Chapelle, Howard I.
Boatbuilding.
New York, New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1941.
Excellent source of ship’s plans with building instructions for the experienced builder.
Chapelle, Howard I.
The Migrations of an American Boat Type
. Bulletin 228, United States National Museum, Washington D.C., 1961.
History and technical information on the New Haven sharpie.
Chapelle, Howard I.
American Small Sailing Cr
aft. New York, New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1951. Less technical source of information on the sharpie.
Department of Commerce.
Merchant Vessels of the United States
. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1868-1980.
Complete list of all fairly large vessels under U.S. flag.
Gardner, John.
The Dory Book
. Camden, Maine: International Marine Pubishing Company, 1978. Excellent source of plans and building instructions.
Kochiss, John M.
Oystering from New York to Boston
. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1974.
General source on the history of the oyster industry.
Hall, Henry.
Ship-Building Industry in the United States
. 10th Census of the United States, 1880, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1884.
Source of plans for both the sharpie and dugout canoe with description.
Morris, Paul.
American Sailing Coasters of the North Atlantic
. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. Discussion of the details of the coastal trade.
New Haven Colony Historical Society.
Shallops, Sloops and Sharpies
. New Haven, Connecticut: New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1976.
Excellent little volume that could be read by many students.
Story Dana A.
The Building of a Wooden Ship
. Barre, Massachusetts: Barre Publishers, 1971. Source of building instructions and pictures.
Townshend, Doris B.
Fair Haven A Journey Through Time
. New Haven, Connecticut: New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1976.
Interesting chapter on the oyster industry in Fair Haven.
(figure available in print form)
An oyster dugout canoe used in New Haven
(figure available in print form)
Plan of typical New Haven sharpie
The Building of a Wooden Ship
1
The story that we hope to tell in this series of pictures is neatly contained in a photograph of the John Prince Story Yard of Essex Massachusetts.
To the right is a brand new keel. At the left is a large fishing dragger nearly finished and ready for the water. The processes by which the transition from one to the other is made will be the object of our pictorial narrative.
2
In common with all creation, the building of a ship must start somewhere. For generations, the shape of the boat has been originally conceived in the form of a model. Having achieved in the model the contours which he feels are the ones he desires, the boatbuilder proceeds to transpose the shape of the scale model to the full size of his boat.
3
With the completion of a “lines drawing” taken from a half-model, it now becomes necessary to enlarge this small scale to the full size of the contemplated vessel. This is done on the floor of a “mold loft”. Where not only the shape of the hull but all of the principal structural parts are drawn full size. Now from the full-size drawings, templates or “molds” of these pieces must be made.
4
Here is a picture of two craftsmen using a device called a “trammel” by means of which the lines on the floor were transferred to pine boards of the mold.
5
With the model decided upon and made, the lines drawn and molds ready, the time has come to begin the actual construction of the vessel. As might be imagined, the place to begin is with the backbone, of more properly, the keel of the boat.
6
Simply because the nature of its structure makes it so, a keel is more easily assembled upside down. When finished it is rolled over and carefully placed on the blocks upon which the growing vessel will sit until it is launched.
7
With the keel in place, a vessel dramatically begins to take shape as the heavy frames are put together and raised into place. Here is a photo of work in progress on the “framing stage” which illustrates how the several parts called “futtocks” are fitted together and molded into the whole.
8
With the frame completely assembled and fastened (in this case with trunnels) a “cross pawl” is spiked across the tops of the frame to keep it from spreading, and it’s ready to stand up. “Frame up!” holler the men on the framing stage, and the rest of the “gang” drop whatever they’re doing and come over and help. Stooping over together they grab the frame and stand it up at its place on top of the keel.
9
Once a frame is standing up, some of the men must balance it in place while the rest jiggle or jostel or pound it into just the right spot and then attach a few temporary pieces to hold it there.
