Ship History

It all started in 2007 with a few Boy Scouts of Troop 244 looking for new adventures and a way to continue their friendships after they aged out of Boy Scouts. One of the former scout masters of their troop had been a sea scout back in his youth, so the boys recruited him to help lead this new unit.  The Ship was chartered by Peace Presbyterian Church in Cary, NC and in 2008 it had 10 youth members, 5 males and 5 females.

The first boat that the ship owned was a donated 26′ swing-keel Clipper that came with a trailer. Before we took it sailing we had the boat surveyed to try to find any potential problems.  Turns out that this was a good move on the part of the sea scouts as this boat ended up having a rotten keel right near where the keel connected with the fiberglass hull. The laminated layers of iron that made up the keel were starting to separate. If we had taken it out on the water with out knowing this, there was a strong possibility that a tack could have snapped the keel, capsized the boat and had serious injury to the scouts.

Thankfully the surveyor that we took the Clipper to operated a repair shop as well. This put him in a position that enabled him to help out the ship as he pledged that he will find the Ship a different boat for little to no cost to the ship. It turns out that he had a 22 ft. Catalina in for repairs and the owner had not paid for the work done. The surveyor made an agreement with the owner of the Catalina to forgive the debt if the owner of the Catalina permitted the surveyor to sell the boat. The sea scout ship was able to purchase this boat and the trailer it was on for $1.00. We named her the Phoenix and our adventures began.

In 2009 the ship received a 19′ Glastron bow rider ski boat from a member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. The members of the ship took to calling this ski boat the Osprey as most of the male members at the time were all Eagle scouts.

One of the resources that our Council was able to help provide was a 28 ft. pontoon boat we called the Silver Goose. The boat had not been used for several years and needed some work. We put her up on blocks while we worked on the trailer and then started working on the engine. We were able to get the engine started but when we shifted into gear the engine cut off.  After a number of sweaty, greasy work days, the Silver Goose was ready for the water again.

With the use of the Osprey, Phoenix and Silver Goose we were able enjoy many trips on Kerr Lake. We were fortunate to be able to use an old youth camp on Kerr Lake for some of our trips, including several week-long summer camps until 2011.

In 2012 the ship was donated another 22′ Catalina, this time a Capri that was outfitted to be in races. This boat had a fixed keel, no trailer and was kept at a marina.  Thanks to the fund raising assistance of Troop 244, we were able to purchase a trailer.
That same year the Osprey was vandalized and the ship was not able to afford the extensive repairs needed. So we had to pass this boat on to a new owner as a project boat.

As the Ship sails on through the years this website will be updated periodically. Click on the Ship’s Log for more more photos and stories.