Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 6, 1990 TAG: 9006060388
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MARIANNA FILLMORE SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: MCCOY LENGTH: Medium
The narrow, steep access road with a sharp left turn could scarcely accommodate the high-sided truck with its long flatbed trailer. With much maneuvering and shouted advice, a group of river buffs backed the trailer down to the water's edge and eased a 46-foot bateau - a lightweight, flat-bottomed boat - into the river.
Walter Gills of Hanover County, north of Richmond, was the captain of the vessel, with Brian White of Goochland County as first mate. White's wife, Linda, and Charlie Massie, also of Goochland; Randy and Mary Buchanan of Richmond; and Eric Kleinberg and Jim Gorman of Blacksburg completed the crew that set out from Whitethorne early on the windy afternoon.
Their bateau is an authentic replica of early Virginia cargo boats. In colonial days, bateaux were loaded with great hogsheads of tobacco and poled down rivers such as the James to meet larger, seagoing vessels below the Fall Line. After unloading their cargo, owners either dismantled their boats and sold the lumber or had their slaves pole them back upriver.
When excavation work was done for the James Center in Richmond several years ago, some skeletons of these bateaux were discovered, stimulating a great deal of interest in the vessels. Gills was one of those interested. Together with White and another friend, he looked deeper into the possibility of constructing a reproduction.
Eventually, 11 friends built the Mudcat from trees that they felled and milled themselves on a farm in Goochland County. Over several months in early 1987, they made every effort to adhere to the original design, basing their templates on patterns from the unearthed remains in Richmond.
Painstakingly, they shaped the ribs out of white and red oak, poplar and pine and caulked the seams with oakum and cotton rope. Carefully, they fashioned the sweeps - long, curving oars used both for navigation and propulsion - from ash and mounted them in the bow and in the stern for greater flexibility in maneuvering the boat. In the interest of authenticity, they used only nails - no screws or other modern materials.
"Then we kind of aim the bow through the rapids and let the stern follow where it will and hope we come through all right," said Massie.
Since its construction, the bateau has participated in the annual James River Festival, which celebrates the history of the river. About 12 bateaux make a 140-mile trip from Lynchburg to Maiden in Goochland County, striving to re-create the past - no motors, no radios, no electric lights.
Participants even dress in colonial style. Each night they stop at small towns, which usually sponsor some type of folk entertainment. The crew plans to take part again this year in June.
The group uses the Mudcat about a half-dozen times a year. It usually makes a Fourth of July float trip on the James River and tries to make one on the Staunton or James in the fall. "She has about 500 miles on her," said Massie.
When not in use, the Mudcat is kept submerged in a pond in Cumberland County to keep the wood from drying out and losing its water-tightness.
This was the second trip on the New River for the Mudcat. Last year, the boat put in below the falls in McCoy but ended its trip abruptly after hitting a rock near Ripplemead in Giles County.
More recently the river adventurers were looking forward to a leisurely three-day trip to Narrows, fishing and relaxing.
by CNB