Wilkinson - Building Wooden Boats

BuiIding Wooden Boals A Losl CIaplev in Maviline Hislov
AulIov|s) Bonnie J. WiIIinson

Bevieved vovI|s)
Souvce AFT BuIIelin, VoI. 20, No. 3, Annivevsav Issue |1988), pp. 61-71
FuIIisIed I Association for Preservation Technology International (APT)
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Building
Wooden Boats
A Lost
Chapter
in
Maritime
History
Excerpted from
a
book-length manuscript,
this
article
introduces
the
reader to the
history
and
significance of
small-
craft
construction.
Bonnie
J.
Wilkinson
Saving
historically significant
rem-
nants of North America's maritime
heritage
has
generally
meant
rescuing
large
vessels from
decay. However,
as
construction of the merchant fleet in
New
England's shipyards declined, a
new maritime
industry
flourished.
Construction of
boats, sloops, yachts,
steamboats, skiffs, canoes,
and (even-
tually)
motorboats increased. These
smaller vessels were
part
of the
river,
canal,
lake and coastal maritime traffic
that carried
goods
and
passengers
to
the
newly
settled lands to the west.
Later, as time for leisure activities in-
creased,
recreational craft became in-
creasingly popular.
Construction of small craft was not
recognized
as an
important part
of our
maritime
heritage
until
recently.
Little
information about the
history, sig-
nificant
innovations,
or names of im-
portant
builders was available. Built
by
small boat
yards
or individual
builders,
historically significant
small craft and
the
history
of their construction was
scattered.
Understanding
the
sig-
nificant innovations within this in-
dustry, learning
the names of
impor-
tant
builders,
and
documenting
the
growth
of the
many
towns that
grew
up
around small-craft construction be-
came the
subjects
of a Master's thesis
at Cornell
University.
This
paper
is a
small
portion
of that work and seeks to
provide
a
general background
and
some
specific
cases in this
missing
chapter
of our maritime
heritage.
B.
J.
Wilkinson is
staff
architect with the
Georgia
State Historic Preservation
Office.
Her article is condensed
from
her Master's
thesis. Her thesis advisor was Michael
Tomlan,
APT Book Review Editor and
professor
at
Cornell.
Requests for
a loan
copy of
the thesis should be directed to
3968 Wolcott
Circle, Doraville,
GA 30340.
Advertised as a
"non-capsizable,
non-sinkable
sailboat",
this
18-foot yacht
was
designed
by marine architect William Gardner
of
New York. The
small, low-priced yacht
had
sleeping
room
for two,
was
self-bailing,
and looked "rakish" on the water.
THE GARDNER,
18 Rater,
Lead Fin,
Sail Yacht.
--
- 1
h\_
61 APT Bulletin Vol XX No. 3 1988
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. .
---------
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.
-...-...
.
...?.?.
.
- -
. .
_
_
-
.-?
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_
.
-
.--
_ ._7..
.
_- .. __ .-
Deep harbors, sheltered rivers,
and a network
of lakes, rivers,
and canals
encouraged
recreational
boating
and commercial uses.
Here, fishermen
land a black bass in a
regular
St. Lawrence River
Skiff,
one
of
the
indigenous craft developed
in the
region.
Erie Canal
Just
as coastal trade
encouraged
the
growth
of
large shipyards
in New
England's
coastal
towns,
so the con-
struction of the Erie Canal
encouraged
the
growth
of a small-craft maritime in-
dustry
in New York State. The
Canal,
a
major transportation
route between the
Great Lakes and New York
City,
be-
come a center of commerce. The canal
connected the Great Lakes via the
Finger
Lakes and the Hudson River to
New York
City.
Within these smaller
bodies of
water, large
craft were dif-
ficult to
handle, allowing
for the
development
of
indigenous
small craft.
The
key
to this
development
was the
availability
of
timber, deep
harbors and
sheltered rivers.
The
development
of the Erie Canal
influenced the
growth
of boat
building
in New York State in three
ways. First,
the Canal stimulated the construction
of a new
type
of vessel-a canal boat. It
was a
long
narrow boat with a
rounded bow fitted with
living quarters
above the deck and
space
for
storage
below.
Originally
it could hold 75 tons;
by
1860 the craft was allowed to
carry
240 tons.
Second,
construction of the canal al-
lowed for an increase in
freight ship-
ping
between the Midwest and New
York
City.
Third,
the Erie Canal allowed the
Great Lakes to
develop
into a
major
in-
land
waterway. After
the Canal
opened,
three more canals were
dug
to
connect the Lakes via the St. Lawrence
River to the Atlantic Ocean. These
canals included the
Chambly Canal,
1831,
which connected the Hudson
River and Lake
Champlain
to the
Rideau River and the St. Lawrence
River at
Chambly;
the Welland
Canal,
1845-50,
which
provided
a set of locks
around
Niagara Falls,
between Lake
Erie and Lake
Ontario;
and the St.
Lawrence
canals,
made
up
of three in-
dividual canals which date between
1834 to 1846.1
Association for Preservation
Technology
62
Shipping
in Decline. The
supremacy
that American
shipping enjoyed during
the
early
nineteenth
century slowly
deteriorated between 1857 and 1865.
The slowdown was due to the
repeal
of the British
Navigation
Laws and
American economic
developments.2
These
developments
can be divided
into five
major
events. The first event
was the increase in the
price
of
American labor. Second was the loss of
leadership
in
design.
