REEDVILLE—The Reedville Fishermen’s Museum (RFM) was recently gifted a 99-year-old traditional Chesapeake Deadrise Draketail with a Dolphin Nose Stern.
The beautiful boat, Fannie, is 36 feet in length, has a 6-foot beam and a 2-foot, 6-inch draft, reported executive director