il without shifting the
mast, but at a great sacrifice in general maneuverability.

[Illustration: FIGURE 6.--North Carolina sharpie with one reef in
moderate gale, about 1885. (Photo courtesy Wirth Munroe.)]

Kunhardt[5] writing in the mid-1880's, described the New Haven sharpie
as being 33 to 35 feet long, about 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet wide on the
bottom, and with a depth of about 36 inches at stem, 24 inches
amidships, and 12 inches at stern. The flare increased rapidly from the
bow toward amidships, where it became 3-1/2 inches for every 12 inches
of depth. The increase of flare was more gradual toward the stern, where
the flare was equal to about 4 inches to the foot. According to
Kunhardt, a 35-foot sharpie hull weighed 2,000 to 2,500 pounds and
carried about 5 short tons in cargo.

[5] C. P. Kunhardt, _Small Yachts: Their Design and Construction,
Exemplified by the Ruling Types of Modern Practice_, New York, 1886
(rev. ed., 1891, pp. 287-298).

The sharpie usually had its round stern carried out quite thin. If the
stern was square, the transom was set at a rake of not less than 45 deg..
Although it cost about $15 more than the transom stern, the round stern
was favored because tonging from it was easier; also, when the boat was
tacked, the round stern did not foul the main sheet and was also less
likely to ship a sea than was the square stern. Kunhardt remarks that
sharpies lay quiet when anchored by the stern, making the ground tackle
easier to handle.

[Illustration: FIGURE 7.--Plan of a Chesapeake Bay terrapin smack based
on sketches and dimensions given by C. P. Kunhardt in _Small Yachts:
Their Design and Construction, Exemplified by the Ruling Types of Modern
Practice_, New York, 1886.]

[Illustration: FIGURE 8.--Plan of North Carolina sharpie schooner taken
from remains of boat.]

[Illustration: FIGURE 9.--Plan of North Carolina sharpie of the
1880's.]

The cost of the New Haven sharpie was very low. Hall stated that in
1880-1882 oyster sharpies could be built for as little as $200, and that
large sharpies, 40 feet long, cost less than $400.[6] In 1886 a sharpie
with a capacity for 150 to 175 bushels of oysters cost about $250,
including spars and sails.[7] In 1880 it was not uncommon to see nearly
200 sharpies longside the wharves at Fairhaven, Connecticut, at
nightfall.

[6] Hall, _op. cit._ (footnote 3), pp. 30, 32.

[7] Kunhardt, _op. cit._ (footnote 5), pp. 225, 295.

The speed of the