President Bradford Gorham announced that they Howland Society is going ahead with the shallop project. The Executive Committee voted at the annual meeting to accept Jay Lucas’ suggestion to name the boat the Elizabeth Tilley. Details such as fundraising and where/when to build the boat are being worked out.

To give the society some background for shipbuilding, the guest speaker at the annual banquet August 25, 2000 was Peter Arenstam, builder of the shallop at Plimoth Plantation. Before joining Plimoth Plantation, Peter worked at the Marine Museum in Bath, Maine. It was here that he learned maritime studies and about building boats.

The Mayflower II at sail

The story of the Plimoth Plantation shallop begins with the Mayflower II. The Mayflower II was built in 1957 in England as a gift for the United States for our efforts in World War II. The plans for the ship were drawn by William Baker. Baker conducted research on ships of the 17th century. From William Bradford’s Of Plimoth Plantation Baker found three facts about the ship:

It was 180 tons, old English measure, the name was Mayflower and it had at least one topsail and halyard. Bradford mentions this topsail and halyard as he wrote about a storm in which John Howland was swept off the ship into the ocean. He grabbed hold of the halyard and was pulled back into the ship, saving his life.

William Baker’s research also led him to a 16th century work by Matthew Baker, Fragments of Ancient Shipwrightery, which documented building and design of ships of that period. There are also a number of 17th century prints extant.

The Mayflower II sailed in 1957 and landed off Provincetown, Cape Cod. The Plimoth Plantation shallop went out to greet them. The captain, first mate and cabin boys were among those rowed ashore in the shallop.

The Shallop Elizabeth Tilley
Photo by Rob Vanbuskirk

A shallop is basically an open rowing boat of various sizes, double-ended, rowed or sailed. It can be taken apart for storage and assembled upon arrival. During the time of the original Mayflower, this was a very common vessel in Europe. Because it was so common, there is not much recorded information available today. William Baker relied on 17th century prints to design Plimoth Plantation’s shallop. Much of what we know about shallops and in fact everyday life comes from the Dutch. Their art work of this period was centered on themes from every day life and much of their art is still available.

The Plimoth Plantation shallop is the first known shallop to be built in a few hundred years. Today, this boat is used for outreach educational programs. They sail in 17th century clothes and play the part of sailors on a trade mission. The boat is 33 feet long and has a speed of about 4 to 4 ½ knots.

Peter Arenstam’s presentation included several slides to show the intricacy of building a boat. The Howland Society will need help in all phases of building the shallop, fundraising and recruiting a crew.

It will be thrilling indeed when Elizabeth Tilley sets sail.

This article appeared in the September 2000 issue of The Howland Quarterly.