Skipjack Boat

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A skipjack is a type of sailing vessel, most commonly used during the 19th and early 20th centuries for oyster dredging during winter. During this time, they were a very common sight in the harbors and ports up and down the Chesapeake Bay. The skippers and crews of these vessels were hardy, sometimes violent men, who earned a living in the harsh conditions that accompanied the oyster dredging. The boat's peak building time is estimated to be between the 1890s to well into the 20th century.

Contents

1 History and design
2 In law
3 Impact and present day
4 Remaining skipjacks
5 Sources

History and design

The skipjack is a type of sailboat, which finds its origins in the Chesapeake Bay of tidewater Maryland and Virginia. Debate remains to this day about the origins of the name. Some speculate it came from a name New England fisherman called the flying fish, bonita. Still others claim it is derived from an archaic English term, meaning an "inexpensive yet useful servant." In other parts of the Bay region, these same vessels are called bateaux.

Inexpensive and light, the skipjack was designed with a broad beam, a hard chine and low freeboard providing a good platform for work. A V-Shaped hull, and modest draft were perfect for dredging in shallow waters. This boat was preferred by watermen who made their livelihoods from the waters of the Chesapeake. Owing to the boat's unique sail plan it could be run with a fairly small crew. A typical skipjack is single-masted, has a self-tending jib, and a large triangular mainsail, which provided good power in light winds for dredging oyster beds, although some skipjacks are known to be gaff rigged. This sail plan also gave the skipjack the ability to come about with relative ease.

In addition to being an extremely advantageous vessel (compared to the earlier hand-hewn bugeyes), the skipjack has become a national symbol for Chesapeake Bay, with all her beauty and harshness. It is also the state boat of Maryland. The average cost of a skipjack in 1905 was $3,000.

In law

Owing to a massive number of oyster dredging boats plying the waters of the Chesapeake during the late 19th century, the state of Maryland passed legislation in the year 1865 forbidding oyster dredging by powered vessels. To this day, the only legal oyster dredging done in Maryland is under sail power, except for two days in the week.

Impact and present day

Maryland's oyster harvest reached an all-time peak in 1884, at approximately 15 million bushels of oysters. The oyster harvest has since declined steadily, dwindling in number to this day. At one time, the number of skipjacks produced is estimated at approximately 2000; today, they number about 30. Even of these 30 only a few will survive long without tender care and careful restoration. The Chesapeake skipjack fleet of commercial sailing vessels is the last in North America.

Remaining skipjacks

Ada Fears, New Gretna, MA. Built in Oxford, Maryland in 1968.
Caleb W. Jones, Built in 1953.
City of Crisfield, Deal Island, Maryland. Built in Reedville, Virginia in 1949.
City of Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia. Built in Deale, Maryland in 1900.
Claud M. Somers, Reedville, VA. Built in Accomack County, VA in 1911.
Dee of St. Mary's, St. George Island, MD. Built in Piney Point, Maryland in 1979.
E.C. Collier, St. Michaels, MD. Built in Deal Island in 1910.
Elsworth, Worton, MD. Built in 1901.
Fanny L. Daugherty, Deal Island, MD. Built in Crisfield, Maryland in 1904.
F.C. Lewis, Jr., West Denton, MD.
Flora A. Price, West Denton, MD. Built in 1910.
Helen Virginia, Built in Crisfield, Maryland in 1948.
Hilda M. Willing, Tilghman Island, Maryland. Built in Oriole, Maryland in 1905.
H.M. Krentz, Tilghman Island, MD. Built in Harryhogan, Virginia in 1955.
Ida May, Deal Island, MD. Built in Urbanna, Virginia in 1906.
Joy Parks, St. Mary's County Piney Point Museum. Built in Parksley, Virginia in 1936.
Kathryn, Tilghman Island, Maryland. Built in Crisfield, Maryland in 1901.
Lady Katie, Cambridge, MD. Built in Wingate, Maryland in 1956.
Maggie Lee, West Denton, MD. Built in Pocomoke City, Maryland in 1908.
Mamie A. Mister, Tilghman Island, MD. Built in Deal Island, Maryland in 1911.
Martha Lewis, Havre de Grace, MD. Built in Wingate, Maryland in 1955.
Minnie V, Baltimore, MD. Built in Wenonah, Maryland in 1906.
Nathan, Cambridge, MD. Built Cambridge, Maryland in 1992.
Nellie L. Byrd, Tilghman Island, MD. Built in Oriole, Maryland in 1911.
Rebecca T. Ruark, Tilghman Island, MD. Built in Taylors Island, Maryland in 1886.
Rosie Parks, St. Michaels, MD. Built in Wingate, Maryland in 1955.
Sigsbee, Baltimore, MD. Built in Oriole, Maryland in 1901.
Stanley Norman, Annapolis, MD. Built in 1902.
Somerset, Deal Island, MD. Built in Reedville, Virginia in 1949.
Thomas Clyde, Tilghman Island, MD. Built in Oriole, MD in 1911.
Virginia W, Port Kinsale, VA. Built in Guilford, Virginia in 1904.
Wilma Lee, Kinsale, VA. Built in Wingate, MD in 1940.

Sources

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