The bugeye was originally constructed with a log hull, and as the supply of appropriate timber was exhausted and construction costs rose, builders looked to other designs. Boats of the time were unsuitable, and the bugeye developed out of the log canoe in order to provide a boat with more power adapted to the shallow waters of the oyster beds. Dredging for oysters, prohibited in 1820, was again made legal in 1865. The skipjack arose near the end of the 19th century. Most skipjacks were eventually modified with stern davits to hold a dinghy or pushboat to allow motorized travel as permitted by law.
Rollers and bumpers are mounted on either side of the boat to guide the dredge line and protect the hull.ĭue to state laws, the boat has no motor (other than for the windlass). The dredge windlass and its motor are mounted amidships, between the mast and deckhouse.
The boats use direct link Edson worm steering gear mounted immediately forward of the transom. A typical skipjack is 40 to 50 feet in length. As typical in regional practice the bow features a curving longhead under the bowsprit, with carved and painted trailboards. The mast is hewn from a single log, with two stays on either side, without spreaders it is stepped towards the bow of the boat, with a small cabin. A centerboard is mounted in lieu of a keel. In order to provide a stable platform when dredging, skipjacks have very low freeboard and a wide beam (averaging one third the length on deck). The hull is wooden and V-shaped, with a hard chine and a square stern. This sail plan affords the power needed to pull the dredge, particularly in light winds, while at the same time minimizing the crew required to handle the boat. The jib is self-tending and mounted on a bowsprit. The mainsail is ordinarily triangular, though gaff rigged examples were built.
The skipjack is sloop-rigged, with a sharply raked mast and extremely long boom (typically the same length as the deck of the boat). It is a sailboat which succeeded the bugeye as the chief oystering boat on the bay, and it remains in service due to laws restricting the use of powerboats in the Maryland state oyster fishery. The skipjack is a traditional fishing boat used on the Chesapeake Bay for oyster dredging. Sailboat type used on Chesapeake Bay for oyster dredging.
0 kommentar(er)
