During the 1880s, Chesapeake Bay boatbuilders began constructing small wooden open boats, referred to as deadrise boats, out of planks with V-shaped bows. As boatbuilders created larger deadrise boats, decks were installed to provide more work and payload space; these deck boats also had a house/pilothouse near the stern and a mast closer to the bow of the boat. Deck boats were powered by gasoline engines but also utilized sails and wind. From the 1910s to the 1940s, auxiliary "steadying" sails were raised to help steady the boat when encountering adverse seas. More deck boats were built in the 1920s than in any other decade. Over the history of the boats, several thousand worked the bay in the freight business, were used to buy and plant oysters, worked in the bay's pound net fishery, and dredged for crabs and oysters. Approximately 40 boats are left on the bay. A few still work the water. Some have found new life as recreational yachts, and others are education boats owned by museums and nonprofits. In 2004, boat owners formed the Chesapeake Bay Buyboat Association, which holds an annual rendezvous at different ports as a way to educate the public about this unique aspect of Chesapeake Bay maritime history.

All but forgotten, buyboats served for nearly a century throughout the Bay region as floating middlemen buying fresh catch off smaller workboats and whisking it away to customers on the shore. Chowning preserves a fading way of life, the vessels that powered it, and the voices of those who worked it.

Tantalizing descriptions of the bay's intricate waterways--word pictures of how they are transformed over the four seasons of the year--and an informative discussion of the bay's geology, ecology, and human history will entice the reader to get out and poke around in and on the water. Author John Page Williams, director of special field programs for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and author of the Naturalist's Almanac in Chesapeake Bay Magazine, writes in a lucid, easygoing style as he introduces these waterways that he has been exploring for over thirty years. He fills readers in on all they need to know about water safety, boat selection, and seamanship, including discussions on the various ways to propel their boats--motoring, rowing, paddling, and poling. In addition, there is a chapter on natural history gear, such as binoculars, field guides, cast nets, books, and maps. In the second section, the author focuses attention on a single example of each of a wide range of waterways that represent the varied ecological niches that ring the bay. These trip descriptions include information on access points, a short historical overview, physical characteristics of each watercourse and its banks, and remarks on the flora and fauna to be found there, in a narrative that at once stimulates and inspires.

The Chesapeake Bay has been home to many unique craft designed to work the estuary. Beginning with the Native Americans and continuing to this day, these boats have been used for everything from fishing to transporting people and cargo.

"Shellenberger has perfected the art of gunkholing . . . An excellent book for both those who enjoy weekend cruises and those who merely want to know more about Chesapeake Bay." -- Daily Press (Newport News, VA) "With more than 3,000 miles of shoreline, the Chesapeake Bay offers a treasury of cruising spots. Shellenberger's book provides the key to unlock it." -- Virginian-Pilot "An 'insider's' look at the hundreds of places cruisers and weekend boaters love to hole up in. . . . It is also a loving portrait of the bay, its history, its people, its wildlife, and its environment." -- The Mariner "A truly monumental guide." -- Sunday Capital (Annapolis, MD) Dotting its more than 3,000-mile shoreline are creeks, coves, and inlets--or gunkholes in Chesapeake Bay parlance. They are as challenging as they are charming for cruisers to fi nd and enter, sometimes discouraging the less adventuresome. But thanks to author Bill Shellenberger, you will be able to enjoy these hidden treasures like an old pro. For more than twenty years, Bill Shellenberger's Cruising the Chesapeake has been the guide of choice for sailors and motor cruisers seeking to avoid the beaten path. Here Bill shares with you his engaging, heartfelt evocation of the Bay, its shores, history, wildlife, and people. No other guide to the region offers such complete, detailed coverage of virtually every point of interest on the Bay--from the secluded east fork of Langford Creek to the bustling hearts of Baltimore, Washington, and Norfolk. Find your path to Cruising the Chesapeake with A cruise planner with suggested itineraries for cruises of 3, 9, and 16 days, supported by overview charts and planning tips Waypoints for anchorages and key locations that make planning your cruises and integrating navigational data into your GPS unit a snap NOAA charts and aerial photos of key anchorages and tricky passages Updated information on piloting and shoreside facilities Expanded coverage up the Atlantic seaboard from the entrance of the Chesapeake to New York City and its anchorages that make this the ONE guide for the mid-Atlantic boater A comprehensive cruise planner and navigation guide and a vivid celebration of one of North America's natural treasures, Cruising the Chesapeake is a book no Chesapeake boater will want to be without.

The story of Reedville, Virginia, is linked to the commercial fishing industry that developed in the late 19th century. In 1874, Elijah Reed transferred his menhaden fishing operation from Brooklin, Maine, to the Chesapeake Bay. He purchased the land on Cockrell's Creek that is now Reedville. The industry flourished, especially in the early part of the 20th century. Today, Reedville is one of the major ports for the landing of commercial fish in the United States, second only to Kodiak, Alaska. This Northern Neck area of Virginia has a deep history dating back to Jamestown, and this book adds another chapter in retelling its past by providing unique photographs that have never been previously published.

The deadrise and cross-planked bottom style of boatbuilding started on Chesapeake Bay in the 1880s, when builders of wooden boats began to shift away from constructing vessels out of logs and into using planks to create hulls with a V-shaped bottom. Marine historian Howard I. Chapelle says that the style started in the North and Deep South (on the Gulf of Mexico)--but was not popular in those areas--before coming to Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay's choppy, shoal water conditions were ideal for a shoal draft, V-bottom style of boat. The availability of good wood, a dynamic cottage industry that grew, and diverse inshore fisheries that supported a bay-wide fleet all encouraged demand for various sizes of wooden deadrise boats on the bay. Over time, the hull style became so popular that in 1985, the State of Maryland named the deadrise and cross-planked sailing skipjack as Maryland's state boat, and Virginia's legislature named the motor-powered classic deadrise style as the state boat of Virginia.