Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Rowboat |
Catalog Number |
2000.58.1 |
Maker |
Hicks, Raymond |
Date |
1999 |
Material(s) |
Yellow poplarwood; |
Dimensions |
H-22 W-59 D-193.5 inches |
Description |
This is a johnboat made of yellow poplar. It has a flat bottom with bow angled up. It is formed from various width boards nailed perpendicular to the length of the boat. The sides, made of two boards each, curve gently outward from stern to midships and then inward back to bow. There is a seat in rear and in the middle. The bow is decked for 29 inches. There are (9) nine ribs, each made of three boards nailed together. Three braces on bottom run the length of the boat. A brace (almost like a handrail) is nailed to the ribs several inches below the gunwale (top of sides). Two thick dowels, inserted in a batten board nailed just aft of the middle seat, serve as oar locks. The boat is painted green with white trim on the gunwale. The stern is made of two boards, both straight vertical. There is a heavy steel eyehook in bow with chain. |
Notes |
Raymond Hicks (1937-2012) was a boat builder who lived in Carrollton, Kentucky, along the Ohio River. He was a river pilot on the Ohio and Kentucky Rivers. Hicks was active for many years with the Kentucky Folklife Program. Raymond Hicks learned boat building in the shop of his grandfather Patrick O'Conner, an Irish immigrant who brought the designs of ocean going skiffs and other boats from the shores of Ireland. His grandfather adapted those designs to the needs of neighbors in Rabbit Hash, KY and nearby Rising Sun, IN. This boat was built in the traditional way with poplar planks nailed together and using string and paint to seal the joints. A completed boat would be submersed in water for two to three days depending on water temperature. As the wood swelled, the boat became tight as a drum. It was common in the 1940s and 1950s along the river to see hundreds of handmade wooden boats tied to trees and docks. |
Collection |
Raymond Hicks Collection |
People |
Hicks, Raymond O'Conner, Patrick |
Subjects |
Boat building Boating Boats Wood work Wood working |
Search Terms |
Rabbit Hash (Ky.) |
Physical Holder |
Kentucky Historical Society - KHS |