Introduction
“New Haven: Its Ships and Its Trades” is part of the High School in the Community program in Marine Arts and Sciences. It should be used in conjuction with Unit I “New Haven: Maritime History and Arts” which presented a general overview of the maritime history of the city. This unit has four primary student objectives:
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1. To become aware of the Quinnipiac River and Fair Haven with its special importance, during the 19th century, as a ship building center and the home of the oyster industry.
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2. To become familiar with New Haven’s two most consistently important water oriented businesses, coasting and oystering.
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3. To develop an understanding of the steps in ship construction and the general types of boats that can be built with wood.
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4. To become familiar with New Haven’s Sharpie, its history and construction, in preparation for actually building a sharpie as a class project during the 1981 school year.
While this unit will focus on the history and crafts segment of the Marine Arts and Sciences course the reader should recognize that the actual program is interdisciplinary in nature, covering navigation, marine biology and mathematics and is taught at Schooner Inc., City Point.
The Harbor in the 19th Century
During the l9th century New Haven’s harbor was both diversified and active. Starting at Long Wharf and moving up the Quinnipiac River to Fair Haven, the port busied itself with all kinds of water oriented activities. Here most of the ship building was done, be it two or three masted schooners for the West Indies trade or sharpies and later round bottomed steamers for the oyster business. Using L. Schierholz’s 1860 painting (see slides 1-11), or any number of maps or paintings from the period, you can move up the river, starting at the Tomlinson bridge where the Long Island ferries once departed for Providence or New York, up past the Neck, Grapevine Point, and the ship yard of Lane and Jacobs, then past the current site of the Ferry Street bridge and the yards of G.W. Baldwin on the east side and Tuttle and Munsell on the west bank. As you move further up the river a great assortment of sailing craft would be visible. Sharpies and dugouts working the oyster beds, and larger ships, sloops and schooners, possibly with cargoes of Chesapeake oysters, would be moored at Rowe’s or Brown’s dock. On the east bank at what was probably the yard of Warren Nettleton, the large frames of two vessels being faired for planking are clearly visible in Schierholz’s painting.
The Trades
None of the famous ships which set records for fast passages to California, London, Canton, etc., were built in New Haven. In fact, few of the larger classes that set records ever went down the ways here. Square rigged ships and barks intended for the glamour trades to Europe, California, or China were built and sailed out of the large ports of the world, such as New York, Boston, Hamburg, Liverpool. New Haven was engaged in the steady and profitable oyster trade, coastal trade, and West Indies trade. This work required very different classes of vessel and many of these were built here or in neighboring ports.
During the 18th century there were plenty of oysters for everyone. However, at the end of the l8th century fines were imposed to prevent the taking of oysters during the spawning season. Until the 1830’s oystering was done by practically everyone in Fair Haven, but few worked the natural beds as a full time business. During this period log canoes were used by the “serious” oystermen, but almost anything that floated was used by the amateurs who would come to the Quinnipiac during the first week after the end of the spawning season in the fall. By 1835 the natural beds were impoverished and the first cargo of imported oysters arrived in Fair Haven on the schooner “John”. They had been brought from Virginia to be replanted in the Quinnipiac. In addition to log canoes local builders could now produce much larger vessels, two-masted schooners, to ferry southern oysters (Chesapeake) to New Haven to be replanted or opened immediately by women and boys in the basements of their homes along the river. By 1858 yards such as Baldwin Nettleton, and Graves were building some of the 250 schooners that imported two million bushels of oysters into Fair Haven. Those that weren’t opened for immediate sale were replanted, then raked and tonged (process for bringing up from bottom) from sharpies. In 1874 Henry Rowe began cultivating New Haven seed oysters (used for propagation) in large deep water farms. This marked the beginning of the end for importing oysters, but a boom for the local industry. Sharpies, some log canoes, and starting in the 1880’s, steam oyster dredges, all worked the expanding beds. Some of the same steam dredges are still working New Haven’s seed beds.
While New Haven only briefly engaged in the glamour business of direct trade with Europe and China (1790’s1815), steady profits were made in coastal carrying. Since New Haven wanted and needed European imports almost from the beginning, small ships (sloops and brigs) carried local goods to New York and Boston and returned with imported cargoes. The coastal trade, and its extension the West Indies trade, engaged New Haven directly with ports along the east and gulf coasts and islands such as Barbados, Trinidad, and Antigus. Farm and manufactured goods were exported while coal, lumber, molasses, rum, oil, etc. were imported. The coastal trade like the oyster business reached its peak during the second half of the 19th century, and had seriously declined by 1915. Rather then attempt to discuss the dozens of companies and hundreds of ships engaged in the coastal trade we will focus on one man and his company.
