The Surfboat Restoration Exhibit

Are you a wooden boat enthusiast? An historian, with a keen interest in restoration? Did you know that surfboats – 24-foot wave-faring rowboats – crashed through stormy waters and saved the lives of shipwrecked souls along the outer Cape in the early 1900s? Miraculously, out of their 53-year history, only two surfboat rescues ended in casualties of the crew. 13 lifesaving stations lined the outer Cape in the early to mid 20^thcentury, from where these amazing surfboats performed miraculous acts of fate. One such boat, a 24’ Race Point surfboat (built in 1944), was gifted to the Cape Cod Maritime Museum a number of years ago. The iconic boat sat on the museum’s front lawn, a symbol of the Cape’s maritime history, and museum personnel have decide it’s time to restore her. The museum’s Surfboat Restoration Exhibit is a real-time restoration project. Throughout the summer, visitors can see the surfboat during the various stages of her restoration, learn about the history of surfboats and about the process of wooden boat restoration. This is an estimated two-year project.