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The Workboats of Smith Island
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The Workboats of Smith Island Hardback - 1997

by Paula J. Johnson

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Reader reviews for The Workboats of Smith Island

From the publisher

"The people of Smith Island need their boats. They depend on their boats to make a living. They depend on their boats to go back and forth to Crisfield... That's what keeps Smith Island going, these boats these people have around here. It's the only way." -- Larry Marsh, Smith Island

Smith Island, the largest Maryland island in Chesapeake Bay, remains one of the most interesting communities on the Atlantic coast. Smith Islanders speak a sort of Tidewater English, are devoted to the Methodist faith, and maintain an intense relationship with the waters of the bay. For generations, they have relied on fishing, oystering, and crabbing for their livelihood and have developed workboats that reflect the conditions -- both natural and cultural -- of local waters.

In The Workboats of Smith Island, Paula J. Johnson looks extensively at the remarkable variety of boats -- documenting in fascinating detail their design, construction, and use -- and the watermen who depend on them. Johnson identifies the three vessel types most common on Smith Island today: crab-scraping boats, deadrise workboats, and skiffs. Every Smith Islander, she notes, owns at least one workboat, and many have two or even three, requiring each for a different purpose -- harvesting "peelers" (blue crabs in various stages of molting), oystering or crab potting, and providing basic transportation.

Johnson talks with Smith Island's watermen and boatbuilders, as well as their families and neighbors, about the history and future of the island and about the boats that dominate the island's cultural landscape. She includes dozens of photographs and drawings of Smith Island's distinctive watercraft. The result is a singular portrait of a community inextricably linked to the water.

"Paula Johnson has made a meaningful and substantial contribution to the literature of Chesapeake Bay maritime culture. Focusing on the community of Smith Island and its dependence on the Bay, Workboats of Smith Island will surely attract a variety of audiences, from scholars to general readers with an interest in the Chesapeake region and its maritime heritage." -- Quentin T. Snediker, Mystic Seaport Museum

Details

  • Title The Workboats of Smith Island
  • Author Paula J. Johnson
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition First Edition, F
  • Pages 112
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD
  • Publication date 1997-05
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780801854842 / 0801854849
  • Weight 1.95 lbs (0.88 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.38 x 12.35 x 0.6 in (23.83 x 31.37 x 1.52 cm)
  • Category Transportation
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 96032866
  • Dewey Decimal Code 623.820

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The Workboats of Smith Island
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Workboats of Smith Island

by Johnson, Paula J

  • Used
  • Hardback
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New
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780801854842 / 0801854849
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Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997-05-20. Hardcover. Like New. 12x9x0. As new clean tight and bright oblong format hardcover in jacket. oversized and overweight. Please email for photos.
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A$120.49
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The Workboats of Smith Island
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The Workboats of Smith Island

by Johnson, Paula J.

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  • Hardback
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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780801854842 / 0801854849
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hardcover. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book.
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The Workboats of Smith Island
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The Workboats of Smith Island

by Johnson, Paula J.

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  • Hardback
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1st Edition
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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr, 1997. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall.
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The Workboats of Smith Island
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The Workboats of Smith Island

by Johnson, Paula J

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  • Hardback
Condition
New
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780801854842 / 0801854849
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Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997-05-20. Hardcover. New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title!
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A$223.16
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