CATALOGUE OF THE WATERCKAFT COLLECTION. 29 



simply a large, sliarp-stemed, schooner-rigged canoe, and originally 

 Tvas siibstantiall}' a dugout, being made of a number of logs tree- 

 nailed together, which were shaped to the requisite form, both inside 

 and out. More recently, however, the bugeye is regularly built, like 

 any other vessel of its size. ^^Hiile some vessels of this type have an 

 ordinar}' boom and gaff schooner rig, a two-masted leg-of-mutton rig 

 is most in favor. This is most remarkable because of the excessively 

 strong rake of the masts and the fact that the foremast is much 

 longer than the mainmast, while the latter stands comparatively 

 close to the stern. The bugeye usually has very fine lines, and is a 

 swift sailer, close hauled, though it is at a disadvantage in running 

 free, especially in light winds, since the strong rake of its masts pre- 

 vents the sails from doing such effective work as they might other- 

 wise do. With a more modern rig the Chesapeake bugeye would be 

 among the swiftest vessels of its size engaged in the fisheries. 



The whale ship, which has now disappeared from the seas, had 

 certain peculiarities not ordinarily found in vessels designed for 

 the merchant service. An important feature in a whaler was to 

 build her so that she would be what is termed an " easy cutting-in 

 ship." Consequently the average whaler was somewhat narrower, 

 rather sharper on the floor, and had an easier bilge than vessels de- 

 signed for the merchant service alone. It is also true that speed in 

 the whale ship was a highly requisite quality ; consequently many of 

 the vessels built for this industry, even in the thirties, had fine, easy 

 lines under water and were excellent sailers, though their full, round 

 bows at the rail line and heavy, square sterns had no suggestion of 

 speed to the casual observer. "NAHiale ships are proverbially long 

 lived, unless wrecked or destroyed by ice, and because of this and 

 the continued employment of ships of venerable years some have 

 accepted the fallacy that vessels of this class were awkward tubs, 

 only fit to drift slowl}- about the ocean. However, comparatively late 

 additions to the fleet were clipper A^essels of the most pronounced 

 type, and one of the models in the collections is that of a whale ship 

 which could not be overtaken by a Confederate steam cruiser until 

 I he wind failed her. 



The collection of rigged models represents the most important 

 types of fishing vessels employed in the United States, as Avell as 

 many others which are historically interesting from having been 

 used in earlier periods, and which serve to trace the development of 

 naval architecture as applied to the fisheries in America. 



A series of sketches, line drawings, photographs, and paintings 

 illustrate the construction, rig, and general appearance of the vessels, 

 more especially the fishing schooners of past and present periods; 

 these are represented under varying conditions of wind, weather, and 

 surroundings. 



