![\"In](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133706401,imgsize-151141,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazette-photo.jpg\" "\\"Little")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nA wooden fishing boat built in 1929 is nearing a major restoration on Martha\u2019s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The vessel, Little Lady, is the sole remaining wooden fishing dragger in New England and has been part of the island\u2019s fishing community for generations.According to the Martha\u2019s Vineyard Times, Little Lady is expected to be moved from Ralph Packer\u2019s dock in Vineyard Haven to the Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway in about a month, where work on the vessel will begin.The full restoration is estimated to cost $1.5 million. The project is being funded through private donations and Community Preservation Act funds from Tisbury and Chilmark. However, $630,000 is still needed to complete the work.After the restoration, Little Lady is expected to serve as an educational hub for younger generations at the docks. Any fish caught using the boat\u2019s drag net will be donated to local food pantries. Nat Benjamin, co-founder of Gannon and Benjamin, describes Little Lady as an \u201ciconic vessel that\u2019s been in Mememsha for many generations.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re trying to keep her there,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n Little Lady was built in Noank, Connecticut, in 1929 by Captain Earl Foster and Oren Olds. The boat was originally named Mary F.Supporters were able to contact Foster\u2019s family and learn more about how the boat was built. According to the family, Foster constructed the vessel beside his family home while raising 13 children with his wife.The boat eventually became so closely connected to the house that the family moved into the woodshed after it was completed. The house was then demolished, and Little Lady was dragged to the shore.By the 1950s, the vessel had been sold to the family of Dennis ‘Denny’ Jason Jr Jason\u2019s grandfather turned it into a fishing dragger. The boat remained with the Jason family and became closely associated with Menemsha, the historic fishing village on Martha\u2019s Vineyard.Little Lady is recognisable by its red and green-accented hull, ladders running up the centre mast, and its name and number painted in white along the side. Paintings and photographs of the boat have also appeared in local galleries.<\/p>\n The Martha\u2019s Vineyard Fishermen\u2019s Preservation Trust bought Little Lady last year. However, Jason will continue as the boat\u2019s captain after the restoration is completed.According to Shelley Edmundson, executive director of the preservation trust, the boat represents the wider working waterfront community in Vineyard Haven. That community includes ship repair workers, boat builders, fishermen and women, and a fuel station.\u201cWe are usually on the docks covered in fish scales, and then you have Gannon and Benjamin here on the waterfront covered in sawdust, and we\u2019re all working really hard to keep our working waterfronts working in different ways. Little Lady symbolizes a wooden boat craftsmanship that is so lively and strong here,\u201d Edmundson says.The remaining money is being raised as supporters prepare for the next stage of the restoration. Edmundson says the next $150,000 raised will be matched by a private donor, closing part of the funding gap.Christian Cabral, who manages operations and the business side of Gannon and Benjamin, outlined the work planned for the boat. Materials have already started to be procured, and the team plans to move Little Lady to the workshop next month.Around 80 per cent of the hull, engine and other parts are expected to be repaired or replaced. At the same time, the restoration team plans to retain the character of the historic vessel.Cabral says, \u201cRestoration, in its broadest sense, is taking an existing object with what now has historic providence, looking at that object, deciding what we need to preserve, how we need to preserve it, and the methodology to take care of it. This is our guiding principle. This is where we start. To put it bluntly, is the object worth saving?\u201d Cabral asks.For those involved with Little Lady, the answer is yes. Cabral says the boat represents the connection between Martha\u2019s Vineyard\u2019s residents and the water, including generations who made their living through fishing and boatbuilding.\u201cDenny and his family, all the community members that go down to Menemsha and get the ice cream at the Galley and see that boat sitting there. The feeling of Martha\u2019s Vineyarders, who have made their money from the water, building boats and fishing, were downstream directly of that lineage. The feeling includes being on board the boat and taking kids out on the water. Those are all worthwhile things that we have the opportunity to preserve,\u201d Cabral says.<\/div>\n Little Lady is set to be moved to the Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway for repairs (Vineyard Gazette photo) A wooden fishing boat built in 1929 is nearing a major restoration on Martha\u2019s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The vessel, Little Lady, is the sole remaining wooden fishing dragger in New England and has been part of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett-150x150.avif","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett-300x169.avif","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Little Lady is set to be moved to the Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway for repairs (Vineyard Gazette photo) A wooden fishing boat built in 1929 is nearing a major restoration on Martha\u2019s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The vessel, Little Lady, is the sole remaining wooden fishing dragger in New England and has been part of the […]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":2,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett.avif",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett-300x169.avif",300,169,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/little-lady-is-set-to-be-moved-to-the-gannon-and-benjamin-marine-railway-for-repairs-vineyard-gazett-150x150.avif",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}History of ‘the little lady’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Restoration replaces much of vessel<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"