Lincolnville Salmon Wherry

LOA=14'-0" Beam=4'-5" Depth Amidships=1'-9"
Wt=245 lbs (deduct 45 lbs for rowing version)

The weight noted presupposes traditional construction. A 14' glued lap rowing model
would weigh about 100 pounds. Understand, though, that a Salmon Wherry built that lightly would be suitable for recreational rowing only.
For sailing, you would want to add some frames, a centerboard, and some ballasting. That would increase hull weight 40-50 pounds, or so.

Developed for the Atlantic Salmon fishery in the late 1700s or early 1800s, Lincolnville Wherries are ideally suited for working in surf and on and off the shore.

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.

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.

This is the same wherry shown above, only this time she's off Lincolnville Beach and coming about under press of her sprit rig.

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, owing to the absence of 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).

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...

14'-0" Lincolnville Salmon Wherry Plans.............................US$55.00
15'-0" Lincolnville Salmon Wherry Lofting................................100.00
Optional Deck Plan...........................................................................10.00
Bronze Oarlocks (our pattern)...........................................................70.00/pr.
Duck Trap Wherry CD.....................................................................25.00

The lofting price includes delivery in the US.

>>>>Compare all 5 of our wherries<<<<

We've been told that our comparison chart is very helpful
If you are interested in learning considerably more about wherries,
then you will want to take a look at
our latest book, Wherries

If you prefer mail, our address is:
Duck Trap Woodworking
P.O. Box 88
Lincolnville Beach, ME 04849

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