Traditional Downeast North Carolina wooden boats are a reflection of those people who built and used them … practical, sturdy and resilient. And like Downeast itself, they display a grace and natural beauty like none other. Each one built for a particular need, using no blueprints, these boats were workhorses of their day. They provided transportation to “the mainland,” delivered the mail and supplies, and they worked the water.
Many of them still work the water, from Ocracoke and Atlantic to Marshallberg and Harkers Island. They are not necessarily the sleekest or most powerful, but each of these wooden boats perpetuates a legacy so rich in history that the connection to the water and the communities of Downeast is spiritual.
Down East boatbuilders used their scraps to build a little boat for the yard. Today, at Little Skiff Boatworks, we build these boats just like a full sized workboat...only smaller. These decorative wooden boats are wonderful accents in the garden, but they can be so much more... toy keepers for children, coffee tables, salad bars, buffet tables or coolers for entertaining Downeast style!
At Little Skiff Boatworks, we hope to honor and preserve the tradition of building juniper boats by “rack of the eye,”
and share the rewards the boats have to offer with new
generations. In doing this, we also hope to pass on a love of all that is Downeast. So come see how these boats were built, experience the community of Marshallberg, smell the juniper…
come build your boat.