Little Lady, the last one-man, wooden western-rig dragger in New England that has been a fixture in Menemsha for three generations, is preparing for a new voyage: this time in education and historic preservation. 

The Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust is working with Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway and Capt. Dennis Jason to buy and rebuild the iconic fishing vessel. The nonprofit trust, formed in 2011 to safeguard the Island’s fishing heritage, hopes to raise $2 million to pay for repairs amid plans to use the Little Lady for living historical and educational programs, including fishing. 

“A part of what our mission is is to save the commercial fishing heritage on the Island and I think there’s no better representation of this physically than the Little Lady,” said Shelley Edmundson, executive director of the preservation trust. 

Nearly 100 years old, the vessel is a living relic of a bygone era before the corporate dominance of the fishing industry. Most trawlers drag behind them, not from the side like the Little Lady. Modern boats have also eschewed Little Lady’s wooden planks for sleek fiberglass and steel. 

The boat has been in the Jason family for three generations.

Albert O. Fischer

The boat has been in the Jason family for three generations.

Albert O. Fischer

“The Little Lady, they [other fishermen] would call her a dinosaur,” Mr. Jason said. 

Time has taken its toll on the vessel. The old dragger needs to be regularly pumped out in order to stay afloat and needs new planking, a wheelhouse, rigging and a rebuilt motor, among other things. 

All this work is planned to take place at the Gannon and Benjamin boatyard when Little Lady is hauled, sometime this spring.

“In its restored state, the Little Lady will serve as a historical site for public visits, talks, and hands-on educational experiences, helping to foster a deeper appreciation for local maritime history, and for our local food producers,” a trust pamphlet on the project says.

Fundraising for the project is under way; at the annual town meeting Monday Chilmark voters will be asked , to contribute $100,000 from the Community Preservation Act fund. 

Lately Mr. Jason has been busy taking out equipment and preparing Little Lady for the trip from Menemsha to Vineyard Haven. 

This will mark the second summer he has not fished Little Lady, but he said he is excited for its next chapter. 

“My dad always said that that would be the nail in the coffin, the day she stops fishing, but there’s more to it. Boats are preserved,” he said. “This is like an old racehorse going out to pasture. She won all these races and it’s like the champion is now going to eat green grass.”

Ms. Edmundson hopes to use the boat for educational programs with Mr. Jason still at the helm. The boat will still be able to be used for fishing, but instead of focusing on commercial catch, the trust plans to donate fish caught to organizations on the Island that combat food insecurity. Mr. Jason said he looks forward to this next chapter.

“I have high hopes to educate anyone that wants to know about the way things used to be,” he said. “I grew up at the very end of this great fishing legacy on the Vineyard and in southeastern Massachusetts.” 

The Little Lady, docked in Menemsha, will be pulled out soon for repairs.

Larry Glick

The Little Lady, docked in Menemsha, will be pulled out soon for repairs.

Larry Glick

Ms. Edmundson echoed the sentiment.

“She is a boat that a lot of our community members connect to, whether it’s just because of her beauty, or because of her history in fishing,” she said. “There’s a sheer artistic beauty that we’ve all become familiar with seeing her.”

Purchased in the mid-1930s by Leonard Jason Sr., grandfather of the current captain, Little Lady has long been a familiar sight in Menemsha Bight. The orange paint that highlights the deck and the mast, a color the family calls nasturtium after the flower, was an addition by Mr. Jason’s mother.

“There’s been so many colors. My grandfather always had some sort of bright, orangish color, but the one that I’ve stuck with, the one people probably recognize, is the one my mom came up with. Just tried to replicate it over the years,” Mr. Jason said. 

The dragger began her life as the Mary F, built in Noank, Conn. in 1929 by Oren Olds and Captain Earl Foster. The preservation trust has been in contact with the Foster family to help piece together the full story of the boat. According to Ms. Edmundson, the Foster family has been going through their personal archives for more information. They found a business card from Mr. Foster that had a picture of the original Mary F on it, before the boat was lengthened by Mr. Jason’s grandfather.

Once enough money is raised, repairs are set to begin in the fall and expected to take at least a year. About $1.5 million will be used to rebuild the vessel and $500,000 would be used to establish an endowment to cover the costs of the boat in perpetuity.

  “It’s been neat to see how she’s changed, but how a boat can hold so much emotion in a family and a community,” Ms. Edmundson said. “That alone is something that’s been really special to be a part of.”