10
We have discussed how frames are put together and raised. The type we have seen and which is put up as a single unit is known as a “square frame”. These formed the central body of the ship. As the shape of the hull becomes finer and somewhat more complex at the ends of the vessels, the frames are erected in halves, one side at a time. These frames, whether at the forward or after ends of the vessel, are called “cants”. This is because in the early days of ship building they were “canted” or set at an angle to the centerline of the keel.
11
This is what it takes to hoist the cants into place—”brute strength and ignorance”.
12
The men in this picture are starting to erect the stern structure. The piece being lifted here is the stern post, a member of considerable bulk and weighty. The hole through which the old hand wrought chain passes will later receive the vessel’s propeller shaft.
13
This is a good illustration of the emerging after structure of the dragger. The stern post which we saw being lifted into place is now up, fastened and shored. Behind it stands the even bigger rudder post, supported by the two-legged derrick or “shears” that was used to lift it in place.
14
The completion of a vessel’s framing presents an interesting pattern of light and symmetry. When viewed from inside.
15
Once the stem structure of a vessel is well along, preparations can be made to start the planking. First of all, this involves cutting the rabbet for the full length of the keel. The rabbet is roughly, a V-shaped notch cut to receive the edge of the first strip or “streak” of plank. This first streak is called the “garboard”. Next the “dubbing” of the frames must begin. By dubbing, I mean the trimming of each frame with the adze so that the planks will lie firmly and fairly against them.
16
In this picture we see a shipwright “lining plank”. “Lining plank” means to lay out the strips or “streaks” of plank which form the outer skin of the ship, and to do it in such a way that they fit fairly and in proper relationship to those adjacent and to those already on.
17
Here we see the gang lugging a plank from the “mill”. The mill was the term used to describe the building which housed a big band saw and other woodworking machinery used in wooden ship construction. After sawing the plank is lugged over to where the “beveller” makes it ready to put onto the vessel. By beveller, I mean the man who smooths with broad axe and plane the edges of a plank so that it will lie firmly and fairly against the one below or above it.
18
Here is a beveller at work. The numbers you see along the upper edge of the plank designate the numbers of the frames against which this particular plank will lie.
19
Before any plank is hung onto the vessel, a small flat place has to be trimmed on, “dubbed” with adze to conform to the curvature of each frame. This, of course, is to enable the plank to lie flat against the frame.
20
No two ways about it, “hanging” a plank on a vessel is a hard and laborious job. These men have raised a plank on their shoulders to approximately where it belongs, at which point it is secured by heavy iron C-clamps, and finally to be wedged snugly against the one below it. Just think what it must have been like in the days when they built the really big wooden ships. The planking of those vessels was four to five inches thick and sometimes fifty or sixty feet long.
21
After all, its the planking or skin that makes a ship a ship, and its a fussy job to be sure that each plank lies properly and snugly against the one beneath it. It’s hard, too, when a plank has to be bent edgeways (called “set”) flatways (called “bend”), and also twisted. In such a situation a good cooking in a steam box is necessary. Obviously, then, more than a little skill and muscle is required to hang a heavy plank on a big vessel.
22
Here is an interesting view of a small schooner with framing complete and planks about half on.
23
Here, a shipwright is seen working on one of the vessels stanchions, those timbers which project above the deck and to which the bulwarks and rails are attached. Stanchions are generally put in separately after the vessel is all planked. Note the well worn oil stone and two smoothing planes.
24
Planking the outside of a ship was really only half the battle. The inside had to be planked too. Inside planking was known as “ceiling”, and putting it in was quite laborious, although perhaps not as painstaking as hanging the outside planking.
25
This view shows the inside of a large dragger as the men are installing what is known as the “shelf”. The shelf was just what the name implies: a laminated member which protruded from the inside upper edge of the hull and upon which the deck structure rested.
26
With the planking well along, the caulkers have begun their work filling the vessels seams first with a “thread” or layer of cotton and then with two threads of oakum. For those who don’t know, oakum is tarred hemp.
