Son of Town Hall

Junk Raft

History

United States
Name	Son of Town Hall
Builder	Poppa Neutrino, New York City
Laid down	1992
Launched	1995
Notes	"Self-righting, self-steering under sail, unsinkable (floating on logs and polyurethane foam)"
General characteristics
Class and type	Junk raft
Length	50 ft. (15.5 meters)
Beam	12 feet (3.5 meters)
Draft	20" (2/3 meter) (boards up); 6 feet (2 meters) (boards down)
Propulsion	Auxiliary diesel: 19 HP Lister
Sail plan	Square rig^[1]

Son of Town Hall was a junk raft which made a Transatlantic crossing in 1998, built by Poppa Neutrino.

Writer Alec Wilkinson gave a vivid description of Son of Town Hall in his book The Happiest Man in the World, saying: "The raft looked like a specter, a ghost ship, as if made from rags and rope and lumber, a vessel from the end of the world, or something medieval, a flagship of nothingness, the Armada of the Kingdom of Oblivion."^[2]

References

^ "Son of Town Hall, First Raft made of Scrap to Cross the North Atlantic Ocean". The Floating Neutrinos. May 30, 2006. Retrieved Sep 30, 2010.
^ Hellman, David (March 18, 2007). "Adventurer with a Maverick Streak". SF Gate.com. Retrieved Sep 30, 2010.

External links

Our far-flung correspondents: The Crossing, New Yorker, June 27, 2005
Sail of the Century, New York Daily News, Nov. 28, 1998
Adventurer with a Maverick Streak, SF Gate, March 27, 2007
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT TRIBECA: Lift anchor, Hudson Park Orders Houseboat, New York Times, Oct. 3, 1999
Son of Town Hall, Floating Neutrinos Website