Mr. Uranker Works on Eagle

An Oak Bluffs wood-carver has been commissioned to do repair work on the tall ship Eagle. Later this month, Joe Uranker will depart the Vineyard with his woodworking tools and travel to Baltimore to work on the stern board and the figurehead of the Coast Guard’s 295-foot ship.

The USCGC Eagle goes into drydock next week. Shipwrights are repairing and replacing steel plates below the water line. Mr. Uranker’s work will include restoring the gold leaf eagle figurehead, made of mahogany. He also will work on the stern board, which includes a wooden rope and dolphins. “I carved them nine years ago. It is being taken off the ship and put into a secure place, where I can repaint and regold leaf it,” Mr. Uranker said.

The project begins Oct. 17 and will take about a month. “I will be working seven days a week, 10-hour days and until it gets done,” Mr. Uranker said.

Last summer the barque Eagle passed off East and West Chops en route from Boston to New Bedford. Her home port is New London, Conn.