The ARCTIC Sails! For the first time since the early 1900's, a steam tug named Arctic has sailed the waters of Lake Michigan.

The Arctic executes a turn during sea trials while working the docks of Lake Michigan. The Arctic will be on display at the 15th Annual Door County Maritime Museum Classic & Wooden Boat Show, August 6 & 7, Sturgeon Bay, WI. Stop by the Boat'art display - it will be running!

Another view of the Arctic underway. If you look carefully, you can see the steam exhaust from the starboard side, just aft of the rear bumper tire.

The official handoff of the Arctic from builder to owner, Dr. Cam Watts of Sister Bay, WI.

THE BUILDING HISTORY OF "ARCTIC"
One of the difficulties of a large model, when you dont have a large printer. Lots of little, full scale printouts, taped together!

It all starts with the framing material. In this case we have acquired some superb, fine grained white oak. The teak batten is just being used as a straightedge.

Layup of the keel and stem. Note, the building table is 5' long and the model is 5' 1'....needless to say, there will be some overhang!

The initial setup and checking of the keel and frames. "High tech, right?" Notice the building board with centerline and frame stations scribed. Squaring and locating the frames and keel are critical at this point. We dont want the tug to go in circles, do we?

The frames, ready for assembly to the keel. Each frame will be beveled after assembly, using battens to ensure a "fair" curve. From now on, there is more art to building than science.