feet to 3 feet 6
inches in beam. They were built to float on about 3 or 4 inches of
water. The bottoms of these canoes were about 3 inches thick, giving a
low center of gravity and the power to carry sail in a breeze. The
canoes were rigged with one or two pole masts with leg-of-mutton sails
stepped in thwarts. A single leeboard was fitted and secured to the hull
with a short piece of line made fast to the centerline of the boat. With
this arrangement the leeboard could be raised and lowered and also
shifted to the lee side on each tack. This took the strain off the sides
of the canoe that would have been created by the usual leeboard
fitting.[3] Construction of such canoes ceased in the 1870's, but some
remained in use into the present century.

The first New Haven sharpies were 28 to 30 feet long--about the same
length as most of the log canoes. Although the early sharpie probably
resembled the flatiron skiff in her hull shape, she was primarily a
sailing boat rather than a rowing or combination rowing-sailing craft.
The New Haven sharpie's development[4] was rapid, and by 1880 her
ultimate form had been taken as to shape of hull, rig, construction
fittings, and size. Some changes were made afterwards, but they were in
minor details, such as finish and small fittings.

[3] Henry Hall, Special Agent, 10th U.S. Census, _Report on the
Shipbuilding Industry of the United States_, Washington, 1880-1885, pp.
29-32.

[4] Howard I. Chapelle, _American Small Sailing Craft_, New York, 1951,
pp. 100-133, figs. 38-48.

The New Haven sharpie was built in two sizes for the oyster fishery. One
carried 75 to 100 bushels of oysters and was 26 to 28 feet in length;
the other carried 150 to 175 bushels and was 35 to 36 feet in length.
The smaller sharpie was usually rigged with a single mast and sail,
though some small boats were fitted for two sails. The larger boat was
always fitted to carry two masts, but by shifting the foremast to a
second step more nearly amidships she could be worked with one mast and
sail. The New Haven sharpie retained its original proportions. It was
long, narrow, and low in freeboard and was fitted with a centerboard. In
its development it became half-decked. There was enough fore-and-aft
camber in the flat bottom so that, if the boat was not carrying much
weight, the heel of her straight and upright stem was an inch or two
above the water. The stern, usually round, was planked with vertical
staving that