Photos of construction and Cruising from the Dowhens.

I few years ago the Dowhens made their photo albums from the years of Drummers construction and her early years cruising available to me online. The photos are beautiful, and informative and I am re-posting them here with permission from the Dowhens. They may be useful for folks interested in Colvin schooners or in building steel boats, but I can not necessarily answer questions about them.

Building the Hull in Michegan

Drummer’s hull was built by T.D. Vinette shipyard in Escinaba Michigan. The yard built a number of private yachts out of steel around that time including the Tom Colvin Gazelle “Quetico” for Bob and Marie, dear friends of the Dowhens.

Outfitting in Wisconsin

Once the hull was laid up and primed she was tailored to a friends barn in Wisconsin where the Dowhens finished the decks, interior, cabin houses and every little thing else themselves.

The Mississippi River

From Wisconsin Drummer traveled down the mississippi river with her mast on deck to the gulf of Mexico.

Cruising.

During the early years the Dowhens lived aboard full time and cruised drummer extensively in Florida and the Bahamas.

Turkey Creek – Settlement

Travis and Dolly Dowhen, along with Bob and Marie Kussmann eventually became some of the founding “boatholds” (only later did they become “households”) in a community of liveaboards and cruising boats that settled in a small series of canals on the Calusahatchee waterway called “Turkey Creek”.