American vessels
were built from models and
designed
by eye,
not
by
calculations. This was
unlike the naval architectural
design
taught
to the
British, French,
and the
Germans.
Third, steamships replaced
sailing ships
on inland
waterways.
Fourth,
the
collapse
of the trade to
California eliminated the need for fast-
sailing clipper ships.
In
addition,
the
opening
of the Panama Canal allowed
the use of
steamships,
a faster and
more economical means of
transporta-
tion.
Fifth,
the Civil War caused the
Union
Army
to run a blockade
against
the southern cotton
trade, reducing
the
exports
from the South. Cotton boats
were
sold, lost,
rotted or burned.
Foreign
investors were forced to
pull
out and invest elsewhere.3
The
consequences
of the slowdown
were
devastating:
men were out of
work, yards
were
empty
and there was
a
surplus
of vessels. The old
shipyards
were converted to other uses:
wharves,
factories,
lumber
yards
and the con-
struction of small craft.
Growth of Boat Yards.
By 1870,
there was a 57% increase in the num-
ber of boat
yards operating
in the
United States. In New York State the
number of
yards grew
from 72 to 233.
Of the 233 yards, 32 of these were
employed
in the construction of small
craft to use in
protected waters.4
These
vessels "were
generally
rowed or
pad-
dled, not fitted with sails, and included
canoes and skiffs."5
Two
indigenous
small craft built in
New York were the Adirondack
guide
boat and the St. Lawrence skiff. These
two boats were
developed
from a
compilation
of a
wherry,
a
dory
and a
bateau.6
They
were built
flat,
with
double-ended
bows;
and the frames
and ribs were constructed from natural
elements. Each boat was customized
for its own
particular
area. The St.
Lawrence skiff was used for fast travel
and
freighting among
the islands on
the St. Lawrence River. The Adiron-
dack
guide
boat was used for
sport
and
fishing
in and around the
many
in-
terconnecting waterways
of the
Adirondack Mountains.
These small craft were constructed
by
individuals until the mid-1870s
when local builders
began
to adver-
tise,
and
boat-building companies
grew.
The craft were used
extensively
until the steam launch was
developed.
At the turn of the
century,
the St.
Lawrence River was the
testing ground
for
power-craft development. Early
gasoline engines
were used in
Leighton
Launches and were tested on
Oneida Lake and the St. Lawrence
River.7 Between 1905 and 1912 the
... ..
-
., .'
?;
Decked out
with
a
striped awning,
the steam
launch
PAUL was advertised in an 1893
catalogue. The craft
could be
purchased with either
oak
orpine planking, copper
or
galvanized fastenings, mahogany
or oak
sheerstreak,
and
mahogany
or
birch
wainscoting. The launch with
extras cost $350. The
basic model sold
for only $200;
awnings andflags
were advertised extras.
design
of boats and
engines
was
refined as these boats were raced in
the Gold
Cup Competitions. By
1910
racing
boats from the Midwest were
more innovative than those on the St.
Lawrence,
and
racing
and boat
development
was transferred to
Detroit.
An alternative to the steam launch
was the
naphtha launch, developed
in
A
stylish
Canadian
paddling
canoe was
just
the
thing for northern
New
York's
lakes and
rivers. The
canoe measured
15feet,
and the
basic model
featured alternating strips of white
and
Spanish
cedar and
afolding
black walnut or
mahogany
seat ($60). The
slightly
more
expensive
model
shown
at bottom was
deckedfore
and
aft.
F=F
I-n:P i'
F~-=~i'-B~'lf~l~m7. F- 17:
--tt~r -
. ......
27
CANADIAN PADDLING CANOES.
Special
St.
Laawrence
River Skiff,
"Gertie."
(BUILT ONLY TO ORDER.)
,IirX If Xl
-I I
71 r
GENIE,
a
special-order
skiff,
was
20feet long. She had
two mast tubes
forward
and one removable
thwart with
tube
aft,
so
she
could be
sailed with either
mainsail and mizzen or mainsail
only. Batwing
sails could be ordered with the
craft. Herprice
was
$300, with $9
more
for
each
additionalfoot.
1885.
Naphtha,
a
low-grade gasoline,
was used as fuel until 1897 when
gasoline began
to outsell it.
Typical
gasoline-powered
inboards
ranged
from 22 to 55 feet in
length
and had 4-
to
60-horsepower engines; they
were
commonly
referred to as "autoboats".
Thereafter
gasoline began
to be the
preferred
method of
power
for inboard
motors.
Outboard motors were used as
early
as 1866 with the
development
of the
hand-cranked motor. Other outboard
motors included the electric
engine,
developed
in
1881,
and steam
engine,
developed
in 1887. Gasoline
engines
were first manufactured and marketed
in 1896. These same outboard
engines
were used to
propel
the
early
skiff-
putts
and
dinghies.
The exact number
of these craft is not known because of
the scattered and
piecemeal
nature in
which
they
were constructed. Most of
the
builders,
who were
part-time
car-
penters,
constructed one or two boats
on the side in addition to their normal
jobs.9
The number of
boat-building
estab-
lishments doubled between 1870 and
1880.
Nationally,
this
grew
to 1188
businesses;
in New York alone there
were 457. This increase was due to a
strong economy.
It
was soon after-
wards in
1884,
that the Bureau of
Navigation
was set
up by
the
Congress
of the United States to administer the
Navigation
Laws.
