Although many boats that have been looked at were used in the oceans and the larger river systems of the Carolinas, one type of boat was used quite commonly in the western, mountainous parts of the states. These vessels had to navigate narrow and swift rivers while also carrying cotton and tobacco from the remote plantations. This led to the development of a watercraft that had an large beam to length ration, quick steering, yet durable (Newell 1997:42-52.
Archaeologically only one example of this vessel type has been discovered. In 1988 as part of an East Carolina University field project, one vessel was discovered in the James River in Virginia. This excavation quickly documented the vessel and determined its length to be 57 feet and 8 inches long, 7 feet wide-amidships, and 1 foot and 6.5 inches deep. Although this quick excavation and survey allowed research to be done on the vessel, the remains of the vessel have since been destroyed due to exposure of the elements (Terrell 1988).
In 1999, Dr. Mark Newell did an experimental archaeological project involved in recreating a vessel similar to the James River vessel, named the Petersburg Boat. This vessel was was a mountain boat that sailed in Georgia during the late 1880s. Using a Corps of Engineers survey on the vessel, Newell was able to construct what he believes to be an accurate representation of one of these vessels. The resulting vessel ended up being around 20 feet long and had a 4 inch draft when empty and 21 inch draft when loaded with 10 tons. After constructing this vessel, Dr. Newell and a crew rowed the vessel 189 miles down the Savannah River. This voyage led to Newell concluding that this vessel would have been a highly responsive boat that could move 3.5 knots (Newell 1998:281-285).
By Caleb O’Brien