Mini Tall Ship under construction, South Haven, Michigan

Some friends are building a small tall ship and plan to take it down the Mississippi and to the Caribbean. They have completed a model, and are now building the keel and framing. Their website is located at:
If anyone is interested in visiting them and checking out the boat, drop them a line by email. They are moving pretty fast with construction (at least compared to my normal snail`s pace) and hope to be in the water or close to it by the June 22 WoodenBoat Show in South Haven, Michigan.
They have some pretty cool ideas about starting a fleet of charter tall ships in the Great Lakes, similar to the fleet of boats now running in the Netherlands.

They are close, maybe I`ll drive up for a visit. I have problems calling that boat a `tall ship` Sure it has a topsail and is square-rigged, but geez, it`s not even a brigantine! Coastal schooners carry more sail. Dan

rigger. It is also a shallow draft boat designed with the canal boats and sailing freighters of the Netherlands in mind. Maybe a better term is a traditional sailing ship. The two guys came over from Amsterdam to South Haven on the "Europa", a real tall ship and they are building about the biggest ship they can, I know they would love to build a real tall ship.
They are preparing the keel now so you might want to come in late January to see it when it looks like a boat instead of a pile of lumber. They will be moving from the Maritime Museum to a local warehouse for construction assembly.