Figure i8. — Deck of a North Carolina sharpie schooner under sail showing 

 pump box near rail and portion of afterhouse. 



tions. This was important because oyster dredging 

 could be carried on in rough weather when tonging 

 would be impractical. Like the Maryland terrapin 

 smack, the Carolina sharpie schooner adhered closely 

 to New Haven principles of design and construction. 

 However, Carolina sharpie schooners were larger than 

 terrapin smacks, having an over-all length of from 40 

 to 52 feet. These schooners remained in use well into 

 the 20th century and, in fact, did not go out of use 

 entirely until about 1938. In the 1920's and 1930's 

 many such boats were converted to yachts. They 

 were fast under sail and very stiff, and with auxiliary 

 engines they were equally as fast and required a 



relatively sm.all amount of power. Large Carolina 

 sharpie schooners often m_ade long coasting voyages, 

 such as between New York and the AVest Lidies. 



Sharpies in Other Areas 



The Carolina Sounds area was the last place in 

 which the sharpie was extensively employed. How- 

 ever, in 1876 the sharpie was introduced into Florida 

 by the late R. M. Munroe when he took to Biscayne 

 Bay a sharpie yacht that had been built for him by 

 Brown of Tottenville, Staten Island. Afterwards 

 various types of modified sharpies were introduced in 

 Florida. On the Gulf Coast at Tampa two-masted 



PAPER 25: THE MIGRATIONS OF AN AMERICAN BOAT TYPE 



151 



