The men are building a historical boat that they plan to sail on Lake Superior.
Read more: Local, News, Long Boat Building, Marquette, Founder's Landing, Peter White, Robert Graveraet
MARQUETTE -- A group of Marquette men is turning back the clock as they begin to build a historical boat. The experience is all about camaraderie and bringing the community together.
The founders of Marquette arrived on the shores of Lake Superior in a long boat back in 1849. And this group of volunteers is working to reconstruct the same type of boat that carried Charlie and Charlotte Kawbawgum to this part of the Upper Peninsula.
The boat builders began cutting molds in November and are following a standard pilot gig design.
Builder Tim Preston said, "We're staying on it; it's a long, drawn-out project, but it'll get done, one little bit at a time and it's just a great community thing. We're having a lot of fun. The boat's only part of it, but it's not all about the boat, so we're having a lot of fun, and we're learning a lot, too. Every day, we learn something different."
They're also getting some help from the Marquette Junior Yacht Club and students of the Marquette Alternative Senior High School.
The goal is to have the boat finished by May so the Marquette Longboat Association can recreate the sunrise landing of Robert Gravereat and Peter White at Founder's Landing in Marquette, 160 years later.
"Our great resource that we have, that's the heritage of the community, and our resource is our children, who, to show them what the history of things are about," said project manager Jerry Irby.
The group said they hope to build another boat by the end of the year so the two can race.
