February is oyster season on the Chesapeake. Old timers will tell you that cold water makes plump oysters. In the peak days of the oyster fishery, tongers would fill their skiffs and deadrises early and then sell the harvest to the ever-present buy boats and keep tonging. The buy boats, or deck boats as they are often called, were the link to the packing houses and an integral part of the oyster harvesting process. It seems fitting, then, that we begin February’s reports with two buy boats,
Muriel Eileen on the western shore and
Crow Brothers II on the Eastern Shore.
Muriel Eileen, a 65-foot buy boat built in 1926, is now privately owned and has been transformed from a workhorse into a lovely, unique yacht. She has been maintained for many years by the crew at
Hartge Yacht Yard in Galesville, MD. This winter, her owner had her hauled out to repair a chronic leak in the shaft log area. Getting to the problem involved removing the rudder, the 42-inch propeller and its three-inch diameter shaft, and several structural timbers only to discover that an old temporary fix involving a piece of deadwood and a deteriorating horn timber led to a joint filled with pitch and mud, the ultimate source of the leak.
Modern restorers constantly face the challenge of locating wood suitable for repairing old boats. In this case some seasoned Osage Orange was located. This type of wood is native to central Texas and Oklahoma and is often used locally as an ornamental and for windbreaks. It thrives in the sandy soil of Chesapeake country. The wood is very dense, dimensionally stable, rot resistant, and is perfect for the new timbers required for a new shaft log.
Crow Brothers II is another 65-foot buy boat built in the mid1930s. She was in very bad condition when she was acquired by the Chesapeake Historic Workboat Foundation. The foundation had her hauled out at Gateway Marina in Trappe, MD, in 2012. Major renovations to her hull and structural problems were completed, and she was relaunched in August of 2014 and towed to
Mathews Brothers Boatworks in Denton, MD, for a new engine, generator, pilothouse, and all new mechanical systems. Meg Roney includes regular updates on the rebuilding of the boat in her reports. “They’re making great progress on the pilothouse for Crow Bros; the roof beams are up, and they’re getting ready to start the tongue and groove overhead. At the landing, they’re working on the steering system now that the generator and engine are in place.
We hope everyone’s year has gotten off to a good start! Here in the shop, as promised, we’re in the midst of a partial refit to a Hinckley 36 after which we’ll move an older Eastport 32 in to the shop for a partial refit as well. Our varnish crew is working on maintenance coats on three to four of our storage boats—they’ll be varnishing all winter and spring. With a record amount of storage boats this year, we’re thinking of spring and starting to work on all of the minor repairs, so everyone is ready to go when the time comes. Be sure to check out our daily pics on
mathewsboats.com to see what we’re working on.”
David Jr. of Evans Boats in Crisfield, MD, shared this upbeat report with us. “2015 was a great year for us here at Evans Boats, filled with fun and even stress, but the good kind! We have just recently completed a 53-foot by 21-foot custom, solid glass catamaran for the City of Winthrop, MA. We are coming into 2016 working on our third crew boat for Disney Cruise Lines and expect a few additional contracts to be coming in the early part of the year for other boats. We are also staying very busy with boat hauling on our hydraulic trailers. We’re thankful for all of our customers past, present, and future, and are thankful to God for a wonderful year behind us, and are excited about the year ahead!”
In St. Michaels, MD, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s Tracey Johns reports bottom planking on the museum’s Pot Pie skiff has been completed, with painting done during this winter’s warmer days. Additionally, the floating fleet has been moved to its winter berth along the harbor, with winterization done on the engines, and covers placed on the 1926 trunk-cabin power cruiser
Isabel. Over the winter months, the museum plans to take down its pole shed in the boatyard to make room for the restoration of the log hull of the1889 bugeye
Edna E. Lockwood. Open daily, the museum is offering free admission each weekday in February, giving guests a great opportunity to see much of this work first-hand. To learn more, visit
cbmm.org
George Hazzard of Wooden Boat Restoration in Millington, MD, has also been staying busy. “We are currently working on refastening and refinishing a 1955 18-foot Chris-Craft Cobra. We also are refinishing a 1950 17-foot Chris-Craft Special Runabout. We are starting on the re-planking of Ralph Cattaneo’s 1948 25-foot Chris-Craft Sportsman, recently featured on an episode of Maryland Public Television’s Outdoors Maryland” (see Ralph’s article about it in next month’s PropTalk).
Bruce Garron brings us up to date on events at the Calvert Marine Museum (CMM) in Solomons, MD. “Members of the Patuxent Small Craft Guild (PSCG) at CMM along with the donated help from Southern Maryland Electric Coop (SMECO) removed the mast of the Skipjack
Dee of St. Mary’s. The removal was necessary for inspection and replacement of any questionable items. The good news is that wood of the mast appears to be sound. The PSCG will review all shrouds, lines, and fittings this winter. Already the mast has been stripped of its surface material. Work on the mast can be viewed at the boat shop on Tuesdays and Saturdays.”
Rob Hardy of Composite Yacht in Trappe, MD, checks in with a busy report. “We’re wrapping up a very busy 2015. Several builds are underway, including a new 26, this one outboard powered, in Chesapeake Deadrise Style. The paint shed stays occupied. We just completed an all over AwlGrip job on a 41-foot Viking Convertible, and we have a 49-foot DeFever Trawler in for the same thing. Our hardtop mold stays hot, as we retrofit numerous boats with tops and pipework. An interesting upcoming contract we have is to build a fleet of nine-foot-long, electric-powered Pirate Ships. The bustle around the shop has slowed progress on the all new CY34 Offshore model, but we’re confident we’ll have a mold in the very near future.”
Nancy Noyes of Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) in Annapolis reports, “CLC threw open the doors in December for the annual Winter Open House. More than 100 guests crowded the Annapolis showroom and shop to see the latest models and prototypes, chat with fellow small craft and wooden boat aficionados, and pick up valuable boatbuilding tips from expert guests at seminars on tool sharpening, professional-grade epoxy filleting, basic and advanced fiber glassing techniques, and varnishing.
Joining the CLC staff for the day was Eric Schade, designer of CLC’s Shearwater and Wood Duck kayak lines, popular boatbuilding class instructor, and boat builder extraordinaire. Eric made the trip from his home in Maine to answer dozens of technical questions and show off techniques that can help any home builder produce a professional-quality result. Also on hand to demonstrate important tips for keeping woodworking tools in top shape was Troy Beall from the School at Annapolis Woodworks.”
Tammy Eaton of Judge Yachts in Easton, MD, is also upbeat. “It’s that time of year again--time for the Judge Yachts Open House! This event will occur on Saturday, February 20 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at our facility (9531 Legion Road, Denton, MD). This is an indoor event so rain or shine, we will be here to show off what we do. This is the perfect opportunity for those contemplating being a Judge owner to tour our facility, explore a variety of models, and talk with current Judge owners and find out why they love their Judges so much.
We are definitely looking forward to a fantastic 2016 having just started another Chesapeake 36 with Twin Suzuki 300 outboards and two Chesapeake 27s in December with the prospect of starting another Chesapeake 36 with twin outboards in January. Build slots are filling up fast. 2016 promises to be an excellent year with a few surprises in store. Hint: talk is circulating around the shop of the design of a Chesapeake 32 being in the works. It sounds as if the 32 is destined to be the baby brother to the Chesapeake 36 so stay tuned… it’s going to be an interesting year!”
by Captain Rick Franke