Little is known about the small open boat or “shallop” that John Smith used to make his exploration of the Chesapeake in 1608. Most likely, the vessel was built in England and transported to America in the hold of the Susan Constant, the flagship of the Jamestown fleet.  Measuring about 30 feet in length, the shallop was too large to travel to America in its final form and thus had to be transported in sections which were reassembled upon arrival in Virginia.

The 2007 voyage is employing a full-scale reproduction of Smith’s shallop, built at the Sultana Shipyard in Chestertown, Maryland.  Constructed using period materials and techniques, this new shallop is home to a crew of 12 modern adventures as they attempt to retrace Smith’s expedition.

Click here for photos of the Shallop.

 

2007 Shallop Specs:
Length Overall:	28 feet, 7 inches
Beam:	7 feet, 8 inches
Framing:	Osage Orange
Planking:	White Oak
Fastenings:	Wooden Nails and Iron Fastenings
Oars:	6 "single banked" oars
Sails:	2 sailed "sprit" rig
Builders:	John E. Swain, Master Shipwright,
	Nicholas Biles, Shipwright
	The Volunteers of the Sultana Shipyard - Chestertown, Maryland
Rigging:	Matthew Otto, Rigger - Mystic Seaport Museum
Ironwork:	Kelly Smyth, Shipsmith
Research & Design:	Sultana Projects, Inc. John E. Swain, Master Shipwright Kees de Mooy - C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College The papers of William A. Baker Eric Speth - Maritime Program Manager, Jamestown Yorktown Foundation Research funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society Expeditions Council