Oswego Boatbuilder Lends Historic Boat to Great NY State Fair

SYRACUSE, NY – Oswego boat builder Rich Bush has loaned his 1956 Thompson Sea Coaster to the 2019 Great New York State Fair Maritime Heritage Exhibit.

From right to left: New York Sea Grant Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White and H. Lee White Maritime Museum Curator Michael Pittavino welcomed Richard Bush and his 1956 Thompson Sea Coaster wooden boat to the 2019 Great New York State Fair Maritime Heritage Exhibit on setup day at the fair.

Bush, who often teaches boat building at the H. Lee White Maritime Museum in Oswego, provided his treasured wooden boat to be among the vessels representing 100 years of recreational boating in 20th-century America and New York in the new exhibit sponsored by the Great New York State Fair, New York Sea Grant, Boating Industries Association of Upstate New York, and H. Lee White Maritime Museum.

At the 2017 and 2018 editions of the fair, Bush demonstrated the art of wooden boat building and completed a skiff that was launched into the State Fair Pond.

At this year’s fair, on August 23, 26, 29 and 30, the Great New York State Fair and The Antique Boat Museum will offer free “On the State Fair Pond Skiff Rowing” opportunities with a St. Lawrence skiff; life jackets will be provided.

Stop by the pond in the NY Experience area of the fairgrounds for details.

This year’s fair runs through September 2, at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.

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