Maritime Museum to host 11th Annual Wooden Boat Show

Published 3:41 pm Friday, October 27, 2023

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LeVern Parker had the chance to ride in the boat her father originally built back in the late 1940s in Manteo, which has since been restored and resides in Louisiana. The championship boat will make an appearance at the boat show at the same site it was built. Courtesy LeVern Parker

The 11th annual wooden boat show is a free event where guests can see wooden boats from all over the country and chat with their owners/restorers to learn more about the history of these beautiful vessels. Courtesy Barry Wickre

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The 11th Annual Wooden Boat Show will be held at the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum (RIMM) on Saturday, October 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Guests are invited to come out and see a selection of wooden boats and meet their owners/restorers at this free event. Join the party and enjoy trick-or-treating, t-shirt sales, beautiful sights and get a taste of the history that lies with hand-crafted boats from all over the country.

A boat named the “Me 2?” will be in attendance, coming all the way up from Louisiana. This Class E Service Runabout champion boat was first built right at the site of RIMM. Originally named “Peggy,” this wooden boat was made for Rondal Dowdy from Grandy, who named the boat after his daughter. LeVern Parker, a Manteo native and daughter of the original boat builder, shared that the boat was first raced from 1948 through 1950. It was then sold a Louisiana local named John Otis, who raced the boat, then assuming the name of “Me 2?” for 10 years.

This new name came about because of a young girl who would attend the boat races with her father. “When Mr. Otis bought the boat, and said he was going to the races, the little girl would say ‘Me too!’, so he decided to name the boat that,” Parker explained. Now the bought belongs to Otis’ godson Charles Penny. Parker met up with Penny in 2019 while he was working on Me 2?’s second restoration. Upon fixing the boat, Penny invited Parker back to Louisiana just this year to take a ride with him on her father’s creation. “It brought back a flood of memories,” Parker said fondly. Now Penny will bring the champion race boat back to its hometown for the boat show.

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Barry Wickre, operations manager for RIMM, said the event will host boats from all over – Louisiana, Virginia, North Carolina, etc. “We’re excited that people will have the opportunity to meet owners and talk about these boats.” For more information, call 252-475-1750 or email sailing@manteonc.gov.

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