Sharpie Schooner

First published July 15, 2020

This is a model of the sharpie schooner that I constructed. It is a classic two-masted sailing vessel of the sort that plied the Atlantic coast in the mid-seventeen and eighteen hundreds. This model is an example of the “terrapin schooner” used along the Florida and Gulf coast for turtle fishing. (Figure 1) A schooner is characterized by two or more masts with the foremast, usually, shorter than the mainmast. The number of masts can range up to seven and the arrangement of sails is varied. In addition to its large mainsails, it may have one or more square-top sails, rigged to the foremast, or one or more jib sails extending forward from the foremast to the jibboom (bowsprit). The panoply of schooner sail arrangement is remarkable and picturesque.

Figure 1. Profile view sharpie schooner

In boat design, a sharp change in angle in the cross section of the hull is referred to as chine. (Figure 2) Image “A” is an s-shaped hull, which runs smooth to the keel. “B” is a hard chine and “C” is a bit softer chine. The most extreme chine is the hull of the scow or barge in which the sides are set at ninety degree angles from the flat bottom, designed for maximizing cargo space. The sharpie schooner is a hard-chinned boat in that its hull has sharp edges, not curved, and it has a flat bottom with a shallow draft, shallow rudder and center board. (Figure 1)

Figure 2. Diagram of chine. 

Ships that fit the description of schooners are evident in the work of Dutch painter in the 1600’s. The term “schooner” is thought to derive from a Scottish word meaning “to skip over water”. The first schooner built in British North America was in the early 1700’s at Gloucester, Massachusetts Bay Colony. They also were used, later, in the Connecticut area of Long Island Sound (New Haven sharpie) and became common fishing boats, also used for oystering. A sloop is a boat with one mast with one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of the mast and can be sailed by one person.

  Figure 3. Deck View Sharpie Schooner

A schooner with at least two masts requires at least a two person crew, as in this example. (Figure 3) The schooner spread to other regions, including Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic coast of the Carolinas and Florida, wherever shallow waters made deep draft vessels less adaptable. Ships with square rigged sails were better designed for ocean travel, capturing the force of the trade winds. They, however, were not suited to coastal waters where the winds were less predictable, the water often shallow and ease of maneuverability was important. The schooner was particularly adept at tacking upwind. The schooner became invaluable for coastal trade and fishing in North America, as far north as New Foundland, seeking the abundant and varied fish of the Grand Banks. European ship builders began building their own versions in the early 1800’s. Eventually the “fore-and-afters”, as the schooner was dubbed, rose to importance in commerce in many places. The schooner was a mainstay of commercial fishing and trade along the Atlantic coast of the American colonies, the confederated states (briefly) and, then, the United States through the 18th and 19th century. The old three-masted, square rigged, merchant ships and the schooner were eventually married into the clipper ships providing speed for trade between Asia (the China trade) and North America. The schooner’s dominance among sailing craft faded in the late 19th century, giving way to other designs.

Written May 2020