A Cohasset family and friends keep an elegant 90-year-old wooden boat sound and seaworthy.
By Dave Kindy
Photography by Kjeld Mahoney
“She features a sleek design that is fast and quiet. It looks like a lobster boat but it was really a custom-built, one-of-a-kind ferry intended for speedy service around the islands of Maine. She’s a one-off.”
— Todd Fitzpatrick
It’s a lovely early evening at Cohasset Cove. A slight breeze gently sways boats on their moorings while sailors carefully guide their sloops in and out of the harbor. Children laugh as they scamper along a stone jetty while fishermen silently wet their lines in hopes of making one more catch.
Though it is not dark yet, a near-full moon rises in the east, faintly silhouetting a handsome wooden boat floating on the still waters near the opening of the inlet. Onboard, Jessica and Todd Fitzpatrick entertain guests with fresh-squeezed lemonade and lobster canapes. Known as the Ghost, this elegant and classic vessel is decorated with wicker furniture, comfy cushions and cozy below-deck berths, as well as cut hydrangeas and other plants – including fresh basil.
“We add it to the lemonade,” Jessica says. “It’s a kind of drink that was popular in the 1920s.”
The beverage is a fitting choice for the Ghost, which may have been built to transport illicit hooch during Prohibition. Completed after the liquor ban was repealed, the vessel ended up serving as an island ferry on Penobscot Bay in Maine for several years. Now, it is a home away from home for the Fitzpatricks. The Cohasset family, which includes daughter Kate, 24, and son John, 22, takes the boat on leisurely trips along the Massachusetts coastline as time permits.
“When the kids were younger, we put a little pool on the deck and they splashed around for hours, protected from the sun by the cabin,” Todd says.
For boat lovers, the beauty of this historic vessel is indisputable. It has been featured in photo shoots, often featuring couples married at the former Hugo’s Restaurant on Cohasset Harbor. The Ghost has also won the Spectators Choice Award at the Annual Antique & Classic Boat Show in Salem for two years running, beginning in 2018. It also received the judge’s award for Best in Original Condition in 2019, along with other honors over the past 25 years.
“She features a sleek design that is fast and quiet. It looks like a lobster boat but it was really a custom-built, one-of-a-kind ferry intended for speedy service around the islands of Maine. She’s a one-off.”
Made with a cedar hull and white oak decks, Ghost may have been designed by legendary boatbuilder Will Frost, who transformed the lobster boat into the easily recognizable version we know today. His improvements in hull design enabled his creations, which included rumrunners, to travel at high speeds with little resistance over the water.
If Frost didn’t design it, his work certainly influenced its builders. The Ghost was constructed by twin brothers Herbert and Everett Williams of Islesboro, an island in the middle of Penobscot Bay, at the behest of their father. According to legend, the family patriarch wanted a fast boat to sneak booze into Maine from Canada. The sons, who were homebuilders by trade, began constructing the vessel in 1928 or 1929, but didn’t complete it until 1934 – a year after Prohibition was lifted.
The origins of the name are somewhat obscure. Popular myth claims the father was a recluse who believed spirits inhabited his home. He slept all day and stayed up at night in hopes of catching a glimpse of the elusive phantoms. Thus, the speedy 40-foot vessel, propelled by a 153-horsepower diesel engine, earned its spectral sobriquet.
The fact that the boat has survived 90 years is a testament to the love of several individuals who recognized the value of this rare jewel of Maine boatbuilding. The Ghost was abandoned twice and left to the destructive patterns of nature. Both times, she was resurrected from near death.
According to Todd, the boat at first traveled from Lincolnville Beach on mainland Maine to Islesboro, a playground for elite summer vacationers for more than a century. During World War II, it was requisitioned for service by the U.S. Navy but then returned to private ownership. For unknown reasons, however, it was eventually left to rot among the seagrass.
“She was pulled out of the weeds several decades ago,” Todd says. “Her rotten keel was repaired and her hull covered with cold molding, which includes two layers of wood veneer and fiberglass epoxy. Additional work was later completed at Androscoggin Wooden Boat Works in Maine.”
Ghost then puttered around the East Coast for a few years, making round trips from Maine to Florida. On one of those excursions, the owner was called away on a family emergency and was forced to leave the boat in Maryland – where it sat unattended for five years.
Around 1992, Ben “Benji” Watson learned of Ghost through an ad in a boating publication. A lifelong “salt,” the former owner of Cohasset Hardware and local landscaper fell in love with her at first sight.
“It was a mess but you could see it had some pedigree,” Benji recalls. “I bought it and trucked it home. I’ve done a lot of work to it. One winter, I had it in a barn in Cohasset and did all the decks over, the roofs and all kinds of stuff.”
Once Ghost was seaworthy, Benji traveled in her up and down the shores of the Northeast, including on an epic 160-mile nonstop trip to Maine. He even took her back to its birthplace in Islesboro.
“This old fella came down the ramp and said, ‘Jesus Christ! Is that Ghost? I did some work on her 30 years ago!’”
Benji owned the boat for about 25 years, then made the difficult decision to turn it over to new caretakers. He was friends with the Fitzpatricks, who had expressed a genuine interest in providing the historic preservation Ghost required, and sold it to them in 2017.
“I grew up in Cohasset but never had much to do with boats,” Todd says. “I could see Ghost was special and wanted to make sure she was maintained properly. I don’t really know what needs to be done, so I rely on Benji to guide us in her care.”
“I jump back in when I’m needed by Todd,” Benji adds. “As long as I get to make my three runs a year on Ghost, I’m happy.”
The Fitzpatricks plan to keep Ghost in the family but hope to also start a small charter business for trips and tours. They’ve successfully tested the waters already and son Jack may take the helm soon as captain for private excursions along the South Shore’s coastline.
“While humble and elegant in her sleek simplicity, Ghost likes to be seen,” Todd says.
Right now, the idea is to keep Ghost shipshape for her centennial in 2034 – not an easy task for a 90-year-old boat that has been resurrected from destruction twice already. Paint and varnish have to be scraped and reapplied. Mechanical work on the engine and other systems is almost constant. Planking and trim must be checked and replaced as necessary. Loving and caring eyes are always on watch for rot and decay.
“We want to keep her sound and seaworthy until she’s 100,” Benji says. “That’s the goal.”
For Ghost, the third time around is definitely a charm.
Follow Ghost on Instagram
@ghost_cohasset_1934.