27
What good is a ship without a rudder? The rudder of a large vessel is a large and heavy thing, and a great deal of work is involved in making it. The photo shows how the pieces are laid up, one atop the other, each a little thinner than the one below. After being fastened with long bolts or drift pins, the whole thing is trimmed and faired with an adze.
28
The ceiling and shelf are in, the stanchions are in place, and the last major process of construction is underway-the framing of tie deck. In this big Schooner, we see the beams of the forward deck in place as the gang starts the raised deck aft. In fitting a big beam, one man works at each end. One of the laminated members of the shelf sticks up a bit and each beam is cut to lock over ti. When fitted, a beam is held in place with bolts.
29
It would appear that the gang has gone to lunch, leaving quite a mess on the forward deck. It’s a good view, though, of the laying of the deck and the beginnings of the various deck structures. Forward is a forecastle companionway; nest we see a skylight, and in the foreground is the opening for the cabin trunk,
30
All decks were fastened with spikes, countersunk and bunged. Spikes were driven down flush and then, with the use of a “set”, were punched home, snugging the deck down as they went. Here one of gang, a set in his left hand and a five pound maul in his right, is doing just this. The funny looking wooden block with a handle on it is a “whammy” for driving in a last tight-fitting piece of decking. Instead of hitting the pine decking with the maul, you hit the whammy.
31
A great deal has been accomplished on the deck of the little Schooner since the previous photograph. Looking aft we see the gang as they build the top of the transom stern.
32
The assembling of the traditional curved elliptical transom stern is one of the things that separated the men from the boys as far as the ship carpenters were concerned. It was a fussy and a heavy and hard job too, as you can see from the size of the timber which went into it.
33
The stern on a dragger is totally different in configuration and construction from that of a Schooner. In essence it is a roughly semi-circular structure built up from layers of heavy pine timbers sawed to the desired shape.
34
This photo rather interestingly shows the building of a “coaming” on a main fish hatch, and illustrates the manner in which the corners were dove-tailed together.
35
On a dragger, a raised structure or deck called the “whaleback” is built over the forward end of the main deck. It becomes a place fro lockers for the storage of fishing gear. It also keeps the main deck dryer in heavy weather. A ship’s carpenter starts to trim the insides of the main frames and forward fillers in preparation for the work.
36
By this stage of the game, the “inboard joiners”, aristocrats among ship carpenters, have begun their work. These men built their living quarters and accommodations for for the crew and the structures on deck which pertained to them.
37
Way forward, the gang is getting the deck beams onto the whaleback; midship, a man is trying to stand up the sides of the forward main hatch, while one member of the gang is just coming out of the hold with a template for a floor timber.
38
For a closer look at the makings of the whaleback, we see this shot of the beams as they are fitted and placed. Origin of the term “whaleback” is obscure. They were sometimes referred to as “forecastle heads”.
39
Inevitably as soon as the deck is laid a mess appears on it. On either side we see rail caps being applied, while amidship appears the main cabin trunk.
40
Speaking of rail caps reminds us that it’s no mean job to put these on. They must be “molded” (shaped that is) from wide clear pieces of heavy oak plank and then mortised down over the tops of each stanchion. When on, all must be trimmed and smoothed and all the edges nicely rounded.
41
A caulker’s black mesquite mallet was practically an extension of his own right arm. Here we have in fine detail, a caulking mallet. We also see a caulker’s reefing hook, chisel, and beveled iron.
42
The absence of all but one lone figure under the bilge amidship tells us that it must be noon. We do get, however, a good look at a nearly completed dragger. We also see the rudder, finished and ready to hang, and the framing of the pilot house.
43
Obviously the launching of a vessel is the most spectacular episode of the building process. Those few exciting moments are proceeded by days of careful preparation and labor. To accomplish launching in the traditional manner a cradle or “sled” is built under the vessel and letting her slide down a greased track or ways.
44
Having watched so much of her construction, it seems only fair that we should watch the dragger take her initial plunge using the traditional “slide launching”. Some idea of the enthusiasm for these events can be gained by the size of the crowd pressing every vantage point for a better look.
