Friendship Sloop

History

Fishermen in Friendship and neighboring Bremen collectively originated the boat's design, influenced in part, by the fishing sailboats of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The boat was used primarily for lobstering or local commerce. Boat builder Wilbur A. Morse was principle among five major Muscongus Bay builders that produced the design from the 1880s to the 1910s. From then until 1960 four major builders continued the tradition, three from the region.

One person could manage its single-masted rig and haul traps unassisted, yet the boat could carry sizable loads. With an open cockpit aft, and a small forward cabin outfitted with bunks and a stove, it made fishing during cold weather much less arduous than in an open boat. By 1900 these sloops ranged from 30–40 feet (9.1–12.2 m) feet long along the deck and were used for bringing fish or lobsters from offshore vessels to processing plants.

In the 1900s the boats received auxiliary motors until 1920, when power boats supplanted them for commercial use. Thereafter, the fleet became available to those who adapted boats to become affordable sailing yachts.

Modern reproductions, both wooden and fiberglass, continue to be built. although the cockpits and interiors of such pleasure craft tend to be substantially different from the original workboats. The overall design and historical example of the type are preserved through the Friendship Sloop Society. The society holds annual races in Maine.