East End Classic Boat Society Announces Winner of Raffle Boat

A sailing enthusiast and father of three who owns a Springs vacation house was revealed Saturday as the winner of the East End Classic Boat Society’s raffle boat.

“I love sailing,” said Dominic Sheehan, speaking by telephone from his home in Armonk. He added that he and wife Fariel “look forward to the first sail,” in the 13-foot Pooduck skiff they won.

Sheehan said he purchased his winning ticket during a recent tour of the Hartjen Richardson Community Boat Shop in Amagansett, where the raffle boat was built.

The couple, who have owned a home in Springs since 2002, have a 2-year-old daughter and sons age 5 and 7 and keep a sloop-rigged cutter sailboat at Three Mile Harbor.

A sailor for the past 40 years, Sheehan said he had stopped by the boat shop because he was interested in boat building and wanted to show the process to his children.

A crowd of nearly 100 persons was on hand at a reception in the boat shop for the drawing, with the winning ticket for the craft, pulled by Frank Piekarz, 11, of Yonkers whose family are frequent East End visitors.

The prize boat comes with sail, oars and trailer. The boat society, at 301 Bluff Road in Amagansett behind the Maritime Museum, welcomes new members of any skill level to build and restore vintage style wooden boats.

Proceeds from the boat raffle go to pay operating costs of the nonprofit organization. Construction of next year’s raffle prize boat is already underway at the shop. Membership in the group, which is open to anyone interested in boatcrafting, costs $35 for a single membership and $45 for a family.

The boat shop is open year-round on Wednesday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.