Spent yesterday down in Bath Maine at the Maritime Museum there. Located along the Kennebec River at a location just south of the present day Bath Iron Works boat yards, and where several past boat yards were located, it has displays about the business of building boats in the area.

    There were several buildings scattered around the grounds and each one dealt with some part of boating and boat building in this area and in the state of Maine in general. There was a building dealing with the tools used to build huge old wooden schooners hundreds of feet long, a building full of local small boats, one building dealing with the lobster industry in Maine and even a building where you can take a class in how to build a small boat yourself. All in all I spent more than 5 hours just wandering around looking at stuff and trying to absorb as much as I could.

    I had also hoped to take a several hour cruise up and down the Kennebec River in front of the museum that would of shown me parts of the current Bath Iron Works boat yard as well as 5 more light house's. But since it was raining, hard at times, they cancelled that trip, but at least they put together a shorter trip that encompassed part of the boat yards and went down river to see two new lights.

    Closed the place down of course, so it was a long drive home in the rain and the dark. Did at least have some new tunes to listen to though since I had purchased a new CD of 'Sea Chantys' put out by the Mystic Seaport Maritime Museum. Lot's of good songs used by seamen while going about their duties of hoisting sails or anchors. Unfortunately it did not answer the age old question of 'What do you do with a drunken sailor?' Will have to leave that for a separate discussion.

Doubling Point Light House and Range Light.

 

Doubling Point Light House #1. This one sits on a point of land on an island across from Bath Maine. It shows where ships need to make a 90 degree turn in the Kennebec River just SE of Bath. The light of course still works, but the keepers house was sold many years ago to a private party.

Doubling Point Light House #2. In the background you see the old keepers house.

Doubling Point Light House #3.

Doubling Point Light House #4. In the background you can see a red 'Nun Bouy' which marks the actual channel. Our guide told us that the original light house was actually on the shore of the island, but that the Coast Guard had to move it out away from shore because to many ships were trying to cut the corner to close and actually ran aground.

The original small boat house for the Doubling Point Light House. Used to store the pulling boat the Keeper would use to row to Bath, on the other side of the river, for supplies.

The Doubling Point Light House Fog Bell House. Located just a few hundred yards away from the light house, this building would of had a large stationary bell hanging from the post sticking out of the side of the building. A mechanism, similar to a grandfather clock, would of been located inside the building and would of controlled a mechanical clapper that would of rang the bell in a particular sequence.

Kennebec River (Doubling Point) Range Light House. Located just down river from Doubling Point and at another 90 degree bend in the river. This photo shows the keeper house on the left, it has been sold off to a private party, and on the right, the front one of two range lights that helped ships line themselves up in the middle of the channel. (see next photo).

Look close and you can see the rear range light in back of the front one. When a ship was down channel 2-3 miles they would line up both buildings in a line if there was daylight, the back one is higher than the front one, or the two lights if it was dark, and they would know they were in the middle of the river channel.

Looking down river at the Kennebec River channel.

This tree growing out of the rocks along the channel edge caught my eye.