Here we see the Coastal Schooner Mercantile on Thursday, June 24. The morning sun is just reaching her in Great Cove, where she sheltered overnight. She hails from Camden, Maine, and reportedly is one of only four of the traditional Maine schooners left.
The Mercantile is a 115-foot, two-masted schooner that was launched from nearby Little Deer Isle, Maine, in 1916 and was restored in 1989. When originally built, her design was common for the American vessels that toted goods and materials from one East Coast port to another, as trucks now do.
She’s 115 feet long overall with two masts on which sails are raised on wooden gaffs; that is, she’s “gaff-rigged.” Her foremast is shorter than her aft one, making her a typical “schooner.” The difference between a schooner and a ketch was evident the morning the Mercantile was in because the Angelique was also sheltering in the Cove at the time. Note the that foremast of a schooner usually is shorter than the other mast and the situation is reversed on the ketch:
The Mercantile is considered a “shoal draft schooner” because she has a flat bottom that will allow her to draw only five feet of water or beach herself and offload without the aid of a pier. She does have a retractable keel (centerboard) for sailing, which increases her draw to 10 feet 7 inches when it is down.
The Mercantile did not leave the Cove while we while we were ther. However, here are archiove images of her raising sail and leaving the Cove on previous visits:
Leighton Archive Image
Although common for her cargo-carrying time, the Mercantile reportedly now is only one of four such coastal cruisers still sailing. The other survivors are all in Maine waters: the Lewis R. French (launched in 1871), Stephen Taber (1871), and Grace Bailey (1882).
A fifth of her type, the Governor Stone (1877) out of Panama City, Florida, sailed the Gulf of Mexico until sunk during Hurricane Michael in 1918. I understand that repairs to her are being made and paid for mostly by volunteer contributions. (Brooklin, Maine)