Lunenburg by the Sea

Young shipwright George Rhuland worked for John Morash in the late nineteenth century. Rhuland’s future business partner, Richard Smith, was employed by David Smith along the same waterfront. In 1900, Richard Smith and George Rhuland purchased land for a new shipyard and constructed the Palatia and the Quisetta in their first year. Bob Adair’s “a visit to Smith & Rhuland” records the company’s history in Sojourn (May 1975). The schooner Bessemer was launched with a small auxiliary in her hold in 1928. Within six years, Smith & Rhuland installed an engine in every new vessel the company constructed. In 1954, the shipyard launched its first yacht. Adair concluded that Smith & Rhuland’s strong points have always been versatility, skill and quality.

Photographer: W.R. MacAskill

Reference: W.R. MacAskill Nova Scotia Archives 1987-453 no. 425