HARSHAW - A number of rare and very valuable wooden boats went up in flames yesterday afternoon.

Tom Jordan spent much of his life restoring rare, antique, wooden boats and his workshop had 10 of them inside when it caught fire.

Collectors from across the U.S. brought their boats to Oneida Boat Works in Harshaw. Some were far from sea worthy when they came in, but they left looking like works of art.

Now some are gone forever. Out of 10 boats inside, two were saved from the fire.

"The building was totally involved when we arrived on scene, and quite a bit of the surrounding property, the woods and so on was on fire also....I couldn't even start to imagine what this is gonna cost, what the dollar value on this is," said Cassian Fire Chief, Ed Tadych.

Jordan also built some boats from scratch, as custom replicas of antiques.

Between the boats lost, the custom machinery, and the workshop itself, Jordan estimates the damage at around $300,000.

But that doesn't even include the loss of income. With the workshop going up in flames, so did Jordan's livelihood.

At this time the cause of the fire is unknown, but it may have started in the woods behind their house.

The Jordans are considering a benefit to help rebuild the workshop and get the restoration business back off the ground.

If you'd like to help out, you can reach the Jordan's by email at jordans@newnorth.net.