Magnus Mansons Benedict-Manson Marine Company was typical of the many companies engaged in coastal trade. Manson was born in Scotland and arrived in New Haven in 1850 as a crew member on a vessel carrying coal. He jumped ship and went to work on a vessel owned by H.W. Bendict and Son coal dealers (the Benedict Co. still exists and currently sells oil out of its North Front St. tanks). Mr. Benedict after a short time gave Manson command of the “J.W. Hine”.
He continued to command vessels in the coasting trade such as the three-masted schooner “James Boyce” that carried coal to Boston. From 1860 until 1906 Captain Manson commanded or acquired an interest in many vessels. In 1889 he had his first schooner built which he named “Agnes E. Manson” after his second child. In 1906 the Benedict-Manson Marine Co. was formed with Manson as president until his death in 1909. The company continued in business with their sailing fleet until 1916 when unable to meet the competition of barges and steamers they went out of business. The Benedict family, of course, continued in the fuel business.
During the ten years of its existence, the Benedict-Manson Marine Company had no less then 27 three, four and one five masted-schooners. While they were primarily involved in carrying coal, any cargo that returned a profit was welcomed.
A list of the Benedict-Manson Company vessels was compiled by H. Sherman Holcomb, a descendant of the Manson family, from the Lloyd’s Register’s of the period. That list follows:
(figure available in print form)
Shipbuilding
Until approximately 1920 many of the coastal vessels and most of the oyster ships that worked out of New Haven were built in local yards. The following is a list of those yards:
(figure available in print form)
Leading Fair Haven sharpie builders.
Competition for Fair Haven shipbuilders came from Gesner & Mar at the foot of Main Street in West Haven. From 1880-1893 they launched thirteen three and four masted schooners. The “Lucinda Sutton” (1891) and the “E.S. Greeley”(1893) were the last large sailing ships launched from New Haven area yards.
Wooden Ship Construction
In preparation for the actual building of a wooden boat students will view slides 1-44 (Boatbuilding) and participate in a variety of activities designed to make them familiar and somewhat comfortable with boatbuilding tools.
Each stage of wooden ship construction is examined with slides including the following:
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1. Laydown—Taking the plans for any vessel includes a side view (Profile) top/bottom view (Half breath) and bow/stern view (Sections) and translating that into a full size pattern. Frequently called lofting.
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2. Getting out the pieces and making up the sub-assemblies (frames, stern, transom, etc.).
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3. Setting up the parts of the boat and fairing (trim and adjust so that the ship is smooth and flows).
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4. Planking and Rigging
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5. Finish the interior, paint, etc.
At this point students will have an idea of what is involved in wood boat building.
Each of the following types of vessels were built in New Haven.
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1.
Flat-Bottom—
This type of boat will be given the most detailed consideration. The best known New Haven model was the sharpie. It was created in the 1840’s to be used by oystermen both in the shallow flats of the Quinnipiac and deep water beyond the mouth of the harbor.
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V-Bottom—
Locally used to modify sharpie lines for “improved” performance in pleasure boats.
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3.
Round-Bottom Hull—
This hull configuration was used in virtually all large vessels used in the coastal trade, West Indies trade and, for a brief period, the European and China trades. Regardless of the rig (schooner, sloop, ship, brig, etc), the round bottom boat was the only model appropriate for deep water sailing.
The New Haven Sharpie
For a commercial boat to gain widespread popularity and use, it must be well suited to a variety of weather and water conditions and have the potential to make more money then other boats that might be used in the same trade. Although there were more than 200 different types of small boats used for fishing in North America during the l9th century, few were so well suited to a particular type of fishing that it spread beyond a local area. The New Haven sharpie was one of those few.
The sharpie is so distinctive in appearance that it is possible to trace its movement down the coast of North America from New Haven as the oyster business spread. New Haven’s sharpie developed here during the 1840’s (
Forest and Stream
, January, 1879) and was well suited for tonging oysters by hand in shallow waters. The tonger was the poorest of all oystermen. He earned his living oystering in waters close to his home. His boat had to be strong, long lasting and inexpensive. In addition, it had to be easy for one man to work, yet large enough to handle one days catch of 30 to 100 bushels. Before the sharpie was developed, New Haven’s oystermen used dugout canoes, and to some degree continued to use them straight through until the 20th century. The dugout came directly from the Indians who used it for heavy work like taking oysters while maintaining bark or skin canoes for lighter tasks. Fair Haveners adopted the dugout from the Indians but used white pine logs rather than oak or chestnut, perhaps to save building time. When local stands of lumber were gone, Fair Haveners looked to New Hampshire, Maine and finally Lake Cayuga in New York for large logs.
