Maritime Trades: Close to the sea

Related services, industries and trades

Skilled craftspeople and talented professionals supported the ship- and boatbuilding industries and the ongoing maintenance and operation of vessels throughout their working lives, whatever their types and functions. Trades and services included sailmaking, ropemaking, ship’s plumbing and provisioning of vessels. Blacksmiths -- "shipsmiths" -- provided metal fittings, and woodcarvers produced figureheads and other decorative vessel features. As the age of sail waned, Connecticut maritime industries adapted to focus on the manufacture and installation of steam, diesel and gas engines.

< Carving on the billethead of the two-masted schooner Emma C. Berry. Built in Noank in 1866 at the Palmer yard as a sloop-rigged fishing boat and later re-rigged as a schooner, the Emma C. Berry was a well-smack, having an open, water-filled hold for keeping live catch. She is just one example of how vessels change form (and often function) over time. In such vessels, Connecticut natives fished northern waters in the warmer months and southern waters in the winter, bringing New England architectural and other cultural influences to areas such as Key West. The Emma C. Berry is now in the Mystic Seaport watercraft collection.

Seven sailmakers, New London
ca. 1880
Photo CD: 1341
File: Img0043.pcd

< Rope and sailmakers also played a key role in the maritime industry. These men are standing outside Barry's Sail Loft in New London. Two are holding coils of rope, and two long wooden fids. Sailmaking provided the foundation of at least one family fortune. Charles Mallory got his start as a sailmaker and later established the Charles Mallory & Sons shipbuilding firm. Like many families engaged in maritime trades, the Mallorys involved themselves in a number of related enterprises.

Mianus Motor Works
Between 1895 and 1911
Photo CD: 4206
File: Img0096.pcd

< From the mid-nineteenth century on, marine engines were another area of enterprise. There were a number of Connecticut manufacturers and fitters of engines for ships and boats, including the Mystic Iron Works, Lathrop Engine Company, Holmes Motor Company of Mystic, and the Mianus Machine Works/Diesel Engine Company of Mianus and Stamford. The Mianus Motor Works was originally located on the Mianus River south of the current I-95 bridge. Later renamed the Mianus Diesel Engine Company, it provided engines for many types of vessels.

< Increasingly, Connecticut-built working and recreational vessels alike were powered by engines, as was the motor yacht Spindrift, designed by R.M. Haddock and built by Luders Marine Construction Company of Stamford.

< In the days when Connecticut ports were bustling centers of seagoing commerce, vessels had to be outfitted and supplied for their voyages. In some cities, businesses (called “chandleries”) were able to focus on supporting these needs. In many towns merchants had to diversify their stock and services. The N.G. Fish & Co. store is an example. Nathan Gallup Fish (1804-1870) had a long career in Mystic. He was a ship's captain, shipbuilder and investor and owned the retail store and coal yard that bore his name.

< Another family business serving the needs of the maritime community was that of Thomas H. Newbury. He provided ship's plumbing as well as other goods and services in the Mystic area. Available at and through the T.H. Newbury store next to the drawbridge on East Main Street were stoves, plumbing hardware and souvenir plates, among other items. The commercial building that housed his store and others, once known as the Mallory Block, was referred to as the Newbury Block by the turn of the century.

< Yet another source of livelihood was boat storage. During the winter, many smaller vessels were hauled out and protected from the elements.

Link to other essays in this Journey:

>> Introduction: Maritime Trades
>> "Made in Connecticut": Shipbuilding
       and boatbuilding
>> Whaling, sealing and fishing

>> Guideposts
>> Suggestions for further reading