Small Boats in the American Revolution

 20 Nov 25:

Small boats, particularly flat-bottomed boats like flatboats and Durham boats, were crucial to the American Revolution because they could transport troops, supplies, and horses across rivers and into shallow waters where larger naval vessels could not go. These craft were essential for strategic military movements, like Washington's crossing of the Delaware, and were also used for coastal raids, naval engagements in shallow water, and as privateers.

Even a small punt would be useful to visit a Tidewater neighbor. 
Here is our boat SCUPPERS checking out Burwell Bay.

• Strategic and Military Uses
• Transport: Flatboats were vital for moving troops, wagons, and supplies across rivers, a task made necessary by the scarcity of bridges.
• Surprise attacks: Patriot forces famously used flatboats to cross the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776, leading to a surprise attack on Hessian forces in the Battle of Trenton.
• Naval engagements: Small gunboats, including Durham boats, were armed with cannons and used in naval battles, such as the Battle of Valcour Island and the Battle of Redbank.
• Coastal raids: Small boats like the two used by John Paul Jones were used for daring raids on enemy ports, such as the attack on Whitehaven, England. 

Types of small boats

• Flatboats: Broad, flat-bottomed boats with rectangular shapes that were ideal for carrying heavy loads and operating in shallow water.
• Durham boats: Similar to flatboats, they were often used on rivers like the Mohawk and Delaware, and could be equipped with small cannons.

• Bateaux: A type of flat-bottomed boat, often used for ferries and military transport.
• Skiffs, dories, and dinghies: Common rowboats used for transport and reconnaissance.
• Whaleboats: A specific type of boat often used by privateers for raiding and other small-scale naval actions. 
• Coastal traders and raiders: Yawls, schooners, etc...that were fast, agile and could easily        outmaneuver ships of the line. The war was won with gunpowder, and these small boats kept the supply lines open, especially in the Virginia and Carolina regions, both coastal and inland.

Skipper sailing a Drascombe Lugger gaff rigged yawl that we restored.

The Lugger has an eight in draft with the centerboard raised.

FMI: Ferry Boats of Colonial America

Boat Works and HEUER GARAGE EAST

 09 Nov 25:

The pirate crew has returned to port, next up are Christmas decorations. 

The HEUER GARAGE EAST is ready to deploy the fleet.

Sanding the Bahamas Dinghy

 02 Nov 25:

We sanded the interior primer today, to knock down the fuzzy bits that that popped up when we applied primer over bare wood. 

I say "we"....Skipper Skippervised from the deck chair. I kept telling her that there was plenty of sanding to go around, don't be shy. Lots of nooks and crannies too. She didn't fall for it.

Found remnants of a broken screw and vise gripped it out of the frame.

We used 120 grit discs on a DeWALT 20V random orbital sander when we could get to big spots, and hooked up a dust collection system (Dust Deputy and ShopVac).

Since the planks are so dry we have some gaps. There is caulk in the gap, and on the inside seam we will put in some sealant to protect the backside of the cotton. The planks would swell if we left the boat in the water for several days, and the sealant remains soft enough to get squeezed out. 

We got about 2/3 of the inside seams filled, and we cooked dinner...I say "we"...Skipper cooked it and I ate it :)

Log of HENNING.

Award Winning Historian Nathaniel Philbrick - Sail250® Virginia Speaker Series

22 Oct 25:

We got to hear a fantastic presentation on American Revolution maritime history by Nathaniel Philbrick, kicking off Virginia's Sail 250 celebration. Skipper of course had questions and Mr. Philbrick had answers.

Two famous Sunfish Sailors trading notes

We highly recommend anything by Philbrick, for the American Revolution Skipper recommends starting with Bunker Hill for a sequential view, or In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown if you want to jump right into the critical naval battles.

Last night was also time to jump into the Wayback Machine, Skipper brought her copies of The Passionate Sailor (1987) and Second Wind: A Sunfish Sailor, an Island, and the Voyage That Brought a Family Together (1999) to be autographed. 

We hope to lure Mr. Philbrick back to Hampton Roads soon for a small boat mess about. 

From Sail 250: Nathaniel Philbrick was the inaugural speaker for the Sail250® Virginia Speaker Series on October 21, 2025, at The Slover in Norfolk, VA. An award-winning historian and acclaimed sailor, he spoke about the importance of the Chesapeake Bay and the Battle of the Capes during the American Revolution. This event was the first in a series leading up to the nation's 250th anniversary.

FMI: https://sail250virginia.com/

Thar be Pirates

06 Oct 25:

Getting ready for Halloween. Skipper and her motley crew.

 

Scuttlebutt

27 Sep 25:

Having a great time in Hampton Roads area but the boating is still slim. We're a month into the first semester of teaching Flight Safety at Hampton University and enjoying every minute. We have 4 year Bachelor of Science programs in Flight Education (Pilot), ATC, Airport Admin and a new Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) program. The University has been making pilots since 1939, when the Civil Pilot Training Program was spreading across the country. HU was one of the first providers and sent Advance Instructors doen to the new program in Tuskegee, many of whom helped for the famous 99th Pursuit Squadron of Tuskegee Airmen, the Red Tails.

I love history, Old School and restoration, Skipper and I just restored these "briefing sticks" with new Cessna 172 Skyhawk models, a new stick and a new hook. The models are used to demonstrate different flight maneuvers to new students during pilot ground school, and are just fun to look at.

I'm auditing the small UAS (sUAS) class and we did some work with our small drones in class.

Another aviation event took me to a local airport, which for some reason has an old caboose stored on the property. You can't beat boats, planes and trains...

Aviation safety is a passion of mine, I've been involved in one form or fashion since 1980 when I was the Avionics Shop Safety NCO and Technical Pubs Librarian. I finished my Marine Corps career as Director of Safety and Standardization at MCAS Yuma, AZ and then wandered into safety volunteer work with the FAA Safety Team and Air Line Pilot Association. Along the way there is one famous model of how accidents happen, Dr. James Reason's Swiss Cheese Model (SCM), meant to depict how holes in multiple layers of protection must be breached in order for a host of latent conditions to manifest into an active failure of the aviation system. The SCM does get people to thinking about the role of different agents, from the Regulator, Company, Supervisors and front line employees, but my brain wonders how a hole got big enough to fly an Airbus or Blackhawk helicopter through. 

Back to Old School, in today's world of electronic gadgets, nothing beats a good ole dry erase board, or in my office, a chalk board. We put up this board to draw out some maneuvers in our flight simulator bay, here's the basic landing pattern.

We've had a steady stream of students flying our Gleim Basic Aviation Training Device (BATD). It is perfecto to introduce maneuvers, checklist, procedures and also is a fantastic device to practive flying in instrument conditions. It is very rewarding to see some of our Freshman log their first landings in the sim.

Switching gears to this weeks Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)exposition, we were asked to be on several panels to talk about Workforce Development and University Research in the Hampton Roads area. I spoke alittle about our partnership with NASA, sharing information on the emerging In Time Aviation System Wide Safety (IASWS) project that will provide actionable intel to adaptive agents in the National Airspace System. As more UAS and AAM emerges, we need to build the lower altitude airspace (Below 400 feet) capabilities to meet and exceed the standards of the upper airspace, with traffic, navigation, weather and flight information services....hmmm, no acronym there, I'll have to get NASA to work on that, as they are the Masters when it comes to acronyms.

There is a lot of air, ground and sea potential for uncrewed vehicles in Hampton Roads, with HU and Langley Research Center ready to lead. The NASA Langley facility dates back over 100 years, when time traveler came back in time to help out with the development of the airplane. Founded just three months after America’s entry into World War I, Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory was established as the nation’s first civilian facility focused on aeronautical research. The goal was, simply, to “solve the fundamental problems of flight.”

 NASA Langley Research Center is not to be confused with Langley Air Force Base or CIA Langley. From the beginning, Langley engineers devised technologies for safer, higher, farther and faster air travel. Now we need the team to focus on safer, lower, slower. The Ultra Low flight regime has been ignored for far too long, I lived in that world for a decade as a Marine Corps helicopter pilot. No ATC, no radar services, no comm, limited navigation prior to GPS, no collision avoidance systems with other aircraft or the ground, no airports or instrument landing systems with thousands of lights....but oh what fun!

I promise we'll add boats back in soon!

I thought it was a boat...

 14 Sep 25:

I went to a event at a local airport and spotted this boat...with wings!

"The ICON A5 is an amphibious light sport aircraft (LSA) designed and produced by ICON Aircraft. It is a safe, consumer-friendly, and technologically advanced two-seat plane with foldable wings, a carbon fiber airframe, and a unique boat hull design that allows it to operate on both land and water. The A5 is known for its spin-resistant design, making it one of the safest small aircraft available, and it is well-suited for recreational and adventure flying due to its exceptional performance and maneuverability."

Looks like boat trailer bunks to me...and the grea is retracted. I didn't think to ask them if this was the normal trailering configuration. 

Fall Temps!

31 Aug 25:

It has finally cooled off enough to be outside for a bit. Today we rolled out the dinghy and pram to get them some fresh air and contemplate our next moves with seam sealant and paint...

The little Nutshell Pram EXCUSE ME seems to have acquired a hammock...maybe Skipper is gretting ready to ship out...

Bahamas Dinghy transom.

45 years of being ashore has shrunk the planks. We caulked lightly and now need to decide what to do on the inside seams...we are leaning towards seam compound to protect the cotton.

The breasthook is too pretty to be painted, so I sanded off the primer. we'll clean it up a bit, then apply some stain and varnish. The inner gunwale may get the same treatment, to match the outer gunwale, which will be either teak or mahogany.

We are very very happy with the roll through Boat Works.

Can't wait to try out these unique rollocks.

Log of HENNING.

Sunfish Cover Repair and Alien Technology

 27 Jul 25:

It has been almost 5 years sine Hurricane Sally tried to wipe out the Armada down in Florida, but we finally got around to repairing the boat cover that saved our 1982 Sunfish MADISON. All of our boats were covered and tied down for what was forecast to be a Cat I storm with landfall over in Mississippi. Instead we got the dirty side of a Cat III that came ashore about 60 miles west of Navarre. We had a surge of near 9 feet with cresting waves in the backyard and the only thing that kept the boats from washing away was the luck that we had looped the lines through the cover straps. 

Here's a screenshot of the Armada afloat in about 5 feet of water...

The boats were stored similar to this photo.

MADISON's cover needed a few patches and buckle parts, and we had spare fabric from WAVE's old cover, which was mostly shredded. WAVE was the boat nearest the Bay, the surge tore her foredeck off and she began to float away, which spurred us into rescue mode. 

Here is the old and new buckle bit, which SLO Sail and Canvas sent us for free after we shared our hurricane story. SLO also sent WAVE a brand new cover, we appreciate their generosity and customer care.

Here's the new buckle tip installed, with the original buckle housing still in good shape. As soon as this buckle clipped together, I felt that all was well in our Sunfish cover world, and we were many more steps past Hurricane Sally.

Here is MADISON's cover, it is a "Spars On Deck/Mast Up" cover with strap/buckle option. There is an extra cut of fabric on the bow and over the gunwales to allow the booms and sail to fit under the cover We have had the cover close to 10 years and it is still in great shape, hurricane tested.

The next adventure was to replace the thread spool spindles on Skipper's Janome, which required the removal of about 15 screws of various shape and size in order to remove the entire back. 

I am convinced that sewing machines are derived from alien technology....How does all this work together to interlace a spool and bobbin of thread?

Lumber is dry

 05 Jul 25:

We had busted trees sawmilled a year plus ago, now we have some dry lumber ready to be made into somethin...silver maple and red oak. Paddles maybe?

Skipper's Hammock

01 Jul 25:

New spot for Skipper's command post. She's special, she gets spreader bars for her hammock. 

Bahamas Dinghy Rudder and Tiller Strip

21 Jun 25:

We removed old paint and varnish? from the Bahamas Dinghy tiller and rudder using our 20V DeWALT random orbital sander. 80 grit discs got the job done, although the varnish acted more like a thick coat of epoxy, so we are not exactly sure what we were dealing with.

The tiller looks like ash wood but it is a little harder, so we need to research. It might also be white oak. 

A Kobalt diamond tile file and a Shinto rasp fit between the tiller straps to remove old coatings.

The rudder had a coat of flaky white paint...

...over a coat of very thick and very hard varnish, the Old School kind of varnish. But below the different coatings was some beautiful marine grade mahogany plywood. Sanding dust collection courtesy of the ShopVac and Dust Deputy Cyclonic Seaparator.

Log of HENNING: