22 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



12. MACKINAW BOAT. 



A type of sharp- sterued, and commonly schooner-rigged, boat is 

 employed in the fisheries of the Great Lakes to a considerable extent, 

 and this has received the distinctive name of " Mackinaw boat." It 

 derives its typical name from the island and strait of Mackinaw, where 

 it was first employed, and though, in recent years, it has been adopted 

 in the lake fisheries over a much wider region, the name of the locality 

 where it originated has always been applied to it. In its general fea- 

 tures it is closely allied to the " pinkie " boats of the Atlantic coast, 

 though differing in detail ; it most nearly, perhaps, resembles the sharp- 

 sterned small craft on the coast of Maine. 



It is an open boat, generally provided with center-board, has sharp 

 ends, the bow being much fuller than the stern, which is remarkably 

 fine, while the midship section is round and sometimes is bulging." 

 Some of the boats are carvel-built, while others are lap-streaked, and 

 they have a strong sheer. The prevailing rig is that of a schooner, 

 with jib, loose-footed gaff-foresail, and boom and gaff-mainsail, but 

 sometimes a lug-sail is carried, and a sloop rig is in favor in some local- 

 ities. Those employed at Escanaba, in Green Bay, Michigan, have a 

 schooner rig, with three sails, but from Peshtigo River to Cedar Eiver, 

 south of Escanaba, small sloops similar to, but not true, mackinawsare 

 used. 



Milner, 1 writing of the mackinaw boat, says : 



"She is either schooner rig or with lug-sail forward, is fairly fast, the 

 the greatest surf-boat known, and with an experienced boatman will 

 ride out any storm, or, if necessary, beach with greater safety than any 

 other boat. She is comparatively dry, and her sharp stern prevents 

 the shipment of water aft when running with the sea. They have been 

 longer and more extensively used on the upper lakes than any other 

 boat, and with less loss of life or accident. The objection to the more 

 general use of the mackinaw is that her narrowness aft affords too little 

 room for storage. They are employed entirely with the light-rig gill- 

 net stocks, and are usually from 22 to 26 feet in length. Lake Superior, 

 the northern half of Lake Michigan, and a large portion of Lake Huron 

 are the regions where they are in general use." 



Mr. R. E. Earll has furnished the measurements and other details of 

 the boat Jennie Gilbert, of Escanaba, Michigan. This boat is carvel- 

 built, with a shallow keel (about 4 inches deep) and center-board. Like 

 all of her class, she has a sharp bow and stern, the greatest beam nearly 

 amidships. The bow is rather full and convex above water, particu- 

 larly at the gunwale, but is much sharper below ; the sides well rounded 

 and " almost bulging in the middle," while the stern and run taper 

 gracefully, the after section having remarkably easy lines. The stem 



1 James W. Milner, Report U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries for 1872 and 

 1873, part II, p. 13. 



