Ode to the Watermen
March 11, 2019
The Birth of a Skipjack, Part I – The Decline of the Oysters
February 11, 2020
The Dorchester Skipjack Committee built, owns and operates the Skipjack Nathan of Dorchester to serve as a goodwill ambassador for Dorchester county and the Eastern Shore
The Builders
- Nathan was designed by marine architect Harold Ruark and built by volunteers under the direction of master shipwright Robert S “Bobby” Ruark.
- Harold carved the trailboards and eagle and built the pushboat
- Gerry Horney fabricated or restored many of the metal fittings and parts.
- Over 10,000 hours of volunteer labor went into building the Nathan of Dorchester
Some of the people who built the Nathan of Dorchester
Bobby Ruark, Harold Ruark, Melvin Hickman, Granville Hales, Brian Hughes, Gil Yobst, Vic McSorley, Joe Tydings, Ed Cannon, Vernon Hughes, Tom Flowers, Ed Nabb, Dan Cada, Whip Abbey, Ed Connelly, and Jerry Horney.
Specifications
- Length overall : 63 feet
- Length on deck: 45 feet
- Beam: 16 feet
- Draft with board up: 3.5 feet
- Displacement 29 tons
- Cargo weight: 13 tons
- Sail area: 1,875 sq. ft.
- Mast height: 61 feet
Construction
- Mast: 112 year old loblolly pine from Dorchester County
- Boom and keelson: local old growth Loblolly pine
- Frames: local white oak
- Cabin tops: Cedar from the Carolinas
- Wheel and gearbox: from Wilma Lee (1940)
- Rollers and davits: from Susan May (1901)
- Rigging and wooden blocks: from Nelly Byrd (1911)
- Onboard engine: donated by Cummins Chesapeake
- Pushboat engine: donated by Mercruiser
- Major funding from The Nathan Foundation
- The Nathan was built on Cambridge Creek at the Generation III marina between 1992 and 1994
These pictures were taken by Dr. Ed Connelly during the building of the Nathan of Dorchester between 1992 and 1994and donated to the Dorchester Skipjack Committee On September 6, 2012.
