Surrounded by wood shavings and the sound of sanding in the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum boat shop in Northumberland County, Egbert Dees and Pete Kauneckas were taking measurements of the angle and length of the driveshaft descending from the boat’s motor. The Spat II is what Chesapeake Bay waterman call a pushboat or yawl boat. It’s basically a floating motor that can be used to power the wind-powered skipjacks that have dredged oysters on the estuary for generations. The boat shop volunteers are replicating a boat called Spat I, which for more than 20 years has powered or been hauled up on davits at the rear of the skipjack called the Claude W. Somers. >click to read< 09:41
Reedville Fishermen’s Museum volunteers recreate Chesapeake Bay pushboat
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