10
By
1890 the market had become
overpopulated
with
vessels,
and the
number of active establishments fell to
half of what it was in 1880. The num-
ber of establishments declined until
the
early
1900s when there was a small
increase. This trend continued until
World War I when a number of
yards
began
to build boats for the
Navy.
Even
though
the number of
boating
establishments decreased
generally
toward the
mid-1920s,
there was one
significant
factor that affected most of
the boats that were
being produced-
World War I.
As a
result, mass-produc-
tion
techniques
led to the stand-
ardization of the small-craft boat-build-
ing industry.
[The
public]
wanted standardized
boats, types
of established
character,
of definite value and assured satisfac-
tion,
and the
public
would
buy
boats
like this even in lines when
many
in-
dustries have found it
necessary
to
curtail
production.11
Standardization made it
possible
for
everyone
to own a
boat,
not
just
the
well-to-do. This
applied
to all
types
of
boats.12 To see how one
regional
boat-
building
center
evolved,
we will ex-
amine the boat builders of the
Thousand Islands within the St.
Lawrence River in
Jefferson County,
New York.
Boat Builders in the Thousand Is-
lands
The men in this
region began building
wooden boats in the
early
nineteenth
century continuing
until the mid-twen-
tieth
century
with the
development
of
Fiberglas?.
For the settlers of this area
boating
was a
way
of life. It
provided
employment,
recreation and
transpor-
tation.
Technology
64
? ?
---
zi
J" ~ 411
.. ..........
man~ o . . . .. . .. . .. .
-At%~J
The
caption for
this
catalogue drawing
read
"Above
is taken
from
a
genuine photograph, showing
an
effective
test
of
the
stability of
our
St. Lawrence River
Skiff.
Shows man
weighing 145pounds standing
on
gunwale without
upsetting
boat or
taking
in water..
.NO
TRICK."
Two
waterways transported
materials from the Great Lakes to the
Atlantic Ocean. One was the Erie
Canal,
and the other was the St.
Lawrence River
flowing
northeast 1025
miles to the Atlantic Ocean. The St.
Lawrence River defined the northern
border of New York State.
Within the lower end of the St.
Lawrence River are some 1692 islands,
giving
the area the name of the
Thousand Islands.13 The area contain-
ing
these Islands is
triangular
in
shape,
being
fifteen miles wide at the western
edge
and a mile wide at the eastern
edge,
with the total
length
of the
region measuring thirty
miles.
Three towns fall within the
Thousand Island
region-Cape Vincent,
Clayton,
and Alexandria
Bay.
Boat
building began
in
Cape
Vincent in
1819,14
and
spread
to
Clayton
and
Alexandria
Bay
where it continued
until the mid-1900s.
Cape
Vincent. The town of
Cape
Vin-
cent is located where the St. Lawrence
River
joins
Lake Ontario. The town
was established in 1849 and named in
honor of its land
owner,
Vincent
LeRay.
Within
Cape Vincent,
boat and
shipbuilding
became a new and im-
portant industry
due to its close
proximity
to Sackets
Harbour,
an ac-
tive naval
yard during
the War of 1812.
According
to local
history,
the first ves-
sel was constructed in 1819 at the east-
ern end of the town where Burnham's
Grist Mill was located. The water
around the mill was of an
adequate
depth
to float vessels without fear of
grounding
them. At least
thirty
vessels
were constructed in this
yard.1
By
the late
1870s, large-craft building
had become obsolete. The need for
deep
harbors in which to construct the
ever
larger
craft
outstripped
the
depth
of natural harbors. But boat
building
did not terminate
completely.
Small
craft were still
being
constructed on a
smaller scale
by fishing guides
and
boat liveries. Three main builders
within the town were Leon
Peo,
Fran-
cis
Conroy (Roy) Stanley,
and the Ross
Brothers.
As
fishing guides,
these men would
row their
sharp-ended
boats or skiffs
around the islands to their favorite
fishing spots.
The
guiding
season ex-
tended from
April
to November or
until the river
began
to freeze.
During
the course of the
winter,
when
they
were not ice
fishing,
the
guides
would
build their own
skiffs, according
to
their own needs and
specifications.
George
Garner noted in "The New
York Central Railroad"
pamphlet:
These skiffs are models of comfort
with their chairs and
carpets,
and are
also
seaworthy. They
are fitted with
patent collapsing centerboards,
and
carry
sail
quite
well in
quite heavy
weather. 16
A noted
Cape
Vincent skiff builder
was Leon Peo. He and his
father,
Joseph Peo,
who was a steam
engineer
on the Great
Lakes,
started a boat
livery
at the base of Market Street "fur-
nishing
skiffs and minnows for various
guides
or oarsmen." He also started
building
his own skiffs for rent or
sale.17
In
1956,
Mr. Peo is
quoted by
the
Watertown
Daily Times:
i:1
~L ~~: ?pC~p
~:
II
c h.
?i:~t.?
:rl?ci?;.;.l?
Gallant Dr. Alexander Bain sports his
Masonic
uniform.
He was a
major
boat
builder. (Gordon Bennett)
Just
before
finishing high school,
I
saw the need of some
special training
in the
designing
of all
types
of boats.
So under some
good instructors,
with
much
diligent study
and
many trips
to
the boat and
ship yards adjacent
to
New York
City,
I
finally acquired
the
necessary knowledge
to
design
and
build almost
any
size and
type
of boat
used in the lower lakes.
My designs
and
supervision
of work included
steam
barges,
house
boats, yachts,
launches and the St. Lawrence River
Skiff which was so
popular
in the
early days.
