A Whitehall rowboat is a style of
lapstrake-built
rowboat developed in the United States in the 19th century. The basic design is much older and of European ancestry. It strongly resembles a sailing ship's
gig or a
Thames river
wherry used by
watermen as a taxi service. They were first made in the U.S. at the foot of
Whitehall Street in
New York City to ferry goods, and people to ships in
New York Harbor
New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
.
The boats range from 14 to 22 ft in length, the larger requiring two people to row them. The 25 ft Whitehall gig requires four rowers and a
coxswain for a crew of five.
History
The Whitehall rowboat was the first boat to be constructed in an
inverted-hull set-up to speed up the manufacturing process.
The hull shape is characterized by a nearly straight stem, and slight flare to the bow, rounded sides, with a
keel running the entire length of the bottom and a distinctive wine glass
transom
Transom may refer to:
* Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar
* Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet
* Operation Tran ...
with a full
skeg. Considered one of the most beautiful row-boats, they are designed to handle the harbor
chop
Chop, CHOP, Chops, or CHOPS may refer to:
Art
*Embouchure, in music, a synonym for chops (and later, more broadly, musical skill or ability)
*CHOPS, an Asian-American hip hop producer, rapper and member of rap group Mountain Brothers
* ''Chops'' ...
and yet track straight. Speed was the issue with these boats, as the first to the ship with the goods generally received the lion's share of the sales. Later the shore patrol used these boats for customs, police issues,
water taxi, and newspaper reporting.
Whitehalls in the early 20th century were a popular recreational boat and were known as the "bicycle of the sea". A beginning rower finds it easier to row this design in a straight line because of the tracking type keel. Turning requires stronger strokes on one side, and by braking with one oar and pulling with the other the boat can be turned in its own length.
Today
Whitehall designs are currently being built in wood, and also manufactured fiberglass usually with wood trims, and more recently thermoformed in co-polymer plastic. These boats are either traditional fixed seat row boats or slide seat rowing boats. Some models or also including sailing rigs. Many designs are mistakenly being called Whitehalls when they are not actually true to the design criteria. The
Mystic Seaport Maritime Museum has a comprehensive collection of authentic Whitehall lines.
The
Village Community Boathouse in New York City has dedicated its boatbuilding program to almost exclusively building and restoring wooden Whitehall Gigs. They have built dozens over the last decade, most of which are available for free public use at their boathouse
on
Pier 40 while others have been loaned or donated to sister organizations.
See also
*
Watercraft rowing
Further reading
* , a description of American small sailing boats.
* , a description of Whitehall Rowboats.
External links
; Modern boat builders:
* http://www.whitehallspirit.com
* http://www.villagecommunityboathouse.org
* http://www.whitehallrow.com
* http://www.ghboats.com
* http://www.floatingtheapple.info/
* http://www.spindriftrowboats.com/whitehall.php
; Classic wood boat builders:
* http://www.clcboats.com/boats/chesteryawl.php
* http://www.rockingtheboat.org
* http://www.phillyseaport.org/workshoponthewater
; Youth and community education programs using Whitehalls and Whitehall gigs:
* http://www.whitehallrowclub.com
* http://www.rockingtheboat.org
* http://www.lcmm.org
* http://www.villagecommunityboathouse.org
* http://www.floatingtheapple.org
* http://www.buildingbridgesbuildingboats.org
* http://www.eastrivercrew.org
*http://www.whitehalldelrey.com
http://www.dolphinclub.org/rowing.html
References
{{Reflist
Boat types