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Whitehall Rowboat

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A whitehall rowboat

Whitehall Rowboats are considered one of the most refined rowboats of the 1800s. They were first made at the foot of Whitehall Street in N.Y.C. to be used to ferry goods, services, and sailors on and off of the boats coming into New York Harbor. The boats range from 14 to 22 ft in length, the larger requiring two people to row them. They were the first boats to be manufactured in volume, and the first to incorporate an inverted-hull frame set up. The hull shape is characterized by a nearly straight stem, and slight flare to the bow, rounded sides, with a keel running the entire length of the bottom and a distinctive wine glass transom with a full skeg. Considered one of the most beautiful row-boats, they are designed to handle the harbor chop and yet track straight. Speed was the issue with these boats, as the first to the ship with the goods generally received the lion's share of the sales. Later the shore patrol used these boats for customs, police issues, water taxi, and newspaper reporting. Whitehalls in the early 1900s were a popular recreational hull shape as they have a huge amount of reserve buoyancy in the stern and thus a person who is not well acquainted with small boats may stand in the stern sheets and step ashore onto a dock or another boat and not upset the boat. Also a beginning rower will have no trouble rowing this boat in a straight line. Turning is another matter and requires strong strokes on one side, but by braking with one oar and pulling with the other the boat can be turned in its own length. These boats are still being manufactured in both wood and fiberglass, in both a strict rowing and combination row and sailing configuration. The latest version of the Whitehall design is constructed in thermo-cast polymer and features a sliding seat configuration designed for recreational rowing.