A crowd of onlookers gathered at Fisherman’s Wharf Wednesday, Jan. 30 to witness the Tedora’s return to the sea after six years on dry land.
The 13-ton classic wooden boat, newly restored by its owner Michael Schaefer, was lowered onto a specially designed trailer, gently extracted from the narrow confines of the local boat works and ferried through town to the docks. The procession marked a significant milestone in Schaefer’s lengthy restoration project undertaken nearly a decade ago when he took possession of the boat.
“I bought it in 2004,” Schaefer said, “and ever since then, we’ve been working on it.”
Schaefer committed himself to a 10-year plan for the restoration, funding the venture entirely by himself.
Nine years later, his project is nearing completion. Schaefer’s ark is a year shy of its 100th birthday, but he has no doubts as to its seaworthiness.
“This is a full-on rebuild of a hundred-year-old boat,” Schaefer said. “If there was anything that was questionable, we went ahead and replaced it. Everything we did, we did to a pretty high standard. We didn’t cut any corners on materials.”
Over the course of the restoration ― the last stages of which were carried out in the Ladysmith Maritime Society’s Heritage Boatworks ― Schaefer replaced 42 planks and 52 ribs, the wheel house, the rub rails, half of the boat’s deck, and the engine (the Elmera’s original engine is now part of the BC Forest Discovery Centre’s collection, Schaefer said).
The makeover led to a handful of unexpected discoveries, Schaefer said. When he brought the original portholes to Smith Bros. Foundry and Machine Works in Victoria for refurbishing, the man behind the service counter recognized how rare they were.
“The man I was talking to was Paul Smith, the grandson of the original foundry owner” Schaefer said. Smith suspected the portholes had originally been forged by his foundry a century ago, suggesting they may still have the mold in storage in their attic.
“Sure enough, we went upstairs and he had the original mold,” Schaefer said. “He said ‘These are very unique. We’re the only ones that actually made these.’ It was 100 years of history coming full circle.”
A brief mention of the restoration in a boating magazine led to a second random connection being forged between Schaefer and John Chesterfield, the original owner’s grandson.
“A gentleman in Washington State happened to read it and he put two and two together and said ‘that’s my grandfather’s boat,’” Schaefer said. “He got in touch with us and we’ve been corresponding ever since. I’m hoping to have him come up here at some point to take a ride on his grandfather’s boat.”
Schaefer has yet to finish the woodwork and upholstery in the cabin’s interior. He plans to finish off the restoration by May 2014, in time for the 100th anniversary of Elmera’s launch and the beginning of the wooden boat show circuit.
Schaefer said the restoration wouldn’t have been possible without the guidance of local shipwright Eric Sandilands.
“He’s my friend and boat builder,” Schaefer said. “If I didn’t have Eric behind me guiding me along, I wouldn’t have taken on this project.”
The boat itself has a long and colourful history.
“She was built in 1913,” Schaefer said, “and launched on May 9, 1914.”
Built in Esquimalt by Donald Robertson, a “pattern maker” who emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1903, the boat was originally intended for pleasure use. Robertson dubbed the boat Elmera, Schaefer said, after “a flower that only grows on the Coast Mountains here in B.C.”
At some point in the boat’s history ― “I haven’t determined when yet,” Schaefer added ― its name was changed to Tedora.
“I’m thinking of rechristening it Elmera Tedora,” Schaefer said. “The name pay homage to its roots and its history here on the coast. It was a forestry boat for about 20 years. It would’ve been used to take guys to and from camp up and down the Coast. I’ve had a couple of old-timers come through and say ‘I know this boat, it’s a rum-runner.’ It’s possible. It’s certainly big enough and it’s from the right era.”
To view photos of the restoration, visit facebook.com/elmera.tedora.
