Other Boats

This is a collection of boats model that I have already sold or have been commissioned to build.

Miss Becky

I was commissioned to build this model a couple of years ago by a man who wanted to give his father a model of a boat he owned many years ago.

Flying Dog Deadrise

This model I built for the Flying Dog brewery to accompany their dead rise beer. A beer that is  brewed with OLD BAY and is best paired with shrimp, corn, and Maryland Blue Crab. Dead Rise was brewed to celebrate OLD BAY’s 75th anniversary and proceeds benefit True Blue, a program that advocates on behalf of the Chesapeake Bay’s 5,500 watermen.

 

Deadrise Crabbing Skiff

This boat model is that of a typically Deadrise crabbing skiff, which are smaller boat that allowed for greater mobility in narrow and/or shallow areas. This allowed them to harvest crabs in area that larger ships could not reach. I had the good fortune to sell this boat to a pair of enthusiasts while I was participating in the Antique Boat Show at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

Deadriase Skiff Trotline Ready Model by John P Raeder Jr

 

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Skipjack Model

The Skipjack is sloop-rigged boat, with a sharply raked mast and extremely long boom (typically the same length as the deck of the boat) and is typically 40 to 50 feet in length. As typical in regional practice, the bow features a curving longhead placard board under the bowsprit, with carved and painted trailboards.  The mainsail is ordinarily triangular, though gaff rigged examples were built. The jib is self-tending and mounted on a bowsprit. This sail plan affords the power needed to pull the dredge, particularly in light winds, while at the same time minimizing the crew required to handle the boat. The hull is wooden and V-shaped, with a hard chine and a square stern. In order to provide a stable platform when dredging, skipjacks have very low freeboard and a wide beam (averaging one third the length on deck). A centerboard is mounted in lieu of a keel. The mast is hewn from a single log, with two stays on either side, without spreaders; it is stepped towards the bow of the boat, with a small cabin.

This skipjack was the first boat model I every created; It took me eight months to complete it. Everything in or on this model is handmade and as close to scale as possible. The scale I used for this model is 1:24 and it is roughly L-30” x W-8” x H-36”. Please pay close attention the details of the rigging and deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skiff Models

The skiff is a small boat traditionally used in coastal or river craft used for leisure or fishing and have a one-person or small crew. Many children living on the Bay developed their fledgling boating sails rowing around the Chesapeake in skiffs, spending summers fishing and crabbing. Skiffs were also used by watermen to get to areas unassailable by larger ships because they were too narrow and/or shallow.

My skiff models are all rather simple; they are all built to the same 1:12 scale and can be completed in 2-3 days. For an example of a more detailed skiff, please see the ‘Other Boats’ page of this site.

 

I built a couple of skiffs for a guy living on the west coast who grew up here in Southern Maryland. He has fond memories of the summer days he and his brother spent on the water in a wooden skiff rented from Quade’s store in Bushwood, MD.

Upon receiving the models, he had this to say:

“They are well beyond my fondest hopes and bring a golden age before my very eyes.”

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