cultural

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – One year after suffering significant damage, the restoration work on Gaspésienne No. 20 was completed on November 15. 

“It looks like nothing happened! We really got our Gaspésienne back to the way it was before the fire, and maybe even better than before the fire,” says Martin Roussy, director general of the Musée de la Gaspésie. 

The restoration was carried out according to the rules of the craft thanks to two rare craftsmen who specialize in this type of restoration. 

“It’s a job that takes time and, by doing the operation, we gave it a little youthfulness, made it stronger and more able to last over time,” mentions the director. Finding these kinds of people was a blessing. 

‘It’s a dying profession. We had a hard time finding them because you only find them through networks. We eventually found some, and the ones we did find were young people who had taken over an existing business. It’s doubly interesting because they’ve been given a great contract and they’re a team that now knows La Gaspésienne,’ explains Mr. Roussy. 

The museum also took advantage of their visit and their expertise to create a sort of health record to plan repairs over the next few years. 

“This will allow us to plan what we’ll do next year, in two years or in five years to continue to preserve it until we manage to protect it permanently, that is, find shelter to prevent it from being exposed to bad weather,” says the director. 

A $10,000 fundraising campaign was launched in the spring to raise funds to begin the process of developing the protection project. 

“We will keep these amounts in the bank and when we start the process that will allow us to analyze what we should do and then the funding application process. start this project with the initial knowledge of what needs to be done to protect it,” explains Mr. Roussy. 

So far, more than $11,000 has been raised. 

Since winter is just around the corner and workers to rebuild the footbridge that also suffered significant damage were not available, this work will be done in the spring. 

“All this work will be done and we are very, very eager for next summer to restore access to the Gaspésienne, to visit this beautiful artifact that seems to have come straight from its construction site in the 1950s,” says the director. 

A major game plan will be launched in 2026 to prepare for the overall protection of the legendary ship. “It’s a long-term project,” says Mr. Roussy. 

The Gaspésienne should be accessible next summer, once the footbridge has been rebuilt. “However, we may have to avoid certain sections of the bridge that are part of the small adjustments to be made to complete the craftsmen’s work,” Mr. Roussy is careful to point out. 

Additional measures have been taken to prevent such a situation from happening again. “On the ground where the fire broke out, there were accelerants contained in all the products used: the plants, the flower boxes. We got rid of all that. There are more surveillance cameras and the lighting has been adjusted. We have done everything that can be done to prevent an accident because it was an accidental fire. We have put additional measures in place to avoid such an event happening again,” Mr. Roussy explains. The fire, of electrical origin, started around 8 p.m. on November 24, 2023, and broke out slowly at the beginning of the gangway leading to the boat. The boat didn’t catch fire right away. At approximately 1:30 a.m., the Sûreté du Québec and the firefighters were alerted. 

The 45-foot vessel had been the subject of a vast mobilization for its restoration in 2016 when about thirty volunteers stripped and repainted it. 

It was the only one of the 50 produced in the second half of the 1950s that could be refurbished. The boat had originally belonged to Thomas Boucher, a fisherman from Newport. 

Once restored, the Gaspésienne No. 20 became an integral part of the museum starting in 2017. At the time, a virtual experience allowed visitors to see life on board the boat in 1963. The museum also won an award for this documentation that contributed to the advancement of Quebec museology.