Nellie Crockett (Buy-Boat)
Encyclopedia
The Nellie Crockett is a Chesapeake Bay
oyster buy-boat built for Andrew A. Crockett of Tangier, Virginia
, in 1925. She is located at Georgetown, Maryland
, USA, on the Sassafras River
.. She was designated a National Historic Landmark
in 1994.
The Nellie Crockett was built specifically to operate as a buy-boat, making the rounds of the Chesapeake Bay oyster beds to buy oysters directly from the harvesters, typically sail-powered skipjacks or oyster tongers. This allowed the oyster dredges to remain on the beds, avoiding the need to return to port when full. Buy-boats typically gave a lower price than a dockside sale, but most oystermen considered this a fair trade for not losing time on a run back to the dock.
.
Power is presently provided by a Detroit Diesel
871, dating to 1971 or 1972, fueled from two 150 gallons (567.8 l) boilerplate steel tanks. A 90 gallons (340.7 l) water tank is also fitted.
The center of the deck is dominated by a large hold opening, 25 feet (7.6 m) by 13.5 feet (4.1 m), surrounded by a coaming
. The 12 inches (30.5 cm) mast lies just ahead of the hatch, rising 41 feet (12.5 m). A 1956 quarter and a 1951 nickel were found under the mast, indicating that it was replaced or re-stepped in the 1950s, with a traditional coin placed underneath at the time. The mast has two cargo-handling booms attached at its base. The foc'sle hatch is forward of the mainmast, measuring 4.6 feet (1.4 m) long and 3..2 ft wide. A low railing runs from the foc'sle hatch to the stern, with two rails, one above the other.
The pilot house is rectangular with a rounded front, 20.42 feet (6.2 m) long and 8.42 feet (2.6 m) wide. It is covered with vertical tongue and groove sheathing. The pilot house is divided into three compartments, each formerly divided from the others by doors, now missing. The wheel room occupies the front compartment, housing the rope-and-pulley-operated wheel, with five windows on the front, two on either side, and doors on either side. A heater stands at the rear. A flush deck hatch gives access to the engine compartment. The next compartment behind the wheel room , and a little lower, is the bunk room, 6.5 feet (2 m) long, with three bunks on the port side and a shower on the starboard side, replacing the original head. There is a porthole for the upper bunk. Behind the bunkroom lies the kitchen, 4 feet (1.2 m) long, with a window on each side and a door aft. At the fore, in the foc'sle compartment, two more bunks are provided.
The Crockett is substantially the same as she was built. Apart from the installation of a radar
unit two deck manholes were added, a bulhead was removed in the engine room, and a stove may have been removed from the foc'sle. The hold was not used during the Ward family's tenure, as it was considered too smelly. Oysters were stored on deck in baskets, as many as 2200 bushels at a time, with ten to twelve tons of granite ballast below.
for Andrew A. "Shad" Crockett of Tangier, Virginia
. She was named for one of Crockett's daughters. Until 1942 she was operated by Crockett, carrying oysters in season and produce and lumber in the off season. In 1942 she was purchased by the U.S. War Shipping Administration
for $6,000 as a fireboat in ports along the Chesapeake. Designated CG-65015F, she served until 1945, when Crockett bought her back for $10. Crockett sold a half share in Crockett to William Smith and a quarter share to Charles M. Crockett for a total of $750 in 1946. Her original 45hp engine was replaced with a 60hp engine. On Christmas Eve 1947, Priscilla Crocket was given Andrew Crockett's share for one dollar. She was sold in 1950 to Gus Forbush, who changed the engine to a 165hp model. She was then sold to Gilbert Ashley, who moved her to Baltimore, but then sold her in 1952 to J. Harry Porter and Harry B. Porter of Baltimore, who moved her back to Crisfield. In 1957, the Porters sold her to James H. Ward, Sr. and William H. Ward of Reedville, Virginia
. William sold his share to James in 1966. James Ward operated Crockett as a buy-boat until his death in 1986. Family members continued to operate her until 1990. She was then bought by Theodore L. Parish of Georgetown.
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
oyster buy-boat built for Andrew A. Crockett of Tangier, Virginia
Tangier, Virginia
Tangier is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States, on Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 727 at the 2010 census. The tiny island community has attracted the attention of linguists because its people speak a unique English Restoration era dialect of American English...
, in 1925. She is located at Georgetown, Maryland
Georgetown, Maryland
Georgetown is an unincorporated community in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The former Georgetown located in Montgomery County, Maryland, was incorporated into the District of Columbia when it was created in 1790.-References:...
, USA, on the Sassafras River
Sassafras River
The Sassafras River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula in the United States. It is about long and starts in western New Castle County, Delaware, and along the boundary between Cecil County, Maryland on the north and Kent County, Maryland on the south...
.. She was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1994.
The Nellie Crockett was built specifically to operate as a buy-boat, making the rounds of the Chesapeake Bay oyster beds to buy oysters directly from the harvesters, typically sail-powered skipjacks or oyster tongers. This allowed the oyster dredges to remain on the beds, avoiding the need to return to port when full. Buy-boats typically gave a lower price than a dockside sale, but most oystermen considered this a fair trade for not losing time on a run back to the dock.
