Key West Sponge Sloops and 

 smackees, about 1892. (Smithsonian 

 photo ^^ygi-h.) 



Key West Sponge Sloop . Rigged 

 model USNM 762 5 1 . (Sniithsonian 

 photo 4j6oj~g.) 



The model shows an elliptical house and cockpit 

 coaming. Rig was a gaff mainsail and a single jib 

 hanked to a stay. The sloop had a long main boom 

 and bowsprit, the latter well hogged down, and a 

 large sail area, as spongers did not work in heavy 

 weather, and speed rather than seaworthiness was 

 much prized. 



Scale of the model is % inch to the foot, giving a ves- 

 sel about 24 feet 3 inches on deck, 10 feet moulded 

 beam, 2 feet 8 inches moulded depth, and drawing 

 about 2 feet with centerboard raised, the latter being 

 about 7 feet long and 3 feet 6 inches wide, and located 

 in the middle third of the length. 



Given by Lawrence Higgs, Key West, Florida. 



KEY WEST SMACKEE, 1883 

 Builder's Half-Model, usnm 76086 



Jeff Brown 



The leg-of-mutton sloop Jeff Biowri was built from 

 this model at Key West, Florida, in 1883. She was 

 a small-well smack. Sloops of this size and type, 

 locally known as "smackees," ranged in length from 

 17 to 26 feet length and were shoal, keel craft with 

 skegs, most with the rudder hung outboard. Some 



had straight stems, others had small gammon-knee 

 heads and, in general, they resembled the small 

 fishing and sponging sloops of the Bahamas. Most 

 had a flat transom with post and rudder outboard 

 and some had clipper bows or stems rounded in 

 profile 



The Jeff Brown is also represented by a rigged model 

 (usnm 76258) in the Watercraft Collection. 



The half-model, for a fast and seaworthy small 

 boat, shows a shoal, keel-sloop hull having a hand- 

 some sheer, raking curved stem, sharply raking V- 

 or heart-shaped flat transom, with rudder stock pass- 

 ing through its heel, nearh vertical post, straight keel 

 with drag, sharp entrance, and a very long easy run. 

 The midsection shows a sharply rising and slightly 

 hollow floor; the hollow is carried right aft to the 

 transom but disappears forward; an almost constant 

 deadrise is shown in the after sections. Forward the 

 flare is moderate. The keel outside the rabbet is 

 quite deep. 



Scale of the model is 1 inch to the foot, to scale 

 about giving a vessel 25 feet 3!^ inches overall, 24 

 feet 3 inches on deck, 8 feet 5)^ inches moulded 

 beam and 2 feet lOH inches moulded depth. The 

 draft at post would be about 3 feet and about 2 feet 



285 



