David_Weatherly's Blog

In 1982 I made my first visit “Down East.” My wife and I were on our honeymoon and we toured Carteret County, Harkers Island and Cape Lookout. In those days, few tourists ventured into these isolated spots, but if you did, you were greeted with curious grins and a thick island brogue. Surrounded by salt marsh, sound and sea, the hardy souls who inhabited these small spits of sand, had for centuries, scratched out a living, shopped, and even courted aboard the most viable form of transportation they had; a vessel many times made by their own hands.  Nowhere else in our state has the boat played a larger role.  

Look closely at the picture above and you'll see me riding with Roy in the original "Folkswagon," during a trip to Carteret County. Check out the one below of a much younger Roy from the same trip.

 

When Roy Ackland and I first started going down there in search of stories, it was hard to miss the distinctive smell of fresh sawn cedar as it mixed well with the salt filled breeze. The laughter of sea gulls was interrupted by the constant rapping of hammers.

Everywhere you looked were boats in every stage of construction. Some of these projects looked like the skeleton of a great prehistoric beast. Further along, they would begin to take shape, displaying the graceful lines so synonymous with the area. Each finished product was a tribute to the knowledge, hard work and artistry of its creator. This was truly the home of watercraft at its finest. 

Much has changed in the past twenty years. Tourism, development and the influence of outsiders have polluted the once isolated lifestyle with a more modern mainland mindset. The island accent has been so diluted it’s hardly recognizable.

 

Worst of all, the automobile has replaced the boat for most transportation needs. Few people make their living from the water now and thus gone is the demand for boats. Few even notice, the proud heritage of the waterman slowly sinking into the ocean of obscurity.

 

Jimmy Amspacher is a “Downeaster” through and through.

He grew up in Atlantic, the town not the body of water, and although he worked inland most of his life, a strong connection to the sea remains. Jimmy has always built boats, starting with the first one he ever owned. He learned the craft the same way those before for him did, by watching, listening and helping the island boat building legends as they plied their craft. Now he hopes to pass his knowledge along; maybe not necessarily to the next generation of islanders, but to anyone with an interest and appreciation for this watery link to the past.

 To do so, Jimmy Amspacher has built the "Great Marsh Boatworks" near his Marshallberg home.

Students can come, spend a week with him and leave with the basic knowledge of boat building, as he says, “the right way.” They’ll also take home a sea worthy craft to show for their efforts. The irony is, the same outside world that leaked in and displaced the local culture and custom, may be the very thing that keeps the art of boat building alive.

 

No, things will never be the same down east. The innocence and isolation are gone for good, but hopefully, through Jimmy’s efforts, a little bit of the boat building heritage can survive.  Maybe the echos of hammers will continue to rattle our eardrums and the smell of cedar, will tickle our noses, at least for a little while longer.

 Click here to see the "Roy's Folks" segment about Jimmy.