Description
The Nellie Crockett is a wooden plank-on-frame freightboat, documented measuring 61.6 feet (18.8 m) long, 20.33 feet (6.2 m) on the beam and 6.42 feet (2 m) in draft. She measures 52 tons gross and 35 tons net. Her wide beam and moderate draft were useful in her business of buying, loading and transporting oysters in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The hull is built using wood frames made from the natural crooks of tree limbs and roots. It is planked with 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) pine. The deck planking is laid fore-and-aft over deck beams on hanging knees. A partially watertight bulkhead is located in the forecastleForecastle
Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
.
Power is presently provided by a Detroit Diesel
Detroit Diesel
As a corporation, Daimler Trucks North America has decided to rename the company "DETROIT".Detroit Diesel Corporation is an American-based diesel engine producer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, USA...
871, dating to 1971 or 1972, fueled from two 150 gallons (567.8 l) boilerplate steel tanks. A 90 gallons (340.7 l) water tank is also fitted.
The center of the deck is dominated by a large hold opening, 25 feet (7.6 m) by 13.5 feet (4.1 m), surrounded by a coaming
Coaming
Coaming is any vertical surface on a ship designed to deflect or prevent entry of water. It usually refers to raised section of deck plating around an opening, such as a hatch...
. The 12 inches (30.5 cm) mast lies just ahead of the hatch, rising 41 feet (12.5 m). A 1956 quarter and a 1951 nickel were found under the mast, indicating that it was replaced or re-stepped in the 1950s, with a traditional coin placed underneath at the time. The mast has two cargo-handling booms attached at its base. The foc'sle hatch is forward of the mainmast, measuring 4.6 feet (1.4 m) long and 3..2 ft wide. A low railing runs from the foc'sle hatch to the stern, with two rails, one above the other.
The pilot house is rectangular with a rounded front, 20.42 feet (6.2 m) long and 8.42 feet (2.6 m) wide. It is covered with vertical tongue and groove sheathing. The pilot house is divided into three compartments, each formerly divided from the others by doors, now missing. The wheel room occupies the front compartment, housing the rope-and-pulley-operated wheel, with five windows on the front, two on either side, and doors on either side. A heater stands at the rear. A flush deck hatch gives access to the engine compartment. The next compartment behind the wheel room , and a little lower, is the bunk room, 6.5 feet (2 m) long, with three bunks on the port side and a shower on the starboard side, replacing the original head. There is a porthole for the upper bunk. Behind the bunkroom lies the kitchen, 4 feet (1.2 m) long, with a window on each side and a door aft. At the fore, in the foc'sle compartment, two more bunks are provided.
The Crockett is substantially the same as she was built. Apart from the installation of a radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
unit two deck manholes were added, a bulhead was removed in the engine room, and a stove may have been removed from the foc'sle. The hold was not used during the Ward family's tenure, as it was considered too smelly. Oysters were stored on deck in baskets, as many as 2200 bushels at a time, with ten to twelve tons of granite ballast below.
History
The Nellie Crockett was built in 1925 by Charles A. Dana at Crisfield, MarylandCrisfield, Maryland
Crisfield is a city in Somerset County, Maryland, United States, located on the Tangier Sound, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 2,723 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area...
for Andrew A. "Shad" Crockett of Tangier, Virginia
Tangier, Virginia
Tangier is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States, on Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 727 at the 2010 census. The tiny island community has attracted the attention of linguists because its people speak a unique English Restoration era dialect of American English...
. She was named for one of Crockett's daughters. Until 1942 she was operated by Crockett, carrying oysters in season and produce and lumber in the off season. In 1942 she was purchased by the U.S. War Shipping Administration
War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
for $6,000 as a fireboat in ports along the Chesapeake. Designated CG-65015F, she served until 1945, when Crockett bought her back for $10. Crockett sold a half share in Crockett to William Smith and a quarter share to Charles M. Crockett for a total of $750 in 1946. Her original 45hp engine was replaced with a 60hp engine. On Christmas Eve 1947, Priscilla Crocket was given Andrew Crockett's share for one dollar. She was sold in 1950 to Gus Forbush, who changed the engine to a 165hp model. She was then sold to Gilbert Ashley, who moved her to Baltimore, but then sold her in 1952 to J. Harry Porter and Harry B. Porter of Baltimore, who moved her back to Crisfield. In 1957, the Porters sold her to James H. Ward, Sr. and William H. Ward of Reedville, Virginia
Reedville, Virginia
Reedville is an unincorporated town in Northumberland County in the Northern Neck region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located at the eastern terminus of U.S...
. William sold his share to James in 1966. James Ward operated Crockett as a buy-boat until his death in 1986. Family members continued to operate her until 1990. She was then bought by Theodore L. Parish of Georgetown.
See also
- William B. TennisonWilliam B. Tennison (bugeye)The William B. Tennison is a Chesapeake Bay bugeye built in 1899 and converted to an oyster buy-boat in 1906-07. With the conversion her sail rig was removed and an engine inserted, and is the only surviving example of this conversion. Her construction marks a transition between log construction...
, a former bugeyeBugeyeThe bugeye is a type of sailboat developed in the Chesapeake Bay for oyster dredging. The predecessor of the skipjack, it was superseded by the latter as oyster harvests dropped.- Origins :...
converted to a buy-boat, now also a National Historic Landmark
External links
- NELLIE CROCKETT (oyster buy-boat), Kent County, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust
- Chesapeake Bay Buy Boats .com website