Log canoe
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The log canoe is a type of
sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...
developed in the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
region. Based on the dugout, it was the principal
traditional fishing boat Traditionally, many different kinds of boats have been used as fishing boats to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Even today, many traditional fishing boats are still in use. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Org ...
of the bay until superseded by the
bugeye The bugeye is a type of sailboat developed in the Chesapeake Bay for oyster dredging. The predecessor of the skipjack, it was superseded by the latter as oyster harvests dropped. Origins Between 1820 and 1865, the state of Maryland banned th ...
and the skipjack. However, it is most famous as a racing sailboat, and races continue to be held.


History

The history of the log canoe is closely tied to the development of the
oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...
ing industry on the bay. In pre-power days, the log canoe was an inexpensive craft which could be assembled without recourse to shipbuilders; before the
dredge Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
was made legal in 1865, the log canoe was sufficient to the needs of oyster tongers. It did not have the pulling power necessary for dredging, however, its log construction was combined with characteristics of other vessels to form the first bugeyes, a much larger and more powerful vessel. As motor power became available, watermen who were not dredging gradually abandoned sail power; also, the supplies of suitable timber were gradually exhausted. Log canoes were often converted to motor power, and new workboats (such as the
Chesapeake Bay deadrise The Chesapeake Bay deadrise or deadrise workboat is a type of traditional fishing boat used in the Chesapeake Bay. Watermen use these boats year round for everything from crabbing and oystering to catching fish or eels. Traditionally wooden hull ...
) were motored from the start and used frame construction instead of logs. Many of the existing log canoes have suffered some conversion of this sort during their lifetimes. Over the same period, however, the ad-hoc racing of canoes evolved into a semi-formal sport, and boats began being purpose-built for racing. From 1885 onward various clubs and associations sponsored organized races. This continues to the present, and racing canoes have been built as recently as 1974.


Hull construction

The typical log canoe is constructed from three to nine logs joined lengthwise and carved to form the lower portion of the hull. Additional height is obtained with smaller pieces fitted together and joined to the outermost (or "wing") logs. The resulting hull is sharp-sterned and shallow, and a centerboard is added which pierces the center (keel) log. Details of construction, particularly at the stem and stern, varied over the region. Also, Virginia boat builders did not use models, whereas most Maryland builders would start from a half-model of the hull. Surviving log canoes range in length from 27 to 35 ft. on-deck. One example is the buyboat '' F.D. Crockett'' at the Deltaville Maritime Museum in Virginia.


Rigging

Rigging varied considerably. Log canoes had one or two masts. Two-masted boats on the Chesapeake—not just log canoes—were often provided with a mast step to allow sailing with just one of the two sails. Typical later log canoes were two-masted, vaguely resembling a modern
ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...
rig. The masts were always steeply raked and unstayed, and the jib was flown from a bowsprit. The rigging of the sails themselves took several characteristic and unusual forms called a triangular "sprit-boomed leg-of-mutton." The main and fore sail were not attached to the boom at the foot, but instead attached only at the clew. A tackle attached to the mast provided the force necessary to shape the sail. One advantage of the sprit boom is that the sail is self-vanging, that is, the boom does not rise or fall depending on the set of the sail. The sheeting force is less, because the sheet does not have to supply downward pull to control the boom as with a gaff-rigged boat. This evolved further to the "goosewing" form, in which the sail became trapezoidal. The pointed clew was replaced by a vertical spar, called a club. The club attached to the aft end of the boom. This allowed for more sail area between the masts than for a triangular sail. The rigging of the jib was similarly unusual, but followed 19th century working-boat practice. There are several terms for a jib with a boom on the foot: balanced jib, club-footed jib, and self-tending jib. On a club-footed jib, the foot was attached on a spar, and the balance point of this spar attached to the end of the bowsprit with a line or fixture. This allowed for a larger jib which could serve as something akin to a
spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach (wind at 90° to the course) to downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually n ...
when running. Working sailors were less worried about the spinnaker effect than the fact that a properly trimmed balanced jib doesn't need any quick sheeting when tacking: hence the term "self-tending." A final characteristic feature was the use of hiking boards to keep the boat from overturning. These were long, flat boards which hooked at one end under the cockpit and stuck sideways over the opposite gunwale. Crewmembers climb out onto these boards to counterbalance the force of the sails, thus preventing the boat from heeling over. These were particularly important to racing canoes, whose sail area and lack of ballast made them hopelessly tender without such counterbalancing.


List of log canoes on the National Register of Historic Places


Maryland

*'' Billie P. Hall'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*'' Edmee S.'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*'' Flying Cloud'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*'' Island Bird'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*'' Island Blossom'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*'' Island Image'',
Kent County, Maryland Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,198, making it the least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Chestertown. The county was named for the county of Kent in En ...
*'' Island Lark'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*''
Jay Dee A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian ...
'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*''
Magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*''
Mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...
'',
Queen Anne's County, Maryland Queen Anne's County is located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville i ...
*'' Noddy'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*'' Oliver's Gift'',
Anne Arundel County, Maryland Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...
*''
Patricia Patricia is a female given name of Latin language, Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick (given name), Patrick. The name Patr ...
'',
Dorchester County, Maryland Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 census, the population was 32,531. Its county seat is Cambridge. The county was formed in 1669 and named for the Earl of Dorset, a family friend of the Calverts (t ...
*'' Persistence'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*''
Rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...
'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*'' Sandy'',
Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton, Maryland, Easton. The county was named ...
*'' S. C. Dobson (Mary Julia Hall)'',
Kent County, Maryland Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,198, making it the least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Chestertown. The county was named for the county of Kent in En ...
*'' Silver Heel'',
Kent County, Maryland Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,198, making it the least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Chestertown. The county was named for the county of Kent in En ...


References


Log canoe
from the Mariner's Museum, Newport News, Virginia
Chesapeake bay Log Sailing Canoe Association
{{fisheries and fishing Sailboat types Types of fishing vessels Chesapeake Bay boats