Skipjacks
CBMM Boats | Public Programs | Skipjacks
Boat Yard Staff | Shipwright Apprentices

Currently, restoration work for the skipjack fleet is on hold due to the construction on our Marine Railway. The railway is scheduled to be operational this spring, at which time CBMM will concentrate on the deferred maintenance of our floating fleet of Bay boats. Please check back for news and updates concerning skipjack restoration.

Background
As part of their on-the-job training in the Historic Vessel Preservation Program, our apprentices have had the opportunity to help the Bay's historic skipjacks, the last remaining commercial sailing fishing fleet in the United States. In 2002 the Bay's skipjacks were on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places"-a designation that garnered substantial attention for the Museum's efforts to restore the fleet.

While preserving these vessels is important, the Museum is also recording and documenting the fascinating oral histories that relate the experiences of the skipjacks' captains and crews, as well as their families and the watermen's communities around the Bay. Our visitors, therefore, are exposed to a truly unique experience of observing our apprentices actually restoring historic Bay work boats. And while doing all this, we are also helping to perpetuate the Bay's wooden boatbuilding tradition and the culture of "the working waterfront."

This spontaneous exchange of skills and stories serves as a model for museums engaging communities. Our efforts are local, but the impact of our accomplishments provides a clear and powerful model for other maritime heritage organizations throughout the world.

Project History
Once numbering in the hundreds, in 2002 only about a dozen skipjacks were commercially licensed to dredge for oysters. Since the program began in 2001, the following skipjacks have received repairs:

City of Crisfield
Built in Reedville, Virginia in 1949
Captain Arthur Daniels, Jr.
Deal Island, Maryland

Fannie L. Daugherty
Built in Crisfield, Maryland in 1904
Captain Delmas Benton
Deal Island, Maryland

H. M. Krentz
Built in Harryhogan, Virginia in 1955
Captain Edward Farley
Tilghman Island, Maryland

Kathryn
Built in Crisfield, Maryland in 1901
Captain Russell Dize
Tilghman Island, Maryland

Lady Katie
Built in Wingate, Maryland in 1956
Captain Scott Todd
Cambridge, Maryland

Nellie L. Byrd
Built in Oriole, Maryland in 1911
Captain Michael Hayden, Jr.
Tilghman Island, Maryland

Rebecca T. Ruark
Built in Taylors Island, Maryland in 1886
Captain Wade Murphy, Jr.
Tilghman Island, Maryland

Somerset
Built in Reedville, Virginia in 1949
Captain Walt Benton
Deal Island, MD

Thomas Clyde
Built in Oriole, Maryland in 1911
Captain Lawrence Murphy
Tilghman Island, Maryland

HOME | ABOUT US | WHAT TO SEE & DO | VISITOR INFO | EDUCATION & OUTREACH
MEMBERS & SUPPORTERS| NEWS & MEDIA | Copyright 2003, The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.