Building a Schooner in Essex

Essex is a small town on a river near the sea. Long ago, Essex had another name. It was called Chebacco. The people of Essex were shipbuilders. A shipbuilder is a person who builds boats and ships. For a very long time, building boats was the main job in Essex. (Stop) What is a shipbuilder? There is an old story about one of the first boats built in Chebacco. People said it was built up in an attic. When it was done, it was taken out through a window. Then cattle pulled it to the water. (Stop) Why do you think it was hard to get the boat out of the house? What did the shipbuilders use? Wood! Oak trees grew all around the town. The builders cut oak trees and used the strong oak wood for the bottom and sides of their boats. They used a lighter wood called pine to make the floors, called decks. (Stop) Why do you think the builders used wood? Essex builders were famous for one kind of boat called a schooner. A schooner has two or more tall poles for sails, called masts. The Essex schooners were sharp, low and fast. Fishermen from the nearby city of Gloucester wanted fast boats. Many of the Gloucester fishing schooners were built in Essex. The river in Essex is not very big. So the builders made boats that were not too big. That way the boats could float down the river and out to the sea. (Stop) What would happen if they built a boat that was too big for the river?

"Nearly all the clipper fishing schooners of Gloucester are built at Essex, and trading vessels and pleasure boats, as well as fishing craft, have been produced there in goodly numbers." (page 108) "Vessels are still framed and planked with oak, maple being used for the keels." (page 108) "The decks and houses are of white pine." (page 108)