Dr. Lindy Jones, his wife Colleen, say that they will stop making baby boats each year. They keep making them each year. This is a tradition that began when Lindy gave birth to babies at Bartlett Hospital. He said he developed deep relationships with his parents.
They make one of these little rocking boats each year for every Juneau baby. They make about four to five boats per year for their friends and nurses.
Lindy works as an emergency room doctor, but he realized that he needed a way to recognize the relationships he made with his parents, who had experienced infertility or difficult pregnancies, 20 years ago.
He said that he felt a special connection with certain families and was able to be with them throughout the process.
They also build adult-sized boats like the 30-foot fishing vessel they built last January. Colleen points towards the recently coated resin-coated hull while she is standing in the Joneses’ guesthouse and woodshop.
She said that this is the woodworking area, which has been converted into a boat.
Colleen estimates that she spends four hours per day in the woodshop working on larger projects as well as the holiday gifts.
span style=”font weight: 400 It’s one of the best ways to share something at the beginning of the year for someone special,” she stated.
This year, they used yellow cedar to build the baby boat. It was grown in Hoonah. Lindy has worked with Wes Tyler, owner of Icy Straits Lumber for many years.
He said that he had donated all of the yellow cedar to the boats this year.
Baby boats require a lot of labor — the couple had to stop building them for a decade. Lindy assured him that it wasn’t a waste of time.
He said that he didn’t believe time was a factor in life.
Lindy stated that he is deeply committed to Bartlett and the place it serves as a work environment. This drives him to continue making and gifting these boats.
He said that it has given him the opportunity to have the most fulfilling and challenging career he could imagine.
This boat was given to Ethan Weed Juneau’s first child in 2023 , who was born Jan. 3.
Lindy stated that he doesn’t plan to sell anything he creates. He also plans to have the boat ready by king salmon season on the Outer Coast.
