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"Building a boat is 'bout like anything else you do in life. If you're gonna to do it a t'all, you ought to do it right."
Ralph Stanley
The Friendship sloop: a graceful, classic boat, able and rugged. To see one under full sail is to reach back in history. First built in the mid-1800's as a sturdy fishing and trading vessel, the Friendship sloop is enjoying a revival as a fun recreational boat.
Ralph Stanley is a Maine boat builder who is dedicated to preserving the Friendship Sloop and uses the centuries old craft of steaming and shaping wood by hand and carving the details. Another builder, Jarvis Newman, created a mold from a vintage Friendship sloop and uses fiberglass and epoxy. The methods differ, but both builders share the traditional values of care in workmanship.
We meet some of the sloop owners at their annual homecoming. It's a spirited slice of Americana with competition and comraderie, racing and revelry. Some love the Friendship sloop for its sailing characteristics, some for its beauty, some for its appeal to the individualist, and some for the sheer fun of it. As they sit at the helm, their boats cut nicely through the waves, catching the wind, wing and wing. In THE FRIENDSHIP SLOOP: A Heritage Retained we meet people who share a common bond in preserving not only a lovely old-style boat, but also the more intangible values of pride in heritage and the pursuit of excellence.
28 minutes, VHS
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