Save Our Ships!

For some thirty years, Grand Canyon National Park’s collection of historic boats has languished in the outdoor courtyard of the old Visitors Center. Boats from the 1909 Galloway/Stone expedition, the Kolb brothers’ 1911 trip, the 1923 usgs trip, Nevill’s first trip in 1938, the original motor trip in 1949, one of the first pair of 1962 dories, Dock Marston’s 1963 sportyak, a Georgie raft, and a few others have been deteriorating in the sun, wind, rain-splatter, and drifting snow. In spite of 1970s-vintage nps directives to protect the boats, our legacy as Grand Canyon boatmen has slowly been dying. That’s about to change.
On the evening of May 1, the Grand Canyon Historic Boat Project had its first formal meeting. Working under the umbrella of Grand Canyon National Park Foundation (a fund-raising organization under the direction of Deborah Tuck) the Boat Project is dedicated to saving the Grand Canyon boats from their tragic neglect. The timing could not be better. Superintendent Joe Alston (the first superintendent who can run his own boat through the Canyon) is solidly behind the project, as are Science Director Jeff Cross and Chief Archaeologist Jan Balsom, under whose supervision the boats now reside.
The Boat Project’s advisory board, consisting of Gaylord Staveley, Tom Moody, Richard Quartaroli, Ellen Tibbetts, Cameron Staveley, David Edwards, and Brad Dimock, met with Deb Tuck, Fran Joseph, and Jack Schmidt from the Foundation and outlined the initial steps of the program in two phases.
Step 1, urgent and imperative—
Save the Boats
* Secure an accurate inventory of what boats the nps actually has in their collection.
* Replace the decaying cradles that hold the boats with new, stronger, well-padded ones.
* Complete the architectural drawing project of the boats begun under the Colorado River Fund two years ago, thereby preserving the lines and construction details of the vessels.
* Begin moving the boats to a workshop, where professional conservators will stabilize the boats.
* Move the stabilized boats into the new warehouse at the South Rim where they will remain protected.
* Raise the funds to accomplish all this.
Step 2, imperative, but not quite so urgent—
Public Display

* Once the damage has been stopped and the boats stabilized and protected, we will work toward a new state-of-the-art display, where the public can see, learn about, understand, and appreciate the river heritage these boats represent.
* In the meantime, the nps has committed to keep at least one boat from the collection on display at the new Canyon View Information Plaza at all times, likely exchanging boats from time to time.

* We cannot allow the project to end with Step 1, with the boats stabilized but sentenced to life in warehouse prison. Step 2 will be far more difficult, time-consuming, and costly.
We’re thrilled to be beginning this project. But what is even better is that this is no pipe dream. This is happening now. Superintendent Alston has committed to begin moving the boats by June 1.
We are currently interviewing conservators, scheduling the drawings, and finalizing the designs for new cradles. The stabilization workshop is being vacated for us. The new warehouse is nearing completion. The Boat Project and the nps are looking at acquiring a few other boats that are languishing in the Southwest. We are off to a good start, but we have a long, long way to go.
We need your help. From time to time we will need helping hands for actual projects or events. But more importantly, we need money. There is a limited amount of funding left from a grant by the Colorado River Fund, earmarked for line drawings and boat preservation, but that will only begin the project. The nps is supportive, but is so severely underfunded that we will need to raise a majority of the funds ourselves. That’s where you come in. We will be putting together a brochure that you can hand out to your passengers, detailing the project, offering t-shirts, caps, videos, etc. and soliciting donations. Your enthusiasm for this project will be contagious—your apathy will be lethal. Get excited. Let’s do this. With your help, our legacy will finally get the respect it deserves.

To find out how you can help, contact Fran Joseph at gcnp Foundation. 928 774-1760, fran@gcnpf.org