Fair Haven dugouts averaged around 28 feet long by 36-39 inches wide, 18 inches depth, 3 inches thick on the bottom, and 2 1/2 inches on the sides. They floated empty in 3 inches of water and drew 9 inches fully loaded. They carried on average thirty bushels.
Dugouts like sharpies were propelled by a sculling oar or sail, and were used first on the river (Quinnipiac) and then generally only as far as the breakwater. While they were stable when loaded, they were not considered very seaworthy. An exception to this rule was made by Elijah S. Ball, grandfather of “Mr. Fair Haven” Eric Ball, who during the 1870’s sailed the 21 miles across the Sound to Mattituck Inlet, Long Island in his dugout canoe. Young men in the area looked to that feat as a challenge in the years that followed.
During the 1840’s the oyster beds were extended out beyond the site of the present breakwaters. Larger, safer, and more seaworthy boats were needed, which led to the development of the sharpie.
George Graves before 1880, and Lester Rowe and E.H. Thatcher after 1880, were the leading Fair Haven builders of sharpies. However, it should be mentioned that its simplicity of construction allowed almost anyone with a little boat building experience to build one. Sharpies came in three sizes: small, medium, and large. To the oysterman who was buying one his choice depended on how much he could afford and how far out beyond the sheltered waters of the Quinnipiac he was going. Henry Hall in the marine portion of the 1880 census (printed 1884) reported the prices asked for sharpies.
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Small:
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About $25.00
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Under 25’
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Skiff like,
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Below 75 bushel
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undecked or half
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capacity
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decked; sail, or oars
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Medium:
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$200.00
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26’-35’
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1 or 2 masts;
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75-175 bushels
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sprit sail; half-decked
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Large:
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$300-$500
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35’-45’
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Cabin forward; gaff cat-ketch; tong and dredge boat. Few built in New Haven.
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It was these boats that spread as the oyster business became big business during the latter half of the 19th century.
Building a Sharpie
While the New Haven sharpie came in many sizes the two most often built were approximately 28 feet in length (75 to 100 bushels) and with a single mast and sail. The smaller sharpie was rigged with a single mast and sail. The larger boat was always fitted to carry two masts, but by shifting the foremast back to a step-braced hole for a mast near the middle of the boat (amidships), the sharpie could be sailed with one mast. Sharpies were long and narrow and always fitted with a centerboard. The stem (bow or front of the boat) was straight and upright. The stern (back) was usually round using vertical planking. The line of the deck at the sides (side profile) called the sheer was well proportioned. The planking of the boat flared and this combined with the longitudinal curve gave the vessel a graceful appearance.
The structure of the sharpie was strong and rather heavy, consisting of white pine planks on oak (white) framing. The sides were enclosed with 2 or 3 wide planks of 1 1/4-1 1/2” thickness. The bottom was planked athwartships (from the center line out to the side rather than the more conventional longitudinal planking) with planking the same thickness as the sides and 6 to 8 inches wide. Inside the boat was a keelson (like a keel only inside the boat for strength) made of three laminated planks cut to the profile (shape) of the boat. The center plank was left out where the centerboard slot was needed. The interior framing consisted of the following:
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1. Chine—Two 4 to 7 inch oak planks running the length of the boat where the side planking and the bottom meet.
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2. Sheer—Two 3 to 4 inch oak planks running length of the boat where the side planking and the deck meet.
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3. Side Frames—Oak cleats, 1 1/2 by 3 inches, running from the chine to the sheer at 10 to 12 points along each side of the interior of the boat. Unlike round or V bottomed boats these frames did not extend out over the bottom of the boat meeting at a center line.
The decking of the sharpie was made of white pine planks 1 1/4 inches thick and 7 to 10 inches wide. The stem was of oak and covered with a band of brass (stemband) which turned under the boat and ran on the bottom for one or two feet. As you can see these boats were designed to deal with the problems of going around in shallow water.
The New Haven sharpie had none of the decorative features such as a billet head, name boards, quarterboards etc. that other work boats of comparable size had during the period (Maine built lobster boats, Muscongus or Friendship sloops had a great deal of curved decoration). Sharpie hulls were usually painted white or gray and the interior color was buff or gray. They were plain, functional and inexpensive boats that did their job well.
Teacher Notes for New Haven: Its Ships and Its Trades
Teachers interested in New Haven merchant marine history should read
Shallops, Sloops, and Sharpies
, published by the New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1976. This little book (60 pages) covers the maritime history of New Haven in a concise, informative manner. It also can be used as the “text book” for classes needing that sort of security.
