How to Build and Sail a Ship

48 downloads 9352 Views 689KB Size Report
Objective. Students will learn about the Dorchester Ship Yard ... Using the glossary of terms, introduce students to ... diagram for introduction and review, and the.
Teacher Resource Guide

To Build and Sail a Ship Teacher’s Section

Theme

Background

Transportation

What kind of boat is the A.J. Meerwald?

Historic Resource

The A.J. Meerwald is a gaff-rigged, bald headed Delaware Bay Oyster Schooner.

A.J. Meerwald

Goal To instill awareness of the Maurice River’s history as a major shipbuilding and shipping center of national significance.

Objective Students will learn about the Dorchester Ship Yard and A.J. Meerwald as an example of the region’s rich heritage of building and working the Delaware Bay Oyster Schooner.

Skills

• A schooner is any fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with two or more masts, with the foremast standing shorter than the mainmast. The A.J. Meerwald’s masts are 65' and 68' tall. • She is a fore and aft rigged vessel. This means that the sails run parallel to the keel. Square-rigged vessels have sails that run perpendicular to the keel (think of pirate ships). • Gaff-rigged means the fore and mainsails are framed by wood on three sides. • Bald headed means she lacks topmasts where topsails are rigged. • The foot runs along the boom, the luff runs along the mast, and the head runs along the gaff.

NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards Social Studies 6.1.4 B 5, 6, 7, 8 Geography; 6.1.4 C 13, 16, 17 Economics, Innovation and Technology Technology Education, Engineering and Design 8.2.4 G 2, 3 / 8.2.8 G 2 The Designed World; 9.4 Career and Technical Education

Vocabulary aft boom bow bowline fore foresail gaff halyard hull jib line mainsail mast port sail schooner starboard stern rudder Schooner A.J. Meerwald sailing on the Delaware Bay.

• She is 115 feet from bowsprit to the end of the main boom, 85 feet on deck, 22.5 feet wide, and draws 6 feet of water, 12 feet with her centerboard down. • She has a 6-71 Detroit Diesel engine. She has always had both sails and an engine — though this is not the original engine! • 11 crew members live on board. The A.J. Meerwald was an oyster schooner. The boat was built in 1928 at the Stowman and Sons Shipyard, in Dorchester, New Jersey, just up the river from her home port of Bivalve, NJ. The shipyard, under a different name, is still in operation today and is one of the last continuously operating deepwater marine repair and ship building facilities on the eastern coast. The Meerwald family commissioned the schooner and named her after Augustus J. Meerwald. Most of the ships used in oystering on the Delaware Bay were built on the Maurice and Cohansey Rivers. Leesburg, Dorchester, and Greenwich were among several major South Jersey shipbuilding centers. Wood resources and skilled labor were two important factors in the growth of the shipbuilding industry in this area. She is typical of the later style of schooners used in Delaware Bay oyster dredging. This style schooner had two masts, no topsails and a spoon bow instead of a clipper bow that allowed for a larger

deck space to accommodate more oysters. A crew of about 6 to 12 (on larger vessels) would work and often live aboard. During the oyster planting season, they would spend six days a week out on the Bay. They would leave out on Sunday afternoon and work through Friday. People often came to see the fleet off on Sundays. The predominant technique used for catching oysters was dredging. In dredging a rake-like device with a mesh bag attached is dragged across the bottom of the Bay. This method yields large quantities of oysters, but it tends to flatten the oyster reefs. Alternative methods such as using hand or mechanical tongs were used by smaller boats, known as the “mosquito fleet.” Fortunately for the crew of the A.J. Meerwald, a small gasoline engine powered the winch or “winder” to pull up the dredges. (A side note: the gas winder was invented in Bridgeton.)

Materials One glossary of terms One labeled diagram of A.J. Meerwald One unlabeled diagram

Procedure Activity One Using the glossary of terms, introduce students to the nautical nomenclature they will encounter on their sail on A.J. Meerwald.

