Chesapeake
This page holds images and historic information about the Workboat Chesapeake. Chesapeake was built in 1936 at the Johnson Marine Railway in Crittenden. The yard was owned by Captain Lepron (Lip) Johnson. Captain Lip was one of the few builders on the bay who built framed and longitudinally planked boats. He used half hulls to start and he lofted the frames and planking.
Chesapeake was commissioned for the J.H. Miles & Company of Norfolk and launched on a spring tide in 1936. She was registered at 113 gross tons and 47 net tons. Her length was registered at 92.9 feet with her breadth at 24.9 feet.
She was powered by a 210 h.p. Fairbanks-Morse marine diesel engine and she had two decks with the wheel house and bunk beds in the upper deck and galley in the lower deck.
Chesapeake was the largest oyster dredge boat built on the Chesapeake Bay. She could carry 5,000 bushels and she could pull 4 dredges at once.
Chesapeake worked on the Chesapeake Bay until 1979 when she was sold to a company in Cape May New Jersey. She was registered there to work the Mackerel fishery. Chesapeake was lost to a fire off the coast of New Jersey in the early 1980’s.
Chesapeake, at her prettiest, on the Elizabeth River. She was 92.9 feet long, stem to stern post and 24.9 feet wide. She was designed with a broad, round bottom to hold a large load. On the top deck was the pilothouse with bunk beds aft. The galley was on the lower deck.
Chesapeake had a “hunter’s cabin” forward for the crew of 14 men when dredging oysters.
Photograph courtesy of Richard Miles
Chesapeake on the ways. The location and date are unknown. Note her rounded bottom and the waterline. She was built very heavy with 6x9” oak frames and 3” thick Georgia yellow pine for her planking.
Photograph courtesy of Richard Miles
Chesapeake dredging on the J.H. Miles oyster grounds. She could pull four dredges at once and carry as many as 5,000 bushels of oysters.
Photograph courtesy of Richard Miles
Chesapeake and Fisherman working the J.H. Miles oyster grounds. Fisherman was built before Chesapeake. She had length added so she was actually longer than Chesapeake, but she could not carry as much load as Chesapeake.
Photograph courtesy of Richard Miles
This photo shows Chesapeake hauled for repairs. This is her port side with some planking removed and frames exposed.
You can see how heavily built she was. The oak frames at the deck were approximately 6”x 9”. The Georgia pine planking was 3” thick.
Chesapeake, like many work boats had a problem with water leakage where the frames emerged through the deck. The leaks caused rot, as you can see in the photo.
Photo courtesy of Richard Miles.
The following is a copy of a marketing booklet produced by the J.H. Miles and Company in the late 1930’s. Chesapeake is one of the featured dredge boats.
The following 2 Fairbanks-Morse manuals contain installation and operation instructions for the diesel engine used in Chesapeake. The engine was a 150 hp direct reversing diesel engine. The engine required an operator’s skill in starting up and in going from forward to reverse.
Chesapeake Documents
The following are U.S. Coast Guard documentation papers for Chesapeake.
This document shows the “Oystering” registration for Chesapeake in 1974. Her original measurements were taken in Norfolk in 1936, presumably right after her launch and during a survey and acceptance by the J.H. Miles and Company.
She was a heavy boat for the Chesapeake Bay, registering 113 gross tons. That was unusual among other oyster dredge boats. Her measurement from stem to stern post was 94.9 feet and she was more than 100 feet on deck. She was broad beamed, measuring 24.9 feet at her widest. This was a necessary design for her intended purpose of carrying 5,000 bushels of marketable oysters on her deck. She measured at 47 net tons after deductions.
