If necessity is the mother of invention, then Ross Branch of the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard may have created the mother of all chainsaw attachments. This fall the aptly named Branch developed an ingenious way to use a special chainsaw to cut the live oak futtocks (curved timber pieces forming the lower part of a ship's frame) used in the ongoing restoration of the schooner Ernestina. As Branch explained, typically the process of sawing for this project required the work of four men.

“All the frames are cut on a rolling bevel and in a section of futtock stock a bevel might change ten degrees over the length of it. One guy is standing on the table turning the bevels, another guy is steering the saw, one pushing and another pulling. We don't have an overabundance of manpower here,” said Ross.

The breakthrough came via a Hadden lumber maker — a hinged attachment that bolts onto the side of a chainsaw.

“If you have a log, you can take a 2 x 6 and screw it to the log, creating a track. This hinge runs along the track and you can slab off straight pieces of lumber,” he said.

Using a block system, he created a track out of leftover fiberglass battens that would cut rolling bevels.

After some trial and error, he made a series of blocks that worked perfectly. According to Branch and Mary Anne McQuillan of the Schooner Ernestina-Morrisey Association, a piece of live oak is chosen that can accommodate the curve of the futtock to be cut. The wood is lifted onto saw horses and the pattern is traced onto the wood with the notes for the angle of the cut. Wedges with the correct angle hold the track in place. Of special consideration is that live oak has a density of 90 pounds/cubic foot when it is green. Fork lifts are used to move the timbers.

“I spent a lot of time at home drawing it out, thinking it out, and planning it out,” he said. “I came in on a Friday and I told my boss if it doesn't work, you don't have to pay me. But if it does work, you're going to be really, really happy. It's going to save you a lot of man hours.”

So far the results have been great, he said. The efforts are part of the phase 1 restoration of the Ernestina, a schooner with quite a history to say the least. It was built in 1894 at the James and Tarr Shipyard for the Gloucester fishing fleet. Under Captain Bob Bartlett the ship sailed to within 600 miles of the North Pole, and later brought immigrants to the U.S. under the power of sail. Returned to the U.S. in 1982 as a gift from the newly independent Cape Verdean people, it sailed as an educator until 2005.

While Branch has received kudos for his invention, the idea of a “patent pending” device is almost patently absurd.

“We joke about it quite a bit, how this will be my fortune,” said Branch. “It's a really specific use for a very specific project.”