Gallinnipper Name Plate
2023.32.01
According to Shahana (Hungerford) Klingerberg, the plate was found by her father Peter Hungerford "in the 60s out in the dunes of Saugatuck near Singapore." The plate was kept by his mother until Peter grew to manhood. In 2023, Peter's daughter donated the plate to the SDHC. The dates suggest this object was a sea scouts project from the 1930s. The Francis lifeboat was modified by Carl Bird after WWII to improve its performance as a sailboat before its restoration in the 2010s. The purpose of the plate is unclear since it does not fit anywhere on the current boat. It may have been for a trailer, the dock or other equipment associated with the craft.
NauticalCampfire Council and Scouting
Winthers, Sally
2-3/4 in
9-1/4 in
5-1/2 in
Sec 3E Shelf S19
Francis Lifeboat/Gallinipper (boat)Saugatuck Sea Scouts
from https://sdhistoricalsociety.org/Newsletter/2014/oct14/oct14_newsletter.htm American Maritime History in Our Backyard: A Story of the many Surf Boats named Gallinipper There were a number of "Gallinipper" surfboats. The first one, according to James Sheridan, Saugatuck Through the Years (pp. 80-91) was the old (abandoned) iron Francis boat of 1854, one of the first U.S. government regulation lifesaving "surf boats," that members of the Saugatuck Sea Scouts restored in 1929-30 and refit as a training vessel, naming it Galllinipper. It was used by the Sea Scouts until the organization disbanded in the 1930s. Then, with the revival of the Sea Scouts after WW II, Carl Bird and others put the iron hulk back into commission with a rudder and centerboard to make her into a better sailing craft. But it too was abandoned when the wood-lapstrake one that Frank Lovejoy worked on replaced it, taking the same name: Gallinipper. Finally, our original 1854 boat (one of 2 remaining in the U.S.) was restored and now rests in the History Center boathouse - a testimony to the heroic and sometimes tragic history of Lake Michigan and a big note in the origins of the U.S. Lifesaving Service.
Ralph Birkholz, who was a 1950s-era Sea Scout, when emailed a photo of the nameplate by Sally Winthers in July 2023, did not recognize the name plate, suggesting it was indeed from the 1930s Sea Scouts era. Mr. Birkholz writes, "I've never seen this artifact before, even when I was active in the organization during the mid to the late '50s. At that time, the only vessel we had was the motor lifeboat, of which you probably have pictures."
07/10/2023
08/16/2024