The Martinak Boat

Chesapeake Bay developed a wide range of regional vessel types, from indigenous dugout-based Log Canoes that were enlarged and rigged for sailing, to English-derived forms such as sloops and schooners, and later the skipjack, which appeared as large trees for log construction became scarce. The Martinak Boat, discovered near the mouth of Watt's Creek on the historically active Choptank River, was recovered in parts in 1964 and 1969, and its timbers survived in very good condition because oxygen-free mud and silt prevented decay below the creek bed while exposed wood deteriorated. Recovered without artifacts, cargo, or rigging, the vessel was studied through its construction features, tool marks, fasteners, and later dendrochronology samples from nine timbers, which showed that its wood was felled after 1825 and likely came from the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. The vessel falls within the schooner category and has been identified as a Chesapeake-specific design known as a pungy, or pungy schooner, based on hull features. Because the first recorded use of the term pungy is from 1850, yet this vessel appears to date to about 1825, it may show that pungies were built earlier than previously realized or that it represents a developmental step toward the vessel type later known by that name, making it a unique find.

Maryland · United States