They were never moored, and like the boat in the photo (a 14 footer), their plank keels enabled to stand upright when beached, making launching and landing a whole lot easier, and protecting the planking from abrasion.

As far as we have been able to determine, we have built more of these wherries than any of the old-timers, and now we're fast approaching that age group ourselves. We built our first one in 1973, and 40-odd wherries later, we can say without hesitation that the Lincolnville Wherry is one of the finest small craft afloat...not to mention one of the prettiest to be found anywhere. Here's another example...

And unlike Scrod, above (which is still sailing 30 years later),
this burgundy Lincolnville Wherry is currently for sale.

Strictly speaking, there are two distinctly different old-style wherry models originating from Lincolnville, Maine, the Rhodes Wherry and this Lincolnville Salmon Wherry. We've added two more, the Duck Trap Wherry and the Christmas Wherry.

The RW and the LSW were developed as work boats, the DTW and CW were designed for recreational uses. The Lincolnville Salmon Wherry predates the others, and differs from them most notably by her high tuck and shape of her transom. All four are essentially double ended on the waterline, a key factor in their handling.

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Our boats are centerboarders. The original boats used rock ballast, and the last of the Salmon fishermen in town allowed as how some ingenious souls used sheep as moveable ballast when they sailed over to the islands. Why? Sheep are afraid of the water, so when the boat heels under sail they climb to windward...just where ballast is wanted. We can't verify that because there are no photos and no one left to ask, but you'll have to agree that it makes a good yarn.

As workboats dating from before the advent of outboard motors, you'd have to know that these wherries are particularly good with an ash breeze. We recommend spruce rather than ash oars for recreational use these days, and developed an oarmaking design that suits them to a "T".

The plans for the Lincolnville Salmon Wherry consist of lines and offsets, and construction plan, plus a combined sail plan that shows the mould spacing for boats ranging from 12'-10" to 16' overall, all of which can be built using the same offsets. Professional building time is about 190 hours for traditional construction...less for glued lap construction, assuming you build her without ribs. If yours will be a sailing glued lap version, some type of bracing is recommended to counter the strains the sail rig imposes on the hull. Sawn frames are a good solution (see photo).

Want to get out on the water right away?
If so, we have a brand new14-footer for sale right now.

We don't yet have a Boatbuilding in Pictures CD for this model, because we'll have to build another one in order to have enough photos. Even so, where our boats are all built in more or less the same way, there would be considerable benefit from viewing our Duck Trap Wherry CD. Yes, she's a different wherry model, but the moulds are built the same way, she has the same sort of plank keel, she's set up in the same way, she's planked the same way (tuck and all), and finished off in the same way. It might be worth a look before you plunk down cash for the plans...

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