Ninety seven years ago, Manuel Perry made an 11-foot, 7-inch swordfish out of wood. His employer, F. Gilbert Hinsdale, wanted the craftsman to create a weathervane the same size as a real swordfish, attach it to a pole and put it on top of his boathouse on Water Street in Mattapoisett. The swordfish was hollow and built on a frame of native white pine strips.
Perry’s swordfish hung above the boathouse and stayed there. The boathouse, however, did not. After the New England Hurricane of 1938 the building was put back in place, but after Hurricane Carol in 1954, the boathouse found itself washed up in the middle of Water Street again.
Fed up with moving the building back to the waterfront, Hinsdale gave the swordfish to the town and sold or gave away the boathouse. Today, the building is the Mattapoisett Inn Bed and Breakfast on Water Street, not far from its original location.
“Over the years, it wasn’t looked at much,” said Bill Field, caretaker of the fish, which has no official name. “Maybe it was painted here and there, but after a while pieces of it were dropping off and both sides were rotted, so we decided to take it down and repair it,” said Field, who added that there isn’t much of the original wood left in the fish after 97 years.
At that point, six men again saved the life of the fish, which was in complete disrepair after years of neglect. Bill Field, Tommy Brownell, Johnny Clark, Phil Mello, Tommy Borges and David “Bi” Todd got together and decided to repair and reinstall it at the town wharf. Over time, others including Manny Costa worked on the fish and helped give it new life.
Tommy and Linda Brownell were caretakers and preservers of the fish for many years. The Brownells’, owners of Brownell Boatyard, started taking the fish down and storing it over the winter to extend its life.
Peter Costa, President of Triad Boatyard stores the fish in his shed for the winter, as Brownell Boatyard did for many years.
“The sun and rain raises heck with it and I use an epoxy to fill in the chopped out rotted areas…it’s a huge job. This year a strip of fiberglass will be put on the top so that if it cracks, it won’t let water seep in,” says Field.
This year the fish will undergo routine maintenance and get a paint job. Last year a dorsal fin was completely replaced.
The fish is installed right before Memorial Day and is taken down after Labor Day. When spring comes, the fish is put in a warm shed, so Field can start the annual repair work. The fish is installed with a Triad Boatworks crane. Phil Kelsey is hoisted up in a bosun’s chair and carefully maneuvers the 200 plus pound fish into place.
“It’s more awkward than weighty,” said Kelsey, a boat builder and rigger.
Manuel Perry created another weathervane, of Daniel Boone, which was attached to the Hinsdale carriage house on North Street. That particular weathervane has been donated to the Mattapoisett Historical Society and Museum and is presently being restored.
“Manuel Perry was quite a craftsman,” said Field. “He also did ship models and one of them is at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.” Another Perry ship model sits in the Provincetown Historical Society Museum.
According to Field, F. Gilbert Hinsdale was a collector of whaling artifacts and had a large room in his home filled with harpoons, scrimshaw and other items.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry