During Rob's time the Small Boat department was headed by the late John Gardner, an expert on small boat construction and restoration and a prominent figure in the national revival of interest in wooden boats. Today the mission of the Museum's John Gardner Small Boat Shop is "to study, teach and encourage the construction and use of traditional small sailing and rowing boats." (Museum website, 2020)  Rob was a member of the John Gardner Chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association based at the University of Connecticut's campus at Avery Point, Groton. He was an avid sailor, of course, and his wife Louise shared his interest in all things nautical as curator for many years of Stonington's Lighthouse Museum.

Rob Pittaway, was the author of Building the Half-Model. He was a past president and trustee of the Custom House Maritime Museum in New London, CT. Here he shares a laugh with fellow trustee Russell DeMarco. 

To learn more about his book, see mcguirelibrary1998.omeka.net/exhibits/show/rob-pittaway-s-half-hulls--the/about-the-author

Robert Alexander "Rob" Pittaway was born Feb. 5, 1941, in New York City to Adelaide Lathrop Ketchum and Rudolph Alexander Pittaway. He died Aug. 11, 2025, at the Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London.

Rob grew up in Cambridge, Mass. where he attended the Shady Hill School and the Cambridge School of Weston. As a child, he was known for his sunny temperament and very blond hair. The family spent summers in Old Saybrook, where his mother called him "shiner" after the shiner fish in the Connecticut River.

He graduated from Colorado College and then attended graduate school at the University of Michigan where, influenced by summers spent learning to sail at a camp in Maine and family vacations in Westport Point, Mass., he studied naval architecture. He married Louise Davis of New York and they settled in Stonington, where he worked for the Mystic Seaport, mentored by John Gardner. In addition, he volunteered at the New London Customs House – and was a member of the Wooden Boat Club and the Formosa Yacht Club, where he was known for having consumed three hamburgers in a row.

Rob's passion was to design and create boats in many forms. At once a stickler to the rules of traditional design, he loved to experiment, and once made a square rowboat in his sister's apartment in Cambridge. He made small models out of whatever material was at hand and produced half models of sailing ships, some of which are on exhibit at the New London Maritime Museum. He designed the seaworthy Stonington Pulling Boat, launched to much celebration from Don's Dock in Stonington April 20,1980.

Rob was known for his humor, exactitude in all things, rich vocabulary, curiosity in understanding how things work, and his resilience in the face of the many health challenges that came his way.

The 33rd Annual WoodenBoat Show occurred from June 27-29, 2025, at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT. This event, in partnership with WoodenBoat Publications, honored wooden boats' tradition, craftsmanship, and innovation. Over 100 classic and traditional wooden boats, from kayaks to schooners, were exhibited on land and water. Attendees could explore exhibits such as the "I Built/Restored It Myself" showcase, which featured boats built and restored by their owners.

A Concours d'Élegance for exquisitely designed and crafted wooden boats was also available. The show included a speaker series with authors and crafters, who shared insights into maritime history and boatbuilding. Live demonstrations by master boatbuilders highlighted traditional techniques, including caulking, woodcarving, blacksmithing, and strip-planking with fiberglassing. The event catered to wooden boat enthusiasts and maritime history buffs, attracting nearly 12,000 attendees. 

My boat was built by a western Pennsylvania builder in 1975, the same year Bob Baker made plans available through Mystic Seaport Museum. He built her with glued lapstrake plywood over sawn frames, with tight-laid floorboards and ceiling planks. There is more to say, but there's a start.

I got the boat in 2013 and sailed her for several years form a mooring on the Mystic River, right opposite Mystic Seaport Museum. However, I had to haul her and took her home for some problem solving:

• She had a hanked-on cotton sail, which was not workable stowed on the boom while on a mooring. I did find a Beetle Cat sail, but I need to decide how best to hank it on. 
  
• I also think the rudder inadequate so will be building a new rudder and tiller. 
• I want to drill and epoxy some limber holes in the frames as this was never done by the builder, a fresh-water sailor and not as clear-thinking as I would have liked in some of his building choices. 
• She needs basic scrape and paint, as you might expect. While I don't think there is any significant rot, it is possible. (Refer to limber holes.)

There's a start on my project. I look forward to talking with interested TSCA members about mu unique little boat.

One more thing; she is a drop-dead beautiful little boat that needs to get back to the water. I look forward to talking with you about Button Swan.

Thanks!
Alan

Arnold Chester describes his experience building the Biscayne 22 at a meeting of the John Gardner Chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association. ​

The Biscayne 22 is a classic mahogany runabout. Plans are available from Glen-L: https://www.glen-l.com/Biscayne-22/products/726/​

A description provided on the Glen-L website:

​"The Biscayne 18 & 22 classic mahogany runabout designs capture the look and feel of production runabouts built in the several years either side of 1940, and incorporate similar hull shapes accordingly. That means reverse-curved flaring topsides at the bow blending gracefully aft to a generous tumblehome at the transom. Such attractive contours are impossible to build using sheet plywood alone, yet easily reproduced using our carefully detailed building methods."

In addition to his boat building activities, Arnold had an interesting career as an engineer. One of his projects involved working on the life support systems that the Apollo 11 astronauts used to walk on the moon.