LB2012.17.570

LB2012.17.570

View of the harbor and numerous small boats at Camden, Maine. The schooner STEPHEN TABER can be seen across the harbor in front of Camden Shipbuilding (Wayfarer Marine). The marine railway cradle for hauling boats can be seen at Camden Shipbuilding as well. The MERCANTILE can be seen in the foreground. STEPHEN TABER is a two-masted schooner, built in 1871, operating as a "windjammer" in the tourist trade out of Rockland, Maine. A National Historic Landmark, she is one of a small number of surviving schooners originally built for the Atlantic coasting trade, and one of only three with a centerboard, allowing access through shallow channels and to shallow landing points. She is named for New York lawyer and politician STEPHEN TABER, and has a well-documented history of continuous service since her construction. Description and history STEPHEN TABER is a wooden schooner, with a deck length of 68 feet (21 m), an overall length of 115 feet (35 m), and a maximum width of 22 feet 5 inches (6.83 m). She has a draft of 5 feet (1.5 m) when the centerboard is up, and 14 feet 6 inches (4.42 m) when it is down. She is normally operated by a crew of five, and is rigged according to a historical 1883 photograph with a mainsail, foresail, and two headsails. Her framing and planking are oak, and were originally fastened with treenails, which were replaced during restorative work with galvanized spikes. She has a low deckhouse aft, and her hold is presently configured for passenger accommodations. Her main deck, which is not original, is pine. STEPHEN TABER was launched in October 1871 at Bedel Shipyard in Glenwood Landing, New York, on the south coast of Long Island Sound. Her owners were the Cox brothers, and she was named for Stephen Taber, a lawyer and politician living in Roslyn, New York. Until about 1920 she worked primarily in the area around New York Harbor, although she was briefly adapted for carrying passengers in 1900 and 1902 when the coasting business was slow. In 1920 she was sold to a captain in Maine, and operated in and around Penobscot Bay. In 1946 she was sold to Captain Boyd Build, who adapted her for the "windjammer" tourist trade, a role she has served since, now based in Rockland, Maine. She has been in continuous service except for periods of restoration, including in 1900, 1930, and 1981-83. MERCANTILE HISTORY MERCANTILE is a two-masted schooner berthed in Camden Harbor, Camden, Maine. Built in the 1914-16 on Little Deer Isle, Maine, she is one of a small number of such vessels still afloat from a time when they were one of the most common cargo vessels of the coasting trade. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992, she now serves as a "Maine windjammer", offering multi-day sailing cruises to tourists. Description and history MERCANTILE is a total of 115 feet (35 m) long, with a deck 80 feet (24 m) and 22 feet (6.7 m) wide. Her normal sailing rig consists of a mainsail, foresail, two headsails, and no topsails. She is framed and planked out of white oak, and has a pine deck. Her woodwork was originally fastened by treenails, but when restored these where changed to galvanized spikes. MERCANTILE was built on Little Deer Isle, Maine by members of the Billings family over three seasons, and was launched in 1916. From then until 1943 the Billings operated her in the coasting trade as one of thousands of such vessels built. In 1943 she was briefly involved in the mackerel fisheries of southern New England, before she was sold to Frank Swift and adapted for use as a tourist vessel. In the 1930s Swift conceived of the idea of using these vessels, which were generally laid up in coves and harbors and left to rot, to carry paying customers on sailing cruises, and this was one of the early vessels he used for this purpose. Although she has undergone several ownership changes, she has always operated in the tourist trade out of Camden Harbor. Her most recent major restoration was in 1989. .