Wood, Water and Wits

inside RIVERFEST

By Ronald Trahan

Photo by Ronald Trahan

One of the builders of the gundalow replica Piscataqua, Nate Greeley, will be a featured artisan at the First Annual “Riverfest” celebration in Portsmouth on June 1st, sponsored by Gundalow Company with assistance from Strawberry Banke.

PORTSMOUTH — Recent archeological evidence found in Indonesia suggests that Homo erectus was building wooden boats and navigating open waters some 900,000 years ago. While York, Maine, resident Nate Greeley has been building one-of-a-kind wooden boats for “only” 30 years, he’s part of a scarce breed: Nate estimates there are probably less than 100 or so wooden-boat builders along New England’s seacoast today.

During his youth Nate’s family summered on Star Island, the second-largest of the Isles of Shoals, located some seven miles from the Maine/New Hampshire mainland. That’s where Nate acquired his affection for wooden boats and began building his reputation within the boating community as a hard-working and dependable craftsman.

While Nate did spend two full years attending an experiential boat-building school in Maine, he developed his seafaring wits in a myriad of ways. For example, he sailed to the Caribbean as a member of the crew of Ariel and was a crew member on the small “Tall Ship” Providence. He spent time windsurfing in Maui with his self-made surf board and skiing in New Hampshire on his self-made skis. Of course, he worked on boats, too, in Fairhaven and New Bedford, Mass.  But once he established himself in York and Portsmouth, he has since been an independent wooden-boat builder. (nathangreeleyboats.com)

In 2011 Nate was one of the team that built the gundalow replica Piscataqua from scratch. A gundalow is a flat-bottom cargo vessel once common in Maine and New Hampshire rivers. They first appeared in the mid-1600s and lingered into the early 1900s before vanishing as commercial watercraft.  A replica gundalow, the Piscataqua is maintained by the Portsmouth nonprofit Gundalow Company and is used extensively in both grade school educational programs and raising environmental awareness among neighboring New Hampshire and Maine communities.

Nate will be showing some of the wooden boats he has built  at the First Annual Piscataqua Riverfest celebration on Saturday, June 1.“I admire Nate’s unique skills, and I appreciate his commitment to building me a great boat on time and on budget,” says David Borden of New Castle, New Hampshire, a former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.  “Above all, I tremendously value his dedication to the art and tradition of wooden-boat building.” 

Riverfest is organized by the Gundalow Company in partnership with Strawberry Banke Museum. This special event will include a Round Island Regatta boat race at Peirce Island; a traditional boat show exhibiting wooden boats at Strawberry Banke Museum; harbor sails on the Piscataqua; an evening gala with local food; the “Changing Nature” exhibit in the Sheafe Warehouse; maritime demonstrations for all ages; and special deals at various restaurants and other consumer venues throughout the region with the purchase of admission to Riverfest.

All Riverfest event information and tickets are available online at piscataquariverfest.com or in person at 60 Marcy Street, Portsmouth. Admission to Piscataqua Riverfest is $15 for adults and $8 for children, with discounts available to members, military, and seniors.

So if you see Nate Greeley at the Riverfest event and you ask him for advice about how to pursue a career in wooden-boat building, he’ll probably tell you: “Build stuff!”