GRACE BAILEY (two-masted schooner) - Camden ME - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Developed in the mid-to-late 18th century, these vessels reached a more or less standard form by the mid-19th century, a design that continued to be built into the first decades of the 20th century. The only variation of note in the two-masted schooner, aside from the underwater form of the hull, or the lines, was the presence of a centerboard. Tens of thousands of these vessels were built and operated on the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coasts, and on the Great Lakes in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The "freight trucks" of their time, the coasting schooners carried coal, bricks, iron ore, grain, oysters, and numerous other bulk products between ports.

The two-masted schooner Grace Bailey has the following dimensions:

Length on deck: 80'
Length overall: 118'
Breadth: 23'5"
Gross tonnage: 58
Passenger accommodations: 29
Rig: Main, fore, 2 headsails, no topsails

The vessel is framed and planked with white oak, with a deck of longleaf yellow pine. It carries neither inboard engines nor powered deck machinery, propulsion when needed being provided by a small yawl boat with an inboard motor. It was originally fastened with wooden treenails but is now fastened with six inch galvanized ship spikes. There is a centerboard with its centerboard trunk, the main mast being offset somewhat from the center line of the hull to accommodate the width of the trunk. The only significant alteration to the schooner lies in the substitution of companionways for cargo hatches and the installation of staterooms below decks.

It should be noted that the historical record is extremely unclear regarding "standard practice" in the carrying of top masts on coasters along the Maine coast. At present the schooner currently sails "bald-headed," i.e., without top masts. Apparently there was a good deal of variation in rig, top masts being sometimes carried on the main masts in summer months and sent down in winter or not carried at all. In any case, its present rig would not have seemed unusual during the period when the type was common.

County / Borough / Parish: Knox Year listed: 1990 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event Periods of significance: 1875-1899, 1900-1924, 1925-1949 Historic function: Transportation Current function: Transportation Privately owned?: yes Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2008 To: 12/31/2008 Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Street address: Not listed Secondary Website 1: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/22/2017 run26.2 visited it 12/14/2008 nomadwillie visited it

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