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.

The John Gardner Chapter of the TSCA and the New London Currach Rowers participated in the Messing About in Boats Day at the UConn Avery Point Campus. The event was sponsored by the Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve and provided an opportunity for UConn students, faculty, and staff to enjoy a variety of water activities.

The JGTSCA offered participants the opportunity to take a traditional dory for a row. The boats are “Hybrid Avery Point Dories” modeled after traditional Grand Banks fishing dories. They are built lighter and are set up for “Gunkholing” perfect for exploring the estuarine coastal areas found here at the mouth of the Thames and Poquonnock rivers.

The New London Currach Rowers allowed attendees to give Irish rowing a try with a traditional Irish currach. The design of a currach is 2,000 years old, built for fishing in the wild Irish Sea and northern Atlantic, and is now mainly used competitively.

The John Gardner Chapter of the TSCA hosted its annual Small Craft Workshop. The workshop ran in conjunction with the 32nd annual WoodenBoat Show at Mystic Seaport on June 28-30, 2024.

The JGTSCA quarterly meeting was held at the Avery Point boathouse on April 7, 2024. The meeting was followed by a tool sharpening workshop led by Bill Rutherford and Dan Nelson.

Captain Dan Nelson and Kate Nelson gathered JGTSCA members to assist with sawing apart their newly built Chesapeake Light Craft Passagemaker dinghy.  The take-apart dinghy will store compactly on the foredeck of their sailboat and can be quickly re-assembled to serve as a launch.