In 1904 he
published
a
catalogue
en-
titled Boats
of
all
Kinds. In it he states:
We take
pleasure
in
presenting
to our
customers and to the
public generally,
our latest
catalogue
of the various
kinds and varieties of
skiffs, launches,
yachts,
house boats and other boats
constructed
by us, upon
which when
the cost of the material and the
amount and
quality
of
workmanship
bestowed
upon them,
and the care
taken in
every
detail of construction is
considered...our
shops
are situated at
the foot of Lake Ontario and the head
of the
great
St.
Lawrence;
and after an
experience
of
nearly twenty years
in
constructing
boats of all
kinds,
we do
not hesitate to
say
that our boats are
second to none.
In
1909,
Motor Boat
magazine
published
Peo's 1989 model of a 24-
foot
fishing
boat. The main
advantage
of the boat was the ease with which a
craft "can be hauled into a boat house
at
night
or hauled out on
rough
shores
of the lake and the ease of
handling
when at sea."
Peo continued to
operate
the boat
yard
and
livery
business until World
War
I,
when boats could not be built
for
private
use. As a result he "lost in-
terest in the
building
of boats and
never entered the field
again, except-
ing
with much
reservation, preferrin
to devote [his] time to other
projects."
Although
both
large
and small craft
were built in
Cape Vincent,
construc-
tion of small craft was a natural out-
growth
of the
large-craft industry
and
played
a minor role in the economic
well-being
of the town.
Clayton.
The town of
Clayton
is con-
veniently
located fifteen miles down
river from
Cape
Vincent. The land had
been owned
by
Vincent
LeRay
de
Chaumont and was laid out in a
grid
plan.
In "The Plan of the
Village
Cor-
nelia" (as it was
originally
known) de
Chaumont described the
village:
[It has an] Excellent harbour for all
sizes of Vessels and Boats; it is sur-
rounded by very fertile and thickly
populated Country; It is situated be-
tween Cape Vincent and Alexandria
about 15 miles from each. There is
now a
post office, three stores, two
taverns,
etc.20
A
skiff,
the
AUGUSTA,
was built
by
Bain in 1870.
its.?
NI Ana z;
? LI~ ?1:3.: I~:It~~~?~: 4u, Y4 P
Ch
MN .~
Z..
.. ..... ...?
?mmawk'
;? MI.
i: ?I)::? :j?0111,:
Technology
66
Steamboats were constructed in
Clayton
until the
1860s,
but after this
period,
small craft were easier to con-
struct and became one of the main in-
dustries of the town. Steamboats con-
tinued to
ply
the St.
Lawrence,
transporting
the tourists to the various
island
resorts,
but the St. Lawrence
skiff was used to
gain
access to the less
populated
islands.
The Skiff. The St. Lawrence skiff is a
small craft
unique
to the Thousand Is-
lands.
Though
the skiff
may
have
developed
from
European prototypes,
it's eventual
shape
and
advantages
were a
response
to
regional
needs.21
During
the
mid-1860s,
skiffs were first
used as
guides'
work boats. Then
Zavier
Colon,
a native of
France,
mass
produced
the skiff for
public
sale.22
A
unique
feature of the skiff was the
absence of a rudder when the craft
was under sail. These boats were
crude
by today's standards,
but
they
were
very popular.23
In 1873 a
shop
was constructed on Riverside Drive for
the
large-scale
manufacture of the
skiff. Skiffs were to be sold to the
growing
summer
population.
Five
years later,
Dr. Alexander
Bain,
a
traveling
dentist interested in skiffs as
racing boats,
formed a
partnership
with Colon.
[The two men] under better
facilities,
more
systematized labor,
and a
largely
increased demand, [prospered],
finer
boats were
built,
better models were
designed;
new facilities were needed
and invented, elegance
of finish was
combined with
utility;
the demands of
the hour and the
constantly increasing
skill of the workman
employed,
brought
out a correspondingly perfect
boat.24
Bain had a skiff
livery
at Thousand
Island Park, which was a Methodist
Meeting Camp
at the head of Wellesley
Island. The location of the livery
was
in close
proximity
to where the steam-
ships formerly
docked at the resort. It
was noted that the
livery
was the "Best
on the
River", supplying "Fifty
first
class
boats,
fitted with
sails, chairs,
anchors,
minnow
pails, fishing tackle,
and all
necessary
furniture for com-
fort.,,25
It was
during
this time that The Cen-
tury Magazine published
a
description
of the skiff in its
August
1885 edition.
They
describe the boat as:
an
indigenous
boat for
fishing
and
rowing,
remarkable for the methods
by
which it is
managed
under sail.
Visitors call it a
skiff,
natives call it a
skift.
Holding
five or six
persons
easi-
ly,
it is of
strong, yet light build,
and in
its lines
probably
the most beautiful
rowboat afloat.
Birchbark, Peterboro,
Rob
Roy, Shadow, Nautilus, Pearl,
the
hulls of all of these must
yield
in
gracefulness
to the skiff.
In 1887 a second
catalogue
was
published
in the name of A. Bain and
Company.
Dr. Bain had enlisted the
help
of several New York
City
bankers
who
proved
to be his downfall. Their
backing
allowed the
company
to
buy
large quantities
of materials at
cheaper
prices.
It also enabled them to build a
new
building 50x100 feet,
with a base-
ment and a
garret
at the foot of
Alexandria Avenue on
Mary
Street.
