The Town of Manteo’s Annual Wooden Boat Show will be this Saturday, October 28th from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at George Washington Creef Memorial Park in downtown Manteo. This event showcases all varieties of wooden boats, whether newly constructed or restored.
This year, Manteo’s own boating history truly comes to life at the event with a historically special participant. Originally named the Peggy, the ME 2? will be making its way back home to North Carolina where it was constructed in 1946-1947.
This boat was the first race boat to be built after World War II as a Davis hull, a planked plywood hull. The boathouse (aka Roanoke Island Maritime Museum) was where the boat was built by H. Vernon Davis and his brother Ralph Davis. The Davis brothers were from six generations of boat building here in Dare County.
The Davis brothers built some of the most successful racing boats in the country in the 1950s and 1960s. The Me 2 ? has a history steeped in boat racing and held high-point championships, both nationally and internationally.
At the Wooden Boat Show you will not only hear about Manteo’s history of boat building and boat racing but get to see one of the original boats first-hand. You may even get to see the boat grace the waters of Manteo again if the weather permits.
You don’t want to miss seeing these beautifully crafted boats that are both owner-built/restored or professionally built/restored. They are individually judged for their craftsmanship, and awards will be presented to the winners at a dinner held that evening.
Awards to be presented at the dinner will be the People’s Choice Award and the H.A. Creef Award, a perpetual award that is given to the best overall boat.
