Rick & Joe cut short — fishing boat turned art object

By Bruce Burdett
Posted 8/2/16

Her fishing days are done, but the venerable and now-abbreviated wooden dragger Rick & Joe has found new work by the Bristol waterfront.

Crews at Bristol Marine, where Rick & Joe has rested since …

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Rick & Joe cut short — fishing boat turned art object

Posted

Her fishing days are done, but the venerable and now-abbreviated wooden dragger Rick & Joe has found new work by the Bristol,RI, waterfront.

Crews at Bristol Marine, where Rick & Joe has rested since sinking at a town dock several years ago, recently took demolition grade Sawzall blades to the stout wooden hull — it was a challenging cut through thick timbers, bolts and concrete ballast. All that now remains is the bow section.

Andy Tyska, Bristol Marine owner, said that they then hoisted the bow to point skyward and converted it into a boatyard objet d’art.

The cut-off end was first reinforced with bolted together strips of plywood. Inside, bronze portholes, an old pipe berth and more will be preserved.

He’s not sure where inspiration came from — “a bit of Cadillac Ranch in Texas” (where old Cadillacs are planted vertically in the ground for artistic purposes).

“And partially a belief in the need to repurpose things of importance — a locally built fishing boat is something of importance,” Mr. Tyska said.

Original owner Rick Correira of Bristol built Rick & Joe with his son Joe, Mr. Tyska said, and it served the family well for many years. Mr. Correira eventually built a new boat, the 37.8-foot Rick’s Star that fishes today out of Bristol.

After Rick & Joe was sold, the boat’s condition declined and it sank at the docks at least once and was beyond repair.

“I couldn’t bring myself to just dispose of the whole thing,” Mr. Tyska said. “I think it will be a nice addition here,” a part of our town’s fishing past.

For the time being, the boat's other two-thirds is at the boatyard's lot off Franklin Street.

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