Part 1 (2/2)

The structure of New Haven sharpies was strong and rather heavy, consisting of white pine plank and oak fra The sides were commonly wide plank Each side had two or three strakes that were pieced up at the ends to fore sharpies were co, while those of the smaller sharpies were 1-1/4 inches thick The sharpie's botto of the same thickness as the sides and of 6 to 8 inches in width That part of the bottom that cleared the water, at the bow and under the stern, was often , or else the seams athwartshi+p would be splined Inside the boat there was a keelson e side by side, sawn to the profile of the bottoth of the boat The middle one of these three planks was omitted at the centerboard case to form a slot Afore and abaft the slot the keelson members were cross-bolted and spiked The ends of the keelson were usually extended to the stem and to the stern by flat planks that were scarphed into the bottom of the built-up keelson

The chines of the sharpie were of oak planks that were of about the same thickness as the side planks and 4 to 7 inches deep when finished The chine logs were sawn to the profile of the botto to the sweep of the sides in plan view The side frames were mere cleats, 1-1/2 by 3 inches In the 1880's these cleats were shaped so that the inboard face was 2 inches wide and the outboard face 3 inches wide, but later this shaping was generally omitted

[Illustration: FIGURE 3--Plan of typical New Haven sharpie showing design and construction characteristics]

[Illustration: FIGURE 4--Plan of a large Chesapeake Bay sharpie taken from remains of boat]

At the fore end of the sharpie's centerboard case there was an edge-bolted bulkhead of solid white pine, 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 inches thick, with scuppers cut in the bottoave easy access to the foredeck In the 1880's that part of the bulkhead above the step wasthat curved athwartshi+ps, but this feature was later eliminated In the upper portion of the bulkhead there was often a s of the sharpie was made of white pine planks 1-1/4 inches thick and 7 to 10 inches wide The ste 6 by 9 inches before it was finished The side plank ran past the forward edge of the stem and was mitered to form a sharp cutwater The miter was covered by a brass bar stemband to which was brazed two side plates 3/32 or 1/4 inch thick This stemband, which was tacked to the side plank, usually measured 1/2 or 5/8 inch by 3/4 inch and it turned under the ste under the bottom for a foot or two The band also passed over a ste been shaped over the head of the ste over a pattern

The sharpie's stern was composed of two horizontal oak frames, one at chine and one at sheer; each was about 1-1/2 inches thick The outer faces of these fra around the stern on these fra that had been tapered, hollowed, and shaped to fit the flare of the stern This vertical staving was usually 1-3/4 inches thick before it was finished The raw edges of the deck plank were covered by a false wale 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and 3 or 4 inches deep, and by an oak guard strip that was half-oval in section and tapered toward the ends Vertical staving was used to carry the wale around the stern The guard around the stern was usually of stemmed oak

The cockpit ran from the bulkhead at the centerboard case to within 4 or 5 feet of the stern, where there was a light joiner bulkhead A low coaer rail ran along the sides of the deck The boat had a small square hatch in the foredeck and two mast holes, one at the stem and one at the forward bulkhead A tie rod, 3/8 inch in diah the hull athwartshi+ps, just forward of the forward bulkhead; the ends of the tie rod were ”up-set”

or headed over clench rings on the outside of the wale The hull was usually painted white or gray, and the interior color usually buff or gray

[Illustration: FIGURE 5--Chesapeake Bay sharpie with daggerboard, about 1885 (Photo courtesy Wirth Munroe)]

The torking masts of a 35-to 36-foot sharpie were made of spruce or white pine and had a diameter of 4-1/2 to 5 inches at deck and 1-1/2 inches at head Their sail hoists were 28 to 30 feet, and the sail spread was about 65 yards Instead of booms, sprits were used; these were set up at the heels with tackles to the le-sheave block at the mast heads and were fitted ood or metal mast hoops Because of the use of the sprit and heel tackle, the conventionalwas not possible

The reef bands of the sails were parallel to thea sail and tying the reef points while rehoisting Theof the sprit under the tension of the heel tackle The tenon at the foot of the mast was round, and to the shoulder of the tenon a brass ring was nailed or screwed Another brass ring was fastened around the s on which the ing and the o when the boat was running doind, so that the sails would swing forward In this way the power of the rig could be reduced without the bother of reefing or furling So was performed while the boat drifted slowly doith sails fluttering The tonger, standing on the side deck or on the stern, could tong or ”nip” oysters fro to pole or row the sharpie

The unstayed masts of the sharpie were flexible and in heavy weather spilled soree In summer the 35-to 36-foot boats carried both masts, but in winter, or in squally weather, it was usual to leave the mainmast ashore and step the foremast in the hole just forward of the bulkhead at the centerboard case, thereby balancing the rig in relation to the centerboard New Haven sharpies usually had excellent balance, and tongers could sail them into a slip, drop the board so that it touched botto the boats into the wind by spinning theth This could be done because there was no skeg When sharpies had skegs, as they did in some localities, they were not so sensitive as the New Haven boats If a sharpie had a skeg, it was possible to use one sail without shi+fting the eneral maneuverability

[Illustration: FIGURE 6--North Carolina sharpie with one reef in ale, about 1885 (Photo courtesy Wirth Munroe)]

Kunhardt[5] writing in the33 to 35 feet long, about 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet wide on the bottom, and with a depth of about 36 inches at stem, 24 inches amidshi+ps, and 12 inches at stern The flare increased rapidly from the board amidshi+ps, where it became 3-1/2 inches for every 12 inches of depth The increase of flare was radual toward the stern, where the flare was equal to about 4 inches to the foot According to Kunhardt, a 35-foot sharpie hull weighed 2,000 to 2,500 pounds and carried about 5 short tons in cargo

[5] C P Kunhardt, _Sn and Construction, Exe Types of Modern Practice_, New York, 1886 (rev ed, 1891, pp 287-298)

The sharpie usually had its round stern carried out quite thin If the stern was square, the transoh it cost about 15 more than the transo from it was easier; also, when the boat was tacked, the round stern did not foul the main sheet and was also less likely to shi+p a sea than was the square stern Kunhardt remarks that sharpies lay quiet when anchored by the stern, round tackle easier to handle

[Illustration: FIGURE 7--Plan of a Chesapeake Bay terrapin siven by C P Kunhardt in _Sn and Construction, Exe Types of Modern Practice_, New York, 1886]

[Illustration: FIGURE 8--Plan of North Carolina sharpie schooner taken from remains of boat]

[Illustration: FIGURE 9--Plan of North Carolina sharpie of the 1880's]

The cost of the New Haven sharpie was very low Hall stated that in 1880-1882 oyster sharpies could be built for as little as 200, and that large sharpies, 40 feet long, cost less than 400[6] In 1886 a sharpie with a capacity for 150 to 175 bushels of oysters cost about 250, including spars and sails[7] In 1880 it was not uncoside the wharves at Fairhaven, Connecticut, at nightfall

[6] Hall, _op cit_ (footnote 3), pp 30, 32

[7] Kunhardt, _op cit_ (footnote 5), pp 225, 295