licensing" to carry passengers, Smith said. Building a replica a foot wider will allow it to carry 40 people and provide more space for educators to show how the craft dredged for oysters.

And it will fulfill Smith's longtime dream of having a "head boat" that will take people into the harbor to fish because, unlike many other harbors, there are no commercial vessels in Oyster Bay that do that. Now, the only way to fish in the harbor is to either have your own boat or rent one.

The Ida May project is led by shipwright, or wooden-boat builder, David Short, 50, who also supervised the Christeen restoration. He brought shipwright Andrew Nencheck with him from Maine and they are assisted by 10 volunteers, all but one veterans of the Christeen project.

Though little or none of the original Ida May may be incorporated in the new version, Short said, "What we say in my business is that we save her name and her history."

The project began before the original dredge was demolished, with McCurdy measuring the boat to prepare a detailed set of blueprints. Short transferred these drawings onto large grid paper on the shop floor to make patterns for cutting frame timbers and other components of the hull -- an intricate process that began Oct. 27.

The 32 frames will be made from two layers of 3-inch white oak, some of it left over from the Christeen project and the rest coming from Virginia. When all the ribs are cut, the crew will began fastening them to the keel backbone structure, a process that should be completed by the end of the year. Then, they will move on to hull planking and the rest of the construction.

The oyster dredge Ida May

The dredge was launched in Oyster Bay in 1925 by Frank M. Flower & Sons to scoop oysters from the harbor. Flower began construction of a dredge with an engine after three of his sons were delivering shellfish to the Fulton Fish Market on an oyster sloop that was swamped in a storm. After learning that they were safe, Flower headed to the woods and cut down a large oak tree that became the keel for the boat he named after his wife. His sons finished the construction after cutting down trees in Mill Neck and building the boat next to their house in Bayville.

Ida May was retired and beached in 2003 to await restoration as a museum vessel. But it suffered deterioration that proved irreversible. It was demolished last spring.

Those seeking to volunteer or donate to the project can call 516-305-9204 or visit its Facebook page, via tinyurl.com/6qca9cl