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Admission $5
Students & Seniors $4 Children
6 & under FREE
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CATBOAT
SARAH PROJECT
 
Photo by Skip Hall
The launch of Sarah, the Museum-built replica
of the 1886 Crosby Catboat, was the highlight of 2007. She
has been designated the Official Boat of the Town of Barnstable and
will carry on her important role as floating classroom from a slip
in the Hyannis harbor directly behind the Museum. Sarah is 23 feet
long, built of wood: oak, cypress, and a red spruce mast from a tree
harvested in Falmouth. The gaff-rigged sail is traditionally
cut, the halyards are manilla rather than synthetic, and the cleats
and blocks are of wood rather than bronze, stainless steel, or plastic.
One hundred years ago, scores of similar boats plyed
the waters of Nantucket Sound, Cape Cod Bay and other waters of New
England, serving as working boats for fishermen, and then becoming
popular for recreation and racing.
Guided by Museum staff and local crew, small groups
of students will sail Sarah into Lewis Bay and take a voyage back
in time to 1886. On the water, students will handle sail, lines,
and tiller and learn how to navigate with compass, chart and landmarks.
Depending on the season, they will also try their hand at line-fishing,
scallop dragging, and crabbing. They will experience first hand the
toil, tribulations and triumphs of fishing in the 19th century.
Sarah was constructed on site at the Museum by Director
and Curator, Mark Wilkins, with help from several volunteers. From
the start in May 2004, visitors were able to observe the construction
as it progressed.
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Construction
of Sarah was carried out inside the Museum, beginning in the top
photos with the keel, stem, and stern post--the backbone of the
boat. The original Sarah, built in 1886 Herbert F. Crosby, is shown
at right. The name Crosby is nearly synonymous with catboats on
Cape Cod. There were several genera-tions of Crosby boatbuilders
working continuously from the 1830's to the 1930's, and sometimes
several different boatshops operating at one time, mostly around
Osterville, just west of Hyannis. |
The
original 1886 Sarah, now owned by Tom Church, was brought
to the Museum so that lines could be taken and her details
studied. | Use
these links for the Cape Cod Times story and pictures of
Sarah's launch on September 2, 2007. Note: For the pictures, you must
scroll to the bottom of the first page of the newspaper's photo gallery,
click "More Photo Galleries," and scroll down to 08/31/07, the
day the story originally appeared in the paper. |
