A Whitehall rowboat is a style of

lapstrake Clinker built (also known as lapstrake) is a method of boat building where the edges of hull planks overlap each other. Where necessary in larger craft, shorter planks can be joined end to end, creating a longer strake or hull plank. The techni ...

-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 Gig or GIG may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992) * ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993) * ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy * GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...

or a

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

river

wherry A wherry is a type of boat that was traditionally used for carrying cargo or passengers on rivers and canals in England, and is particularly associated with the River Thames and the River Cam. They were also used on the Broadland rivers of No ...

used by

watermen A waterman is a river worker who transfers passengers across and along city centre rivers and estuaries in the United Kingdom and its colonies. Most notable are those on the River Thames and River Medway in England, but other rivers such as the ...

as a taxi service. They were first made in the U.S. at the foot of

Whitehall Street Whitehall Street is a street in the South Ferry/Financial District neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City, near the southern tip of Manhattan Island. The street begins at Bowling Green to the north, where it is a continuation of the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boat ...

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 The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

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 A skeg (or skegg or skag) is a sternward extension of the keel of boats and ships which have a rudder mounted on the centre line. The term also applies to the lowest point on an outboard motor or the outdrive of an inboard/outboard."A small fin f ...

. Considered one of the most beautiful row-boats, they are designed to handle the harbor chop 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 A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

, 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 Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the craf ...

Maritime Museum has a comprehensive collection of authentic Whitehall lines. The

Village Community Boathouse The Village Community Boathouse (or VCB) is a Manhattan-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting rowing, boat building, environmental stewardship and human-powered recreational boating on the Hudson River and the New York Estuary. VCB is entire ...

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 Pier 40 (officially known as Pier 40 at Hudson River Park) is a parking garage, sports facility, and former marine terminal at the west end of Houston Street in Manhattan, New York, within Hudson River Park. It is home to the New York Knight ...

while others have been loaned or donated to sister organizations.

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

History

Today

See also

Further reading

External links

References