The History of the Iva W.
Iva W. is a Chesapeake Bay Boat (a flat bottomed, wooden, bay freighter) that we have altered to live aboard and charter. We bought Iva W. upon her retirement as a working vessel in the lower Chesapeake Bay. She was built by John Wright of Deltaville, Va. for Captain Johnny Ward who was only 26 years old when she was launched in 1929. He named her for his young wife, Iva, and paid about $2800 for the complete boat minus the engine. We bought her in Oct. of 1998 from Captain Johnny when he was 96 years old making us only the second owners. In 2004 she will celebrate her 75th year as a working vessel.
The first 50 years of Iva's life were spent hauling crabs and oysters from the lower Chesapeake to markets in Crissfield, MD and Baltimore. Captain Johnny and a crew of three would spend the day tonging their own oysters off the mud bottom (in later years they "drudged" the bottom with a 6ft. rake operated off the boat's engine), and at days end they would by tons more oysters and crabs (depending on the season) from the smaller work boays and sailing vessels ("skipjacks") in the vicinity and head off to sell the catch. Because Iva's chief mission was to buy the bays produce at one point and deliver it to another, Captain Johnny had to carry substantial quantities of cash on board, and would thus have to face the threat of robbery. He also had to face the risk that he might not be able to sell the boat load for more than he paid for it. Captain Johnny was successful on both accounts and enjoyed an almost legendary status in the lower Chesapeake.
Iva W. is 60ft long and has a beam of 16.5ft. and she draws 4.5 ft. She "weighs" 40 tons and often carried 60 tons of the bay's produce. The oysters and crabs were carried in a standard unit of measure called a "barrel," two of which you can see aboard. For decades, Iva W. left the Ward home in Deltaville, Va. Monday mornings and ran 24hours a day until the following Saturday evening when they returned. On Sundays the captain and crew of 3 went to church, changed the oil in the engine, and cleaned and prepared the boat to leave the next day.
The first engine in Iva was manufactured by Regal and the second was an Atlas, both of them gas. The Ward family watermen assured us the giant Caterpillar D13000 diesel engine (10 ft. long, including the gear, 6 ft. high and almost 3 ft. across, weighing 8,000 lbs.) now in the boat would outlive us so we decided to keep it. The engine, designed in the late 1930's, and put in Iva in about 1940 turns a 40 inch wheel on a 3 inch stainless shaft and we cruise at 600 rpm's consuming 3 gallons of diesel fuel an hour at 7 knots. The engine requires 13 gallons of engine oil and 26 gallons of water in the cooling system. In the early years of her life, Iva had a gaff sail on the mast that is now in place. It was used to steady the boat when the crew needed Iva side ways in the swells. We have left the mast (a phone poll) and cut the boom off so we could preserve a bit of the look of the 1920's. The wood in the boom had over 80 growth rings when it was cut down as a tree, probably in 1927 or 28. Other boards we have cut out also have at least this many growth rings. It is safe to say that the spruce-heart wood in her is at least 155-160 years old.
In the 1960's, Iva W. began a transition to hauling mostly seed oysters and produce such as watermelons, tomatoes and cabbages, but with each new bridge across the rivers and creeks of both the Virginia and Maryland sides of the Chesapeake, Iva's opportunity to work diminished.
Marilee and I looked long and hard to find a vessel like Iva. We started in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and worked our way south looking at every old sardine carrier, tug boat, fishing trawler, shrimper, scallop dragger or whatever on the East Coast. We wanted a coastal/river/bay boat we could live on and have family and friends, children and grandchildren travel around with us on. We found the "pre-owned" commercial boat market offered by far the most boat for the least investment. Although many elderly working vessels turned our heads, we were smitten by Iva's beautiful hull, her honorable history, and the obvious care and love for the boat offered by Captain Johnny and his three sons, Mel, Floyd and Mit Ward, all of whom are tetired Chesapeake Bay Buy Boat owners and captains. We have a photograph showing 6 buy boats at the Ward family dock in Deltaville on Christmas.
Iva looked far different in 1998. We spent months drawing every conceivable configuration of the boat that would offer maximum space, wase of construction, and be somewhat true to Chesapeake traditions. We happened across pictures of three buy boats which had been originally built as multi-decked of had been modified to this form. Blissful and thoroughly ignorant, I thought: We will just cut the pilot house off, move it back on beams, build a 12x30 ft. saloon and then crane the pilot house on top. It will be like building a shed in the backyard--a few 2x4's and paneling and away we go. We'll be done in 6 months to a year. Over five years later (and much more money than I had) here we sit, almost done. (December, 2003).
Recently, the Iva W. was the winner of the Spectator's Choice Award at the 10th annual Ocean Reef Club "Vintage Weekend" in Key Largo. |
