Skipjack History
In the late 1800's and early 1900's, skipjacks were familiar sights in every port on the Chesapeake Bay. The captains and crews were hardy souls who earned a living in the harsh conditions of wintertime dredging for oysters under sail.
Like many other native Chesapeake Bay craft, the skipjack was constructed with a specific purpose in mind. The vessels were built with a broad beam, a flat or V-shaped bottom, and small draft for dredging in the shallows. These boats could be run by a small crew due to the unique sail plan. Typically, a skipjack has one self-tending jib and a large, triangular mainsail. This combination made sail handling easier than it would be on a gaff rigged boat and provided the power needed to drive the vessel along the oyster beds.
There is much debate about how the term "skipjack" originated. Some believe that it may have been derived from the New England fisherman's name for the flying fish, bonita. In some parts of the Chesapeake, these vessels are also known as "bateaux".
Due to the great number of vessels engaged in the oyster trade during the late 1800's, the state of Maryland passed a law in 1865 which forbade oyster dredging by powered vessels. For almost 100 years, Maryland skipjacks used only sail power for fishing. However, most skipjacks had a small "push boat" to get them out to the fishing grounds faster. The push boat's bow would be positioned against the skipjack's stern and its powerful engine would move the skipjack quickly through the water. Once out at the fishing grounds, the push boat would be lifted up out of the water on the skipjack's stern davits until it was time to power back into port. In 1966 Maryland revised the law to allow skipjacks to dredge under power two days per week.
In 1884, the Maryland oyster harvest reached an all-time peak at 15 million bushels. At that time, there were more than 1000 skipacks fishing in the Bay. Today, the remaining skipjacks number less than 30.