Marine History Collection - Bill Roué Table

Where Bluenose was Born

William Roué, who designed the schooner Bluenose, started his career at this desk in a corner of his family’s bottling company. While he managed to take some night classes in mechanical drafting, Roué’s real education took place on the water, where he studied every detail of the boats he loved. Seated at this desk, he then poured that knowledge into plans and drawings for a host of vessels – yachts, ferries, freighters and the now-famous Design No. 17, which became Bluenose. Homemade and scarred from use, the desk was given to the museum by the Oland Brewery. (Oland built Bluenose II in 1963 as a promotional yacht for Schooner Beer). The desk now displays a copy of Bluenose’s sail plan.