Figure 6. — North Carolina sharpie with one reef in moderate gale, about 1885. 

 (Photo courtesy Wirth Munroe.) 



had skegs, as they did in some localities, they were not 

 so sensitive as the New Haven boats. If a sharpie had a 

 skeg, it was possible to use one sail without shifting the 

 mast, but at a great sacrifice in general maneuver- 

 ability 



Kunhardt ^ writing in the mid-1 880's, described the 

 New Haven sharpie as being 33 to 35 feet long, about 

 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet wide on the bottom, and with 

 a depth of about 36 inches at stem, 24 inches amid- 

 ships, and 12 inches at stern. The flare increased 

 rapidly from the bow toward amidships, where it 

 became 3^ inches for every 12 inches of depth. 



° C. P. Kunhardt, Small I'achts: Their Design and Construction, 

 Exemplified by the Ruling Types of Modern Practice, New York, 1886 

 (rev. ed., 1891, pp. 287-298). 



The increase of flare was more gradual toward the 

 stern, where the flare was equal to about 4 inches to 

 the foot. According to Kunhardt, a 35-foot sharpie 

 hull weighed 2,000 to 2,500 pounds and carried about 

 5 short tons in cargo. 



The sharpie usually had its round stern carried out 

 quite thin. If the stern was square, the transom was 

 set at a rake of not less than 45°. Although it cost 

 about $15 more than the transom stern, the round 

 stern was favored because longing from it was easier; 

 also, when the boat was tacked, the round stern did 

 not foul the main sheet and was also less likely to ship 

 a sea than was the square stern. Kunhardt remarks 

 that sharpies lay quiet when anchored by the stern, 

 making the ground tackle easier to handle. 



PAPER 25: THE MIGRATIONS OF AN AMERICAN BOAT TYPE 

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141 



