The Chesapeake Bay deadrise is a type of work boat used in the Chesapeake Bay. Watermen use these boats year round for everything from crabbing and oystering to catching fish or eels. Traditionally wooden hulled, the deadrise is characterised by a sharp, curved bow that quickly becomes a flat V shape as you move aft along the bottom of the hull. There is a small cabin structure forward and a large open cockpit and work area aft.
The deadrise design was developed around the 1880s. "Deadrise" refers to the line rising upward horizontally from the keel rabbet (the point where the top of the keel connects to the hull) to the chine (or sideboards). It rises on each side of the keel in a straight line, or "dead rise," creating the flat V shape of the bottom of the hull. A V-bottom is easier to build than a round bottom. It also has a shallow draft of two to three feet, making it ideal for the shallows of the Bay as well as being very forgiving when the Bay turns rough. The average deadrise workboat is 35 feet (11 m) to 45 feet (14 m) long with a beam of nine to twelve feet. The deadrise can use almost any engine, from an Olds 455 to a John Deere 6-cylinder, but diesel engines are preferred over regular gasoline because of their reliability.
The deadrise workboat is used by most watermen on the Chesapeake Bay. The deadrise accommodates the heavy, bulky equipment used for a variety of tasks. A culling board, and tongs or dredge are used in oystering in the winter months. Crab pots, bushel baskets, and trash cans are used during the summer crabbing season. Nets, stakes, and net tubes are used in setting gill nets year-round. The deadrise's size and capacity allow the waterman to travel farther across the Bay and carry more seafood back to market.
The deadrise has also become popular with pleasure boaters. These heavy-duty boats withstand long days of fishing and can carry large groups. The romance of the watermen's profession and nostalgia for the traditions of the Chesapeake Bay have created a market for these workhorses of the water.
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Fleets of deadrises were a common sight in the late 1800s along the Chesapeake Bay. Sometimes more than three hundred boats would be moored together at one landing. These fleets would leave early in the morning for oyster beds or crab pots and return late in the evening.
The Chesapeake Bay Deadrise is the official boat of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
References
- "Deadrise". Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network. http://www.baygateways.net/bayworkboats.cfm?id=8. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- "The Development of the Deadrise Workboat". The Mariners' Museum. http://www.mariner.org/chesapeakebay/waterman/wat006.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- "Congressman Tom Davis: Virginia Facts (Indicates status as official boat of Virginia)". US House of Representatives. http://tomdavis.house.gov/davis_contents/virginia/. Retrieved on 2008-06-20.
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