The Dee of St. Mary's is a Chesapeake skipjack with a shallow draft for working near shorelines and a wide bottom for stability, built mostly of white oak and spruce pine. She is 56 feet long on deck and 20 feet abeam, carries approximately 2700 square feet of sail, draws 47 inches aft with the centerboard up and 12 inches at the bow, has a centerboard 13 feet long and 4 feet 7 inches tall, a mast 76 feet tall, a boom 56 feet long, a bow sprit 20 feet long, and a 225 horsepower John Deere motor with a 1.75-inch shaft and 26×21 four blade prop. Jack Russell commissioned the vessel, and Francis Goddard built her in 1979 at Piney Point, Maryland. Originally used in the commercial oyster fishery, she dredged for 10 seasons. As oyster populations dwindled, Captain Russell shifted the Dee from commercial work to educational use under Chesapeake Bay Field Lab, and she has served as a floating classroom since 1989. A major restoration from 2010 to 2012 was funded largely by grants from the Maryland Heritage Areas fund. Ownership passed to the Calvert Marine Museum in May 2013, and her educational mission continued there. From May through October, she sails on two-hour public trips from the museum dock in Solomons, Maryland, while private charters and educational sails on the Patuxent River are also offered.