Bugeye

Brogans typically used the same sail plan as the log canoes of the Tilghman Island region, a leg-of-mutton (i.e., triangular) foresail, mainsail and jib, with the foremast taller than the main.

Like the earlier brogan, the typical bugeye, designed by William Reeves who was originally from Nova Scotia, was two-masted, with triangular “leg-of-mutton” mainsail, foresail and jib.

As with the earlier brogans and the log canoes, the masts were sharply raked (tilted), although they were set up with stays and shrouds.

To increase deck space a "patent stern" was installed after 1893; it consisted of a set of three beams: one across the duck tail, and two joining its ends to either side of the boat.

Early winders were simple hand-cranked spools, eventually equipped with devices to prevent injuries when the dredge caught on an obstruction.

In either case a pair of rollers was mounted at the rail on either side, to protect the hull from rubbing and to reduce friction as the dredges were raised.

Oystering was performed in the winter (the "R months" of September through April); in the summer the boats were used in light freight work where it was available.

At the end of the run the dredge would be lifted onto the deck and the live oysters separated from the dead shells and other debris.

More enterprising captains would then sail the boat directly to the markets in Baltimore, Crisfield, and other towns where the oysters were bought at wholesale and processed.

With its low freeboard, the bugeye was not generally considered to be an ocean-going vessel; some boats were however sailed to the West Indies in the off season for the tropical trade.

It had the distinction of being commissioned in the United States Navy in World War I, taking the name USS Dorchester in this service.

Many of the survivors gave up dredging and devoted themselves to the buy boat business, in which case the sails were no longer wanted.

One of the best examples of the type still in existence is the Edna E. Lockwood, which is on exhibit at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in Saint Michaels, Maryland.

The Lockwood is a nine log bugeye launched on October 5, 1889 at Tilghman Island, Maryland, by John B. Harrison for Daniel Haddaway, at a cost of $2,200.