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At the fore end of the sharpie's centerboard case 

 there was an edge-bolted bulkhead of solid white pine, 

 1}^ or 1}^ inches thick, with scuppers cut in the bottom 

 edge. A step about halfway up in this bulkhead gave 

 easy access to the foredeck. In the 1880's that part 

 of the bulkhead above the step was made of vertical 

 staving that curved athwartships, but this feature 

 was later eliminated. In the upper portion of the 

 bulkhead there was often a small rectangular opening 

 for ventilation. 



The decking of the sharpie was made of white pine 

 planks 1% inches thick and 7 to 10 inches wide. The 

 stem was a triangular-sectioned piece of oak meas- 

 uring 6 by 9 inches before it was finished. The side 

 plank ran past the forward edge of the stem and was 

 mitered to form a sharp cutwater. The miter was 

 covered by a brass bar stemband to which was brazed 

 two side plates %2 or % inch thick. This steinband, 

 which was tacked to the side plank, usually measured 

 ji or % inch by 'ji inch and it turned under the stem, 

 running under the bottom for a foot or two. The 

 band also passed over a stemhead and ran to the deck, 

 having been shaped over the head of the stem by 

 heating and molding over a pattern. 



The sharpie's stern was composed of two horizontal 

 oak frames, one at chine and one at sheer; each was 

 about 1 Yi inches thick. The outer faces of these 

 frames were beveled. The planking around the stern 

 on these frames was vertical staving that had been 

 tapered, hollowed, and shaped to fit the flare of the 

 stern. This vertical staving was usually I'X inches 

 thick before it was finished. The raw edges of the 

 deck plank were covered by a false wale ji to % inch 

 thick and 3 or 4 inches deep, and by an oak guard 

 strip that was half-oval in section and tapered toward 

 the ends. Vertical staving was used to carry the wale 

 around the stern. The guard around the stern was 

 usually of stemmed oak. 



The cockpit ran from the bulkhead at the center- 

 board case to within 4 or 5 feet of the stern, where 

 there was a light joiner bulkhead. A low coaming 

 was fitted around the cockpit and a finger rail ran 

 along the sides of the deck. The boat had a small 

 square hatch in the foredeck and two mast holes, one 

 at the stem and one at the forward bulkhead. A tie 

 rod, Ys inch in diameter, passed through the hull 

 athwartships, just forward of the forward bulkhead; 

 the ends of the tie rod were "up-set" or headed over 

 clench rings on the outside of the wale. The hull was 

 usually painted white or gray, and the interior color 

 usually buff or gray. 



PAPER 25: THE MIGRATION OF AN AMERICAN BOAT TYPE 



139 



