For the last few years, we have followed the sad saga of the “rebuilding” of the schooner Bluenose II. The latest development involves the replacement of the existing steel rudder and steering system at an estimated additional cost of $1 million Canadian. The project, which began in 2009, is many years behind schedule and significantly over budget. The original cost has grown from $14 million to a projected $25 million.
While the project is referred to as rebuilding or repair, it is, in fact, the construction of a new schooner. The old schooner was largely put through a wood chipper and a new schooner was built with new keel, frames and planking as well as more modern scantlings. The previous Bluenose II was a replica built in 1963 by the Oland Brewery, which was given to the province of Nova Scotia in 1971. The original Bluenose was a fishing and racing schooner built in 1921 famous for winning a series of fishing schooner races in the 1920s and 1930s.