Historic Hector ship restoration project will use wood from trees felled by Fiona

Work to restore the replica of the ship Hector on the waterfront in Pictou, N.S., hasn't gone according to plan.

The original Hector arrived in Pictou harbour on Sept. 15, 1773, bringing 189 settlers from Scotland to their new home. The historic voyage marked the beginning of a massive wave of immigration that turned Pictou into the birthplace of New Scotland, earning the ship the nickname of Canada's Mayflower.

A full-scale replica of the ship was built in the 1990s, but 30 years later it needed major repairs. The vessel was lifted out of the water in June 2020 to start the restoration. Delays due to COVID-19 and supply chain issues have been part of the problem in getting the work done.

Then came post-tropical storm Fiona, which killed power to the work site for nearly two weeks. The boat cover that was tied on to protect the ship blew away in the storm.

But that setback kept the small Hector work crew busy in other ways.

"One of our board members called and said she had some trees down and wanted to know if we could use them," said Vern Shea, ship Hector restoration project manager.

"So that really got me thinking that there is a lot of wood down and we should be able to go get some of that wood."

So that's what the Hector work crew did.

They didn't have to go far to find downed trees and people looking to have those trees taken away from their property.

"We went around and basically became loggers for two weeks," said Shea. "It really helped because it turned a bad thing into something good."

With branches removed, there are now dozens of large logs lying in two separate piles next to the replica of the tall ship.

"It will all get used and it will save us a lot of money in materials," said Shea.

The original settlers from the Hector spent 11 weeks living on the ship as it sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. They then built new homes out of the woods. 

"When complete, a lot of the wood inside the vessel will have come from the lands of where these people settled," said Shea.

The logs still need to be milled and will be put to good use. The many different kinds of wood, including cherry and olive, will be custom cut for interior finishing.

"Some of these trees are 150 to 250 years old so there's some pretty big lumber here," said site foreman Ray MacPhail. "We'll get them sawed up and use certain trees for specific areas of the ship."

While planks continue to be pounded into place on the ship, there is a deadline they hope to reach. The plan is to lift the vessel back into the water on Sept. 15, 2023. That day will mark the 250th anniversary of the Hector's arrival in Pictou.

"It's not looking too bad as long as we get the hull completed and the propeller shafts in," said Shea. "I'm pretty confident we'll make it as long as we don't run into supply issues, which we have been having already."