The second
catalogue
contained not
only skiffs,
but canoes and
sailing
canoes which had been
popularized
by
the recent American Canoe Associa-
tion (ACA)
meetings
held on
Grindstone Island in
1884, 1885,
and
1886. The
catalogue
included steam
launches, prices,
testimonials and
hardware.
A
year
after A. Bain and
Company
was formed, the name was again
changed
to the St. Lawrence River
Skiff, Canoe and Steam Launch Com-
pany
to reflect the
comprehensive
na-
ture of their
enterprise.
Dr. Bain was
the
manager
and J. G. Fraser was the
bookkeeper.
In 1890, a
report
in a
local
newspaper
entitled On the St.
Lawrence noted that the
company
had
done
$10,000
worth of business as of
March
21, 1890. Skiffs and boats were
being
constructed and sent
throughout
the United States and to
Liverpool,
England.
Soon
afterwards,
Bain left the
company
and formed A. Bain and
Company
because of conflicts with his
banker,
Charles
Emory.
Soon after-
wards he moved to Grand
Rapids,
Michigan.26
As a
result,
Fraser became
manager.
On
July 1, 1891, J.
G. Fraser
wrote a letter to the editor of On the St.
Lawrence, informing
him of the fol-
lowing:
The
boating public
is
respectfully
in-
formed that the firm
styling
themsel-
ves as A. Bain and
Company
and
doing
business on the River are in no
way
connected with the St. Lawrence
River
Skiff,
Canoe and Steam Launch
Company
of
Clayton,
New York. In-
dividual
purchasers
of the
genuine
St.
Lawrence River Skiff are warned not
to
accept any
boat as a
genuine
product
of the St. Lawrence River
Skiff,
Canoe and Steam Launch Com-
pany
unless
bearing
the bow deck
metal shield
bearing
our full name
Atwood's Patent
Folding
Centreboard was
one innovation
of
the boat builders.
,I-
--~._--
x
cA
Best's Patent
Releasing Anchor
eliminated
snagging
and
pulledfreefrom rocks, weeds,
or trees.
and
address,
and anchor fouled with
paddle,
embossed on
same,
latter
being
our trade mark. We have no
agent
at the Thousand Islands
except
Mr. E. W. Estes of Thousand Island
House
Pavilion,
Alexandria
Bay.
signedJ. G. Fraser
(secretary- manager)27
In
1893,
the St. Lawrence River
Skiff,
Company
published
another
catalogue,
more
complete
than the others. Some of the
earlier sketches were still
being used,
but
they
included more
photographs
and line
drawings
of various acces-
sories. Soon after the
catalogue
was
published,
the
company
achieved
nationwide
prominence
when it ex-
hibited at the Columbian Exhibition in
Chicago.
Three boats were to be in-
cluded in the
Aquatic procession
scheduled for November
25, 1893.
By 1895,
the firm was
acquired by
A.
G.
Spaulding
and Brothers of New
York, Philadelphia
and
Chicago
and
was moved to
Ogdensburg,
New York
(downriver
approximately
45 miles on
July 7, 1895.) Their new
plant
was
opened
to the
public by
October 18 of
the same
year.
Two
years later,
the
Spauld-
ing
St. Lawrence Boat
Company, using
the
same trademark as the
old St. Lawrence River
Skiff,
Canoe and Steam-
Launch
Company,
boasted that
"Many
of
our best
designs being
made
specifically
for us
by
the most successful
and best known marine
architects for these dif-
ferent classes." The
company
remained in
operation
until 1905.28
During
the
period
that
the St. Lawrence River
Skiff,
Canoe and Steam
Launch
Company
was
still
producing
skiffs in
Clayton,
a
notice
appeared
in the 1897
catalogue
stating
that their
popularity
as a boat
manufacturer caused
many
imitators
"whose
productions
for the most
part
are
cheap
and
worthless,
not
possess-
ing any
of the merits of the
genuine
famous St. Lawrence River
Skiff,
of
which we are the
original designers
and
builders.'"29
Two of these imitators
patented
two
different
types
of
collapsible
center-
boards for skiffs. This
type
of center-
board allowed a skiff to
pass
over
shoals and to be
pulled
out of the
water for
storage.
These
patents
were held
by
Montraville Atwood and
Joel
Couch.
The former
developed
his
patent
and
filed it on March
10, 1885. An Adver-
tisement for one of his centerboards
described it as a
"twenty
inch board in
a three inch well. Other sizes manufac-
tured...Atwood
Brothers, Clayton,
New
York."30
Six
years later, Joel
Couch,
a local skiff
builder,
also filed a
patent
for a
collapsible
centerboard on
March
17, 1891. Couch was considered
one of the better skiff builders
by
his
Technology
68
peers,
even
though
he never
produced
a
catalogue
and worked
by
himself.
His
shop
was located on the corner of
Webb and
Mary
streets. The boats
were built in his
back-yard
shed and
brought
to the water
by
a trailer.
According
to
Child's 1890
Directory,
there were a total of four boat
builders(Joel Couch,
S. G.
Johnson,
Joseph Layere,
and the St. Lawrence
River
Skiff,
Company)
and one boat
livery
in
Clayton. By
1908 there were ten such
builders.
One of these builders was Lucius E.
Fry. Fry
came to
Clayton
in 1889 to
work in a furniture
factory
at the end
of
Mary Street,
across from the lumber
company.
He worked there a short
time and then went to work for the
Bain Boat
Shop
for two
years.
Soon
after he went into business for himself
along
with Edward
Denny
and Wilfred
Mercer. These men were known as E.