Or

Activity Two Use the two diagrams of the Delaware Bay Oyster Schooner, A.J. Meerwald, to help students learn and identify parts of the ship and sails. Use the labeled diagram for introduction and review, and the unlabeled diagram for testing their knowledge.

Schooner George C. Bell in a shipyard.

Funding for this resource guide was made possible with a grant from the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust administered by the New Jersey Historic Trust.

To Build and Sail a Ship: Teacher’s Section  2

Glossary of Terms Boom

Gaff

Mainsail

Bow

Hull

Rudder

Foremast

Jib

Stern

Foresail

Mainmast

A.J. Meerwald To Build and Sail a Ship: Teacher’s Section  3

Name __________________________________________________ Date________________________

To Build and Sail a Ship Worksheet

Are you aware that the Maurice River was a major shipbuilding and shipping center of national significance?

Vocabulary

• She has a 6-71 Detroit Diesel engine. She has always had both sails and an engine — though this is not the original engine! • 11 crew members live on board.

• All boats and ships are referred to as “she” even if aft boom bow bowline fore they have a male name. foresail gaff halyard hull jib line mainsail mast port sail Where was the A.J. Meerwald? schooner starboard stern rudder The A.J. Meerwald was an oyster schooner. The boat was built in 1928 at the Stowman and Sons Shipyard, in Dorchester, New Jersey, just up the river from her Background homeport of Bivalve, NJ. The shipyard, under a What kind of boat is the A.J. Meerwald? different name, is still in operation today and is one The A.J. Meerwald is a gaff-rigged, bald headed of the last continuously operating deepwater marine Delaware Bay Oyster Schooner. repair and ship building facilities on the eastern coast. The Meerwald family commissioned the • A schooner is any fore and aft rigged sailing vessel schooner and named her after Augustus J. Meerwald. with two or more masts, with the foremast standing shorter than the mainmast. The A.J. Meerwald’s Most of the ships used in oystering on the Delaware masts are 65' and 68' tall. Bay were built on the Maurice and Cohansey Rivers. • She is a fore and aft rigged vessel. This means that Leesburg, Dorchester, and Greenwich were among the sails run parallel to the keel. Square-rigged vessels have sails that run perpendicular to the keel (think of pirate ships). • Gaff-rigged means the fore and mainsails are framed by wood on three sides. • Bald headed means she lacks topmasts where topsails are rigged. • The foot runs along the boom, the luff runs along the mast, and the head runs along the gaff. • She is 115 feet from bowsprit to the end of the main boom, 85 feet on deck, 22.5 feet wide, and draws 6 feet of water, 12 feet with her centerboard down. Schooner A.J. Meerwald sailing on the Delaware Bay.

several major South Jersey shipbuilding centers. Wood resources and skilled labor were two important factors in the growth of the shipbuilding industry in this area.

Materials One glossary of terms One labeled diagram of A.J. Meerwald One unlabeled diagram

How do you catch oysters? The main way to catch oysters was by dredging. In dredging, a rake-like device with a mesh bag attached is dragged across the bottom of the Bay. This method yields large quantities of oysters, but it tends to flatten the oyster reefs. Alternative methods such as using hand or mechanical tongs were used by smaller boats, known as the “mosquito fleet.” Fortunately for the crew of the A.J. Meerwald, a small gasoline engine powered the winch or “winder” to pull up the dredges. (A side note: The gas winder was invented in Bridgeton.)

Procedure Activity One Using the glossary of terms, learn the nautical words you will encounter on your sail on Schooner A.J. Meerwald.

Or

Activity Two Use the diagrams of the Schooner A.J. Meerwald to learn and identify parts of the ship and sails.

Schooner George C. Bell in a shipyard.

To Build and Sail a Ship: Worksheet  2

Glossary of Terms Boom

Gaff

Mainsail

Bow

Hull

Rudder

Foremast

Jib

Stern

Foresail

Mainmast

A.J. Meerwald

To Build and Sail a Ship: Worksheet  3