Here are a few photos and an essay about his last, the GLORY OF THE SEAS.
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| Frank Prothero Master boatbuilder At work in the summer of 1986, Lake Union, Seattle, WA. Photo by Liddell from the archives of the Saltwater People Historical Society© |
Words shared by the Wooden Boat magazine senior editor, Tom Jackson, about Mr. Prothero and his beautiful wooden schooner Glory of the Seas;
Number 150, September/October 1999. Thank you, Tom.
"Years ago, after a Museum Small Craft Association meeting at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle, a group of maritime historians bundled into some of the center's small boats and set off across Lake Union to visit, among other places, the legendary Frank Prothero's floating shop. He was in fine form that day, thoroughly at home, and comfortable under the microscope. His appreciative guests had a lot to admire stickered stacks of enviable wood, tools that had all the signs of honest purpose and use, examples of tight and interesting joiner work in progress––and GLORY OF THE SEAS, the 65' schooner Prothero had been building for himself for many years.
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| GLORY OF THE SEAS after the christening, but still on her cradle, Lake Union, Seattle. July 1986 Click image to enlarge. Photograph by C. Fujii From the archives of the Saltwater People Log© |
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| Hand-carved teak covering board by Frank Prothero for his GLORY, Lake Union, 1986. Photo by G. Gilbert from the archives of the Saltwater People Log© |
The hull had long been finished and was afloat alongside the barge. Her builder had most recently been engaged in below-deck joiner work. Every detail showed remarkable workmanship. Carvings, for example, had been worked into the rounded corners of cabin bulkheads at the end of the saloon. For those who had been aware of Prothero's sailing yachts––ALCYONE, now based in Port Townsend, is a great and familiar example––GLORY OF THE SEAS was the one everyone was waiting for. It was to be Prothero's final statement, the crowning achievement of a lifetime of experience. In his interview with Peter Spectre in 1982, when he was already a decade into the project, Prothero spoke prophetic words, 'I don't think I'll live long enough to finish her. I don't see how I could.'
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| Frank Prothero Pulling on the mooring lines of GLORY OF THE SEAS. Summer 1986, Seattle, WA. Photo by Liddell from the archives of the Saltwater People Log© |
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| Going back a few years at Frank's shop, 66-ft diesel launch One of the biggest built in Seattle in the 1950s. She floated free of her week-end launching at the Prothero Boat Co, 29 Oct. 1956. She was designed by Willam Garden- Phil Brinck Assoc. for the Lakeside Gravel Co. She will be finished by Vic Franck's Boat Co. Photographer unknown. From the archives of the Saltwater People Historical Society© |
Less than a year after the fire, 16 November 1996, Prothero died at 91. But it wasn't a case of heartbreak. Bill says the fire was 'just one more thing to overcome' for someone used to repairing boats. 'Father wasn't trying to finish this boat.' he says. He had finished boats the same size in less than a year with his crew. 'He had been working on her for 30-years before he died. He just enjoyed, working on boats. He used to say the only reason to take them out was to have an excuse to work on them when you get back. He was still working on the boat the night before he passed away,' despite losing a leg to complications of diabetes. However, GLORY OF THE SEAS will be completed. Bill Prothero will retire in a few years, and he has been slowly finishing the schooner, preparing for the day when he will use her as a cruising summer home for his family.
GLORY OF THE SEAS is moored today [1999] near Lake Union Dry Dock, not far from where Prothero's shop used to be, tethered in among the sheet-metal-sided buildings of the dry dock and its neighbors. She rides tranquilly amid the noise and haste of what's left of the bustling Lake Union working waterfront that the elder Prothero and many of his relatives knew well in its heyday. Most recently, Bill has added ballast, installed a 100-hp John Deere engine, repainted, and revarnished her brightwork. He recently hauled her to install through-hull fittings for the engine and repaint her bottom. 'The boat is being worked on, but not very fast,' Bill says. As of March, he was hoping to have the boat over to the Center for Wooden Boats for the July 4 Lake Union Wooden Boat Show.
GLORY OF THE SEAS may yet be the glory of Puget Sound."
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| Prothero admires his schooner GLORY OF THE SEAS after 28 years. Dated September 1993. Photo by G. Gilbert from the archives of the Saltwater People Log© |
The news on the docks: a father and son have stepped up to restore the GLORY.
Click here to read a snippet for clipper GLORY OF THE SEAS.
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| Glory of the Seas Photo courtesy of K. Pool, 11/2019. Click image to enlarge. Location: Port of Port Townsend, WA. For Saltwater People Log. |
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| Glory of the Seas Courtesy of K. Pool, 11/2019. Click image to enlarge. Port Townsend, WA. for Saltwater People Log. |
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| Glory of the Seas with some red cedar planks removed that expose her rotten frames on the starboard side. Click image to enlarge. Photo courtesy of K. Pool, 11/2019 for Saltwater People Log. When this was posted she was still ashore in the Port of Port Townsend, WA. |
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