Shipbuilding in Foxborough

Tio Frank on deck of his masterpiece.

One does not normally think of shipbuilding and Foxborough, Massachusetts as it's a bit of a drive to the ocean. This didn't stop Frank Gonsalve's of Foxboro in the mid 1940's. Frank who was born on Madeira Island (Portugal) in 1903 spent 4 years as an apprentice shipbuilder. I only knew my Great Grand Uncle for a short time. We knew him as "Tio"(uncle in Portuguese)  Frank along with his brother "Tio" Sam were my Great Grandmother's brothers.

The Magellan the first 45 footer

In the mid to late 1940's the began building what would become a 45 foot fishing boat. This project was sandwich between a garage and house. This was also done on small side street inhabited by only two homes. The house is still in the family owned by my mother and my brother runs his power equipment business out of the same garage used to help build these vessels. I recently came across these photo's thought it would be cool to share.

My mother in on the right

Another amzing thing is  that he did this in his spare time after working as Kettle operator in a Mansfield factory 6 days a week. No TV or Internet to distract him that was for sure.

My Great Grandmother checking things out.

1

Installing the engine.

They also built the a second boat called the Magellan II.

Eventually they had to make the trip to the ocean.

Magellan making the trip down the avenue.

Magellan II making its way down Hope Avenue.

I still at this and have a sense of awe that they did this. The space they had to work with was small. Not to mention this was more than just a weekend hobby. Even though the road today is paved and a little wider it was barely a car width just a couple of decades ago. Hard to imagine a boat this size being towed down it.Today the home is still in the family and is where my mother lives. The barn/garage is now home to my brother's small engine repair business, Riverside Repair Co.  I'm not sure exactly what happened to these fishing boats. I believe they saw service in New Bedford and possibly Provincetown, I'd be glad to hear from anyone who might know something. Even Foxborough made its own contribution to the Bay State's fishing heritage.