L.
Fry
and
Company
and were known
for
building
all sorts of boats from
canoes to steam launches.
Fry
never issued a
catalogue,
never
advertised,
and never solicited busi-
ness until he obtained war contracts
for World War I. He was not interested
in
making money;
he
merely
wanted
to build the best boat
possible.
It was
this
perfection
that
gained
him his
reputation
as a boat
builder,
and his at-
titude was
representative
of the late
1890s.31
Fry
had learned the
woodworking
trade as a furniture manufacturer. With
Bain he
gained experience
in boat
building,
but also learned construction
techniques.
He
gained design exper-
tise for his
racing boats, skiffs,
and
canoes from technical books of the
period.
This
knowledge
became help-
ful when he, along
with the
help
of E.
J. Wright,
secured
government
con-
tracts to build four subchasers, which
sank two German U-boats.
The
availability
of
good
harbors
along
French Creek and
Washington
Island aided in the
development
of al-
most 100
years
of boat construction in
Clayton.
This
construction, though
originally
based on
large craft,
was
transformed into a
major
center for the
construction of the famous St.
Lawrence Skiff. The
popularity
of the
boat attracted individual builders
within the town to
develop
their own
types
of skiffs.
Alexandria
Bay
The
village
of Alexandria
Bay
was laid
out
by
Edmund Tucker on a
point
11
miles south of
Clayton
on the St.
Lawrence River in 1818.32 The
original
crossroads was sited to avoid the
large
outcroppings
of rock which occurred
throughout
the
point.
Between 1864
and
1888,
the town
expanded
souther-
ly
and
westerly
to its
present
con-
figuration.
On either side of the town
are two
bays,
Otter Creek and
Upper
Bay,
which
provide
shelter and
deep
water
necessary
for boat construction.
Skiff
building
was not confined to
Cape
Vincent and
Clayton.
In fact
several boat men were also
proficient
in
constructing
skiffs. One of these
men was
Captain
Charles
Estes,
who
started
constructing
skiffs at the
age
of
23.33
He was
capable
of
constructing
a
skiff a week
by perfecting
the method
of
using
metal
templates
or molds to
build a
symmetrical
hull both fore and
aft.34 As a result his skiffs were broader
than most but useful when
hunting
and
fishing.
His skiffs were well con-
structed,
but
they
were not the best
skiffs to be found in the
Bay.
One of the best known builders was
Fitz Maurice Hunt. Like so
many
of the
other builders, Hunt was born in Rock-
port,
Ontario in
1852.35
After
moving
to the United States in 1876, he be-
came a
guide
and a steam-boat
cap-
tain.
By 1890, Hunt had
begun
to build
at.
Lawrence TRiver Zhiff,
+ + +
+.
Canoe
,&
team
3launcb
Co.
CLAYTON,
The only builders of the
N, Y,
GENUINE FAMOUS
o\
St. Lawrence
R\
River Skiff.
\
A
\
:
+.
I'AI)IIIN(i
RA CING
.
AOM)
A
.,,, E
'g
SAIILIN
E
S
every class of
Pleasure Boat,
from a Canoe to a
Steam Yacht.
AN,,
ALL KINDS OF
OARS,
PADDLES, SAILS,
9OAT AND
VACHT
FITTINGS.
The
public
are warned not to
purchase any
boat,
as a
genuine product
Skiff, Canoe &
Steaml
Launch Co., unless same
bears their
trade-niark plate
(as here
shown), hear-
ing name, address, and trade-niark.
I isitors to the T7i'ousand
Is/lads
are cordially
invited to
Zsis/ t/he
St.
L. R. S. C. &' S. L. Co.'s
Flac/ory,
and inspect fthe
fine
s/ock
of
boa/s and work in consfru(/zon. ,A
St. Lawrence River Skiff,
-
Canoe & Steam Launch Co.
,o
,,;.
SLAND
CLAYTON
(J. 0. FRASER, Manager.i
N.Y
0TRADE MARK.
TRADE MARK.
Warning buyers
not to
befooled by imitations,
this national advertisement circulated in
1893-95. The
company
trademark was its distinctive seal.
skiffs and continued to do so until he
turned his attention to motorized boats
about 1903.36
His skiffs
averaged
be-
tween 18 feet to 26 feet in
length (typi-
cal for skiff
construction).
They
had
the
reputation
for
being
the best
racing
skiffs.
They
had
very sharp bows,
feather
lap siding
(smooth or flush-
board) and were
very ornate,
but were
very tipsy
and were not to be used as a
utility
or a
fishing
boat.37 One could
always identify
a Fitz Hunt skiff
by
the
absence of a bow
cleat,
the use of
cedar
decks,
and a drawer under the
center seat.3
If one did not own a
skiff, they
could be rented from
Captain
Clarence
Thomson's Boat
Shop
and Skiff
Livery.
He had about 30 skiffs and 15 to 20
motor boats which he rented in 1907.
Skiffs were
commonly
rented from
either $3.00 to $3.50 a
day;
bait was al-
i VS
i
-- -
Canoe
racing
sails known at
"batwings"powered lightweight racing
canoes
through
the
water.
ways
extra. An oarsmen would row
two
passengers
around the river
stop-
ping
at various
fishing
holes. After
they
had collected a
large quantity
of
fish,
the
guide
or oarsmen would
prepare
a
shore dinner and then row them back
to the mainland. It was not uncommon
for a
guide
to row 30 miles in one
day.
