Nice when you are thinking to see things in betwen the lines
The choice of Durham is legendary:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_boat
The Durham name became associated with this boat type due to their use by the
Durham
Ironworks
of Durham, Pennsylvania for
hauling freight
very little is known of construction details
No plans exist
and
likely they were not used
No extant remains have been found and very little written description exists.
builders would have used
whatever material was available.
Durham boats would have
varied from place to place,
from builder to builder
and also
evolved over time
The Durham boat “…was the sole means of moving commodities
noted for
their use in Washington's crossing of the Delaware River during the
American Revolution.
the usual crew was three men
The captain, who steered
held the boat
from going back with the current
with a pole while
the crew returned to repeat the process.
At one time, there were reportedly
several hundred Durham boats
on the Delaware River. They sometimes
traveled in groups as large as twenty-five so that the crews could aid each other. One observer recalled sitting on the river bank watching a number of
Durham
boats
waiting for a favorable wind,
and when a breeze came up, “…off they would go
like a flock of sheep.
Durham
boats were the
watercraft of choice
on the waterway
for traffic
handsome Durham
boat of the ordinary size, or of about 250 bbls. Burthen. She was
not intended for freight
but for passengers
Durham boats were ideal for their task
modern replicas
were built to be
used in annual reenactments