F.D. Crockett Restoration

History

In 1924, sailing schooners and skipjacks would have still been working the waters around Deltaville, carrying the produce of the Chesapeake Bay and the farmlands that bordered its shores. But the gasoline engine was changing the way oysters, crabs and watermelon were transported. In Seaford, Virginia, Alexander Gaines, with the assistance of John Franklin Smith of Dare, was building a boat that incorporated several centuries of knowledge and tradition with the newest technology of the time. The 62 foot nine-log bottom buyboat, the F.D. Crockett, now being restored by the Deltaville Maritime Museum, combines a craft adapted by European settlers from the Native American log canoe with the then-cutting-edge internal combustion engine. Its construction marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.

Built for Ferdinand Desota Crockett of Seaford, the Crockett is one of only two large log deck boats still in existence built specifically for power, and was one of the last large log boats ever built on the bay. The last flurry of log boat building came about because the low sides of the log boats made it easier for men working in the burgeoning oyster and crab dredge fisheries to haul the dredge full of oysters and crabs up onto the decks. Because of this, demand for large log canoes continued into the 1920s. By then, deadrise, plank construction had pretty much evolved. As electricity and powered sawmills became more available, as occurred in the area around Deltaville, frame built boats (such as the museum's other buyboat, the Iva W, and smaller vessels such as the Deltaville deadrise) replaced the log boats that had once been common.

Restoration

The F.D. Crockett was donated to the museum in 2005 by a descendant of one of the builders. It is presently being restored using a combination of time-honored methods, traditional materials, and innovative techniques that should keep it alive for another century. A replica of the original pilot house has been constructed using the exact dimensions and original windows and doors. While it is presently showcased on the grounds of the museum-park, the Crockett pilot house traveled to Washington DC in 2007 for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, where it was admired by Vietnamese log boat-builders who still use tools similar to those which sculpted the original log bottom of the F.D. Crockett.
A group of dedicated volunteers, guided by John England, have built new frames and deck timbers, reconstructed the bow, and are working on the stern. Because the Crockett was used continually as a work boat from its construction until 1996, when it was converted to a pleasure craft, the huge logs that make up its bottom are still in sound condition.

Many of the original fittings are available to be used in the restoration, donated by former owners and historical collectors.

Visit the Crockett

Visitors can observe the restoration of the F.D. Crockett at the museum docks during the warmer months. During the winter, when the boat can be hauled without fear of drying out its logs, it can be found at Chesapeake Marine Railway in Deltaville. Progress is on-going. The day will come when this symbol of the bay's glory days will again travel from port to port, spreading the stories of the maritime heritage of the Chesapeake.

How to Help: Fundraising for the Restoration of the F.D. Crockett

Donations are urgently needed to support the work of restoring this historic vessel. Corporate and individual sponsors are welcomed. The opportunities to contribute include the following donation levels and sponsor gifts:

• $500 - A framed rendering of the F.D. Crockett
• $2,500 - A carved replica of the F.D. Crockett's name board
• $5,000 - A hand-carved builder's half model of the F.D. Crockett

Prints of a watercolor of the Crockett by artist Anne Smith are available for purchase at the museum gift shop. We appreciate any contribution to help put this log buyboat back on the bay.

All donations directly benefit the restoration of the F.D. Crockett