[Download a PDF of this Drawing]
Born 1864 and married at 24, Thomas Head lived in Joe Batt’s Arm on the north coast of Fogo Island, Newfoundland. Thomas was a fisherman all his life but, to eke out a living with his wife Phoebe, he would likely have turned his hand to many other things in the course of a year.
Typically an Island fisherman at the turn of the century would have been engaged in numerous seasonal activities: hunting game and trapping for furs in the fall and winter; woodcutting, hunting seals and sea birds winter and spring; farming spring and summer; harvesting crops and native berries in the fall.
Winter and spring saw Thomas building boats – some for his own use, some for profit. In February 1906, at the age of 42, Thomas built the gunning punt featured here.
I love the lines on the Fogo Island punt. I have recently completed a rebuild of a 4 HP Atlantic which runs like a dream. Only thing is, I have no boat. I would like to get an opinion if the Atlantic could be put in the Fogo Island punt as shown? Also if there are available any more dimensional information on the plan, it would be greatly appreciated if you can let me know how I might be able to obtain/purchase a copy.
AS an aside I am a displaced Newfoundlander living just outside Calgary, but have had a dream of building a boat as shown. When I was growing up in Nfld. we had a 16 ft boat with a 4 hp Atlantic in it.
Hi Roger, A good place to get some advice about this would be one of our facebook groups: https://www.facebook.com/groups/makeandbreak/ or https://www.facebook.com/groups/woodenboatnl/
Best of luck!
Are these still being built and if so how much do they cost? Would love to own one and take is along the coast of Maine.
Thanks.