Although
Alexandria
Bay
was
known for its
power boating
in the
early 1900s,
its skiff builders were tired
of not
receiving recognition.
In
response
to this
oversight,
the follow-
ing
article
appeared
in the March
23,
1916 issue of the Thousand Island
Sun.
THE FAMOUS ST. LAWRENCE RIVER
SKIFF
While the world known St. Lawrence
River Skiff for the
past
few
years
has
in
every way
taken a back seat on our
beautiful
river,
the cause of which
being
the
coming
of the beautiful St.
Lawrence River motor boat which are
built at Alexandria
Bay
and not ex-
celled in the
world,
is
coming
back
and will be seen in
larger
numbers on
the river this summer. The islanders
and
Tourists,
while
they enjoy
the
beautiful motor boats
beyond ques-
tion,
have come to the conclusion that
for the best exercise and
physical
developments
there is
nothing
like
rowing
in one of the famous skiffs.
Those that come for the
fishing
pleasure
are
finding
that the skiff is
the handiest.
Speaking
Skiffs and motor
boats,
there is not a
question
but Alexandria
Bay
has the
reputation
of
excelling
all others in the
line. If this is doubted take
particular
notice of our models and
compare
them with others. There is as much
difference in the model of our skiffs
and others as there is between a
pas-
senger
steamer and a canal
barge.
We
have the
reputation
of
having
the
finest motor boats in all the world and
one can see them ih their
beauty
all
during
the summer.
Skiffs continued to be built in the
Bay,
but more
emphasis
was
placed
on
the
development
of the
power
boat.
Small Craft Preservation
Since the
Bicentennial,
the
public
has
been reminded of tall
sailing ships
and
vessels of war. But what of the smaller
craft or boats?
They
have
largely
been
overlooked and
neglected.
This has
not been intentional. Peter
Neill,
who
was Director of the Office of Maritime
Preservation at the National Trust for
Historic Preservation and is
currently
President of South Street
Seaport
Museum,
has said the
following:
The size or the mode of
power
is ir-
relevant. One should
preserve first;
only secondarily
should one
preserve
a
variety
of
things,
either
large
or
small. One should
preserve just
to
preserve
both in the water or out.39
Because
large
craft are more visible
and can house
museological exhibits,
they
have the
ability
to draw crowds.
In
addition, they
are so rare and valu-
able
they
cannot be used as
sailing
vessels,
and
large
amounts of
money
must be raised for their maintenance.
Only
220 of these
large
craft are left in
the United
States,
and more attention is
paid
to them.
Small
craft,
on the other
hand,
have
the
potential
for more
public
involve-
ment due to the
variety
of their
shapes
and sizes. Their uses and histories are
easier to see and
study
in a museum
setting. They provide ongoing
models
for amateur builders who can
par-
ticipate
in their construction or restora-
tion.
Peter Neill offered three reasons
why
small craft are
important. First,
the
economics of
participation
is low.
There are more small craft than
large
craft,
and more
people
can become in-
volved.
Second,
small craft can be
found all over the United States.
They
represent
the
regional
cultures of
which
they
are a
part. Third,
small craft
offer the individual a sense of freedom
and
self-reliance,
while an
organized
group
is needed to restore or sail
large
craft.
Since the mid-1960s small-craft
museums have been formed, the num-
ber of
antique
boats has
grown
from
one in 1964 to over
fifty
six in 1987,
and a
comprehensive
list of all small
craft is
being developed.
But until the
public
takes more interest and
Technology
70
demands more
emphasis
be
placed
on
small
craft,
the
preservation
of these
vessels will
get
the least
priority
within
the maritime
preservation
movement
and
preservation
in
general.
Notes
1. These canals include the Beaharnous Canal,
1846,
at Beaharnous;
the Cornwall Canal, 1834,
at the
long
Sault
Rapids
before Montreal,
Canada;
The Lachine
Canal, 1839,
at the Lachine
Rapids
around Montreal,
Canada.
2.
John
G.B.
Hutchins,
The American Maritime
Industries and Public
Policy, (Cambridge,
Mas-
sachusetts,
Harvard
University Press, 1941), p.
310.
3. Hutchins, p.
322.
4.
Up
until this time small craft construction was
considered
unimportant
and was not enu-
merated in the census records.
5. Robert
Taggert,
Evolution
of Waterborne
Commerce
of
the United States
(Washington
D.C.: United States Government Printing Office,
1983), p.
2.
6.
wherry:
a
light
rowboat used on
rivers; dory:
a small flat-bottomed
fishing
boat with
high,
outward-curving sides;
bateau: a
lightweight
flat-bottomed river boat with
tapered
ends.
7. W.P.
Stephans,
"Launch
Racing
on the St.
Lawrence,"
The
Rudder, February 1905, p.
60.
8.
Ibid., p. 60.
9. These
figures
were never recorded as
part
of
the census enumeration until 1939.
10. 23 Stat. L., 118.
11. W. B.
Rogers, "Making
a Dream Come
True",
Motor
Boat,
March
25, 1921, p.
13.
12. "Standardized Boat",
Motor
Boat,
December
10, 1921, p. 21.
13. This number varies due to the water level of
the St. Lawrence River.
14. Franklin B.
Hough,
A
History of Jefferson
County,
in the State
of
New York
(Watertown,
New York: Slertz and
Riddell, 1854), p.
115.
15. John
A.
Haddock,
Haddock's Centennial
History of efferson County,
New York (Philadel-
phia:
Sherman and
Company, 1894), p.
487. It
is hard to determine the exact boat builder of
this
yard. Shipping
records do not become
comprehensive
until 1864. These vessels
only
had a ten to
twenty year
life
expectancy.
16.
George
H.
Daniels, The Thousand Islands
Via New York Central and Hudson River Rail-
road, 1899, p.
12.
17. "Memoirs of Leon
Peo,
Native of
Cape
Vin-
cent
Designed,
Constructed
Many Types
of Ves-
sels,"
Watertown
Daily Times, June 27, 1956,
p.1.
18. Motor Boat,
November
25, 1909, p.42.
19. Memoirs of Leon
Peo, April 1956, p.5.
20. Town
plan
of
Cornelia,
1824.
21. This can
possibly
be traced to the
Vikings
according
to Harold
Herrick,
December
1, 1984.
This is further reinforced
by
an article in Forest
and Stream on
August 25, 1889 which indicated
that "The St. Lawrence River
Skiff, highly
praised by
all who have used
it,
is an
outgrowth
of certain conditions and local
surroundings
and...the exact
origin
of the boat is not
quite
clear. It is
practically
a
large canoe,
and so it
might
be an
enlargement
of the
ordinary
canoe
so common on the St.
Lawrence,
...but more
resembles the decked canoe of the States."
22. Skiffs were constructed in Alexandria
Bay
as
early in 1852 according to the Honorable
Thomas G. Alvord in a letter dated 1895 about
an
experience
in 1852. A Souvenir
of
the
Thousand Islands, p.45.
23. A. Bain and
Co.,
A. Bain and
Company's
St.
Lawrence
Skiffs
(New York:
Jos.
P. Stilwell and
Co., 1888), p.1.
24. On the St. Lawrence, August 3, 1888, p.
1.
The two men
published
their first
catalogue
in
1883,
entitled Illustrated
Catalogue of
St.
Lawrence
Skiffs, Compliments of
Dr. A.
Bain,
Clayton,
New York. The inside cover denotes
the
partnership
as Bain and Colon.
By
the time
the
catalogue
was
published,
Bain had
bought
out Colon's interest and
gave
him the
duty
of
master mechanic.
They
also hired a business
manager,
G. H. Vincent.
The 1883
catalogue
not
only
had sketches of
skiffs,
which had been refined
by
this
time,
but
different
styles,
available
prices
as well as letters
of recommendation from
customers,
who
gave
high praises
for the boats.
25. Bain, 1883, p.3.
26. Letter from his
daughter,
Bertha
Fry
Hall to
Gordon Bennett to Harold Herrick on October
9, 1969.
27. On the St. Law-
rence, July 15, 1891.
28.
Spaulding
St. Law-
rence Boat
Company,
1897
catalogue.
As a
result of the
Spaulding
plant closing
in
1905,
J.G.
Fraser left St.
Lawrence Boat Com-
pany
and formed his
own
company,
The
Fraser Hollow
Spar
Boat
Company.
The
company
was the
former Hollow
Spar
Boat
Company
located
in Boston. His
catalogue "Canoe,
Skiffs and Rowboats"
was
published
around
1905 and carried the
traditional shield of the
St. Lawrence
River,
Skiff,
Canoe and Steam
Launch
Company
but
did not advertise a
specific
skiff.
It is
interesting
to note that soon after World
War
I,
St. Lawrence Boat Works exhibited
several of their small craft at the New York Boat
Show in 1922. (Motor Boat, February 25, 1922,
pp. 14-17.) The Exhibit included St. Lawrence
skiffs,
outboard motor
boats, sailing dinghies,
and canvas canoes. It is not known whether the
firm is a descendent of the
original
firm that
popularized
this craft.
29. St. Lawrence River
Skiff,
Canoe and Steam
Launch Company, 1897, p.
1.
30. Forest and
Stream, April 4, 1889, p.
231.
31. This attitude was also seen when the Can-
adians had
consistently
beaten the United
States' teams when
racing Batwing
skiffs known
as 88's.
(Eighty eight
is the
square footage
of
the
sail,
the boats
being
25 feet
long
and 42 in-
ches wide.) Tired of
losing
the
races, Fry
built
both the America and the
Bertha,
and both
boats raced the Canadian contenders. The
America came in first and the Bertha came in
second,
while the Canadians came in third. In-
terview with Les
Corbin, February 23, 1985.
32. Hamilton
Child, Geographical
Gazetteer
of
Jefferson County, NY, 1684-1890
(Syracuse:
The
Syracuse Journal Company, 1890), p.
247.
33. Thousand Island
Sun, April 30, 1928.
34. D.W.
Fostle,
"Alexandria
Bay
Boat Builders:
Skiff Putts and Gold
Cups,"
Wooden
Boat, Sep-
tember/October 1982, p.
70.
35. The
place
of birth is
disputed.
Fostle states
that he was
born
on Hill
Island,
and two
obituaries state that he was
born
in
Rockport
opposite
from the town in Alexandria
Bay
on
the St. Lawrence River.
36. Fostle,
Part
1, p.71.
37. Interview with Thom
Inglehart,
October
6,
1984.
To
help
its
customers keep fit
in winter a boat
company
catalogue promoted patented rowing
machines.
THE LAFLIN ROWING MACHINE.
PATENTED MAY
13,
1884.

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BuiIding Wooden Boals A Losl CIaplev in Maviline Hislov

AulIov|s) Bonnie J. WiIIinson

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