''Mercantile'' is a two-masted

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

berthed in Camden Harbor,

Camden, Maine Camden is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,232 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is ...

. Built in the 1914-16 on

Little Deer Isle, Maine Little Deer Isle is an island in Penobscot Bay, lying just north of the town (and island) of Deer Isle, Maine, United States, of which it is a part. The island is served by Maine State Route 15 via the Deer Isle Bridge. The northern end of the is ...

, she is one of a small number of such vessels still afloat from a time when they were one of the most common cargo vessels of the

coasting trade The modern terms short-sea shipping (sometimes unhyphenated), marine highway and motorways of the sea, as well as the more historical terms coastal trade, coastal shipping, coasting trade and coastwise trade, all encompass the movement of cargo and ...

. Designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1991, she now serves as a "Maine windjammer", offering multi-day sailing cruises to tourists.

Description and history

''Mercantile'' is a total of long, with a deck and wide. Her normal sailing rig consists of a mainsail, foresail, two headsails, and no topsails. She is framed and planked out of white oak, and has a pine deck. Her woodwork was originally fastened by

treenail A treenail, also trenail, trennel, or trunnel, is a wooden peg, pin, or dowel used to fasten pieces of wood together, especially in timber frames, covered bridges, wooden shipbuilding and boat building. It is driven into a hole bored through tw ...

s, but when restored these were changed to galvanized spikes. and ''Mercantile'' was built on

by members of the Billings family over three seasons, and was launched in 1916. From then until 1943 the Billingses operated her in the

as one of thousands of such vessels built. In 1943 she was briefly involved in the mackerel fisheries of southern New England, before she was sold to Frank Swift and adapted for use as a tourist vessel. In the 1930s Swift conceived of the idea of using these vessels, which were generally laid up in coves and harbors and left to rot, to carry paying customers on sailing cruises, and this was one of the early vessels he used for this purpose. Although she has undergone several ownership changes, she has always operated in the tourist trade out of Camden Harbor. Her most recent major restoration was in 1989.

References

External links

Mercantile web site
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919) National Historic Landmarks in Maine Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Transportation buildings and structures in Knox County, Maine Schooners of the United States 1916 ships Camden, Maine National Register of Historic Places in Knox County, Maine Ships built in Camden, Maine

Description and history

See also

References

External links