Freya at Black Point Marina
by Duane McCullough
Title
Freya at Black Point Marina
Artist
Duane McCullough
Medium
Photograph - Canvas Wrap Prints
Description
Freya at Black Point Marina boat ramp 1976.
The hull of the good ship FREYA was built in '63 by Lawson Tyler of Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Her mast and rigging were installed in Annapolis Maryland in '65 together with an Atomic 4 engine. A small plywood cabin and deck was constructed over the open hull to allow for a voyage down the Intercoastal Waterway to the Florida Keys.
FREYA was made from cypress planks and oak frames with iron nails holding her together. Her 37' overall length and 18 inch draft made her ideal for cruising or living aboard in the Florida Keys. She had a Bugeye sail rig on a Skipjack hull and was a very popular type of Chesapeake workboat of a hundred years ago. Many similar boats were built with no cabin and only had an open hull to hold oysters with minimal deck area. Most of the surface sides of FREYA were two long boards that measured 30' by some 16" at 1.25" thick. FREYA did have a slot within her keel for a centerboard trunk, but did not have a centerboard.
What sets the Chesapeake Skipjack hull design apart from most other wooden sailboat construction is the unique method of bottom planking from the keel to the sides using no caulking. Steam was used during construction to soften the bottom planks near the bow to create a unique twist in the wood planking that makes a sharp forward surface area which efficiently parts the water movement and -- together with a full shallow keel, acts like a forward centerboard to minimize the boat from slipping sideways during sailing to weather.
In '76, I found her half sunk at a Dade county boat ramp in South Florida where I traded a motorcycle worth about $300 to a young man who's parents bought it for him a year earlier for about $2,700. I removed the old plywood cabin and patched a few underwater seams to prepare her for salvaging. The engine was beyond repair and was removed together with a wheel housing system of steering the boat. A simple tiller arrangement provided a sharper turning radius necessary for coming about in light winds.
After towing her to Port Largo in Key Largo for hauling, I moved aboard and "camped out" on her for nearly 14 years in Largo Sound near the headquarters of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
The name FREYA is identified with the mythical Norse goddess of beauty -- however, I renamed FREYA after my artistic work in the Florida Keys and called her SEAART. Little did I know at the time that the spirit of FREYA would again be immortalized with her identity.
As my floating "Florida cottage", I spent many days and nights sailing the waters of Largo Sound and the nearby coast of Key Largo. Together with a sailing canoe and windsurfer, FREYA provided a simple home and affordable lifestyle that allowed me to discover the wonders of living in the Florida Keys.
FREYA also gave me a place where I found the time to study the native history of southern Florida and to recognize important anthropological views of the area. This beautiful wooden sailboat is where my research book project SPIRIT OF ATLANTIS began and became a reality.
Over the years and after several haulings at a local boatyard for bottom and topside work, the iron nails that held her together began to bleed with oxidation ever so much -- and without significant monies to continue to refurbish FREYA, she slowly began to show her age.
In '91, local state law deemed overnight anchoring in Largo Sound as an illegal act -- so I sailed her to the bayside of Key Largo and created a mooring site where warm wonderful sunsets could be experienced aboard.
I sold FREYA in '92 to someone who needed a home for about the price I paid in '76. Perhaps one day the spirit of her design will sail again. Last seen ashore in Blackwater Sound, her whereabouts is unknown
Uploaded
February 7th, 2013
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