In the Beginning...

With just a few pieces of wood and a picture in his mind, the captain began working to develop the correct shape for the schooner.

And it began to take shape.

The photo below, shows the schooner 'Belle which is a vintage example of the design.

"The hull of the Belle is similar and a good representation of the type of vessel. The sail arrangement, however, is different. Because of the nice shape and design, many replicas of these ships are still in use on the East Coast of the U.S. as passenger and pleasure vessels." R.T.

The Schooner "Belle"

These ships often had women's names. Many had the full name, such as the 'Bessie Boalt' and the 'Emily Cooper'. Others were named after certain attributes, like the 'Active' and the 'Pathfinder'. One was called the 'Home' and one, the 'Experiment'!

"These boats were beautiful, working very hard, they played a vital role in establishing and supporting communities along the coast. They carried cargo like oyster shells, gravel, timber, and seafood, up and down the East coast of the U.S. There were many casualties, mostly because they were at the mercy of the weather, powered by sail only.

Heavy fog, no electronics, just a simple compass and a line with a weight (called a lead line) for checking the depth of the water. The weight was equipped with a hollow on the end, filled with grease, or tallow, to check the consistency of the sea-bottom - whether it was sandy, muddy, gravel, etc. The tallow would pick up a sample of the bottom and this would give the captain important information.

This line would be thrown ahead of the boat by a man in the bow, then pulled back in. The man would shout to the captain the marks on the line. All this was done while underway. Try that in a howling gale!"RT