Corsair Restoration Log
Join us as we carefully document the Corsair’s restoration — and see exactly how your support moves the project from those with the inspiration and will to final coat of varnish
The Best in Wooden Boat Heritage Restoration - FLBM
Finding a place that can store, restore, and display a 60‑plus‑year‑old and 60 foot wooden racing shell is no small task. The Finger Lakes Boating Museum - FLBM in Hammondsport, NY is the perfect partner for this project.Â
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The Finger Lakes Boating Museum has proven to be the ideal partner for Project Corsair’s historic restoration. With many years of experience in wooden boat restoration, the museum welcomed the project with open arms when Cal and Maggie Coffey approached them. As a museum board member, Maggie knew they would bring a top‑notch effort to restoring Corsair — the shell Cal stroked to Eastern Sprints victories in 1972 and 1973.
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With the expansive buildings for wooden boat restoration and skilled volunteers that have been restoring wooden boats for years, FLBM was excited to welcome the Corsair and work on what will be the new area of wooden racing shells.  Find out more about the extensive FLBM and their 30,000 square foot restoration facility and the over 200 historic boats in their museum.
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Craftsmanship
To undertake a project like this, you need people with vision, passion, and the skills to see it through. That’s where Bill Strobel, a 1976 Northeastern graduate, and Calvin Coffey, a 1974 Northeastern alum, truly embody the spirit of this effort.
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It started with a visit to the NU Henderson Boathouse in September 2025. They saw the Corsair sitting on a top rack where it had been for 30+ years in stark contrast to the sleek carbon boats sitting on the racks below.  They started to talk about the great races they were rowed in the Corsair in the early 70's.  With Cal an engineer and a boat builder and rowing machine producer and Bill a master at automobile restoration, they started to dream of how great and fun it would be to restore the Corsair and give today's rower a chance to row a historical boat and inspire current young college athletes with the history that comes with the Corsair. As the saying goes, the rest is history.
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Today, Bill and Cal are leading the restoration effort with the assistance of the boat restorers at the Finger Lakes Boating Museum. Follow along the journey of the restoration work sessions below as they target completion by the end of 2028.
Follow the Work
Each card below represents a documented work session, detailing the progress and craftsmanship dedicated to maintaining history and craftsmanship of an era past.
Restoration Work Sessions
01 - Project Corsair: FLBM Launch Restoration -
July 21–24, 2026
Four days at the Finger Lakes Boating Museum marked the official launch of Project Corsair— Cal Coffey '73 and Bill Strobel '76 collaborated on the project and restoration plans of  careful deconstruction, bold design decisions, and the first steps toward bringing this historic shell back to life.
04 - COMING SOON:Â Solid Structure Push - Oct. 20 - 23, 2026
This fall session at the Finger Lakes Boating Museum will continue to focus on getting the framing structually sound so the Corsair becomes fully rigid again.
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This collection of work project cards provides links to detailed reports on progressive Corsair restoration work and highlights of each work session with pictures and videos. Click on the red button links to see what happened at each session.
02 - Project Corsair: FLBM Continued Early Work -
August 20–22, 2026
Another 3-days work effort led by Bill Strobel '76, continuted to learn more about the structure and intricacies of the Corsair. FLBM team built new wooden foot stretchers out of mahogany before this session. Work effort was to concentrate on the bow splash guard and other structural improvements.
03 - COMING SOON:
Late Summer Efforts - Sept. 1 - 4, 2026
September 1 -4, is the next structured work effort, continued deconstruction and design for parts with the goal to get the Corsair as structurally sound as soon as possible. Work will continue to ensure the authenticity of all parts such as seats that have to be built from the same wood used by Donoratico.
Join the Corsair Restoration Crew
Connect with fellow restoration enthusiasts and novices interested in the preservation of wooden racing rowing heritage. Join our Corsair team to learn more of the history, do hands on restoration at the Finger Lakes Boating Museum, and help document the history of one of the finest designed wooden rowing shells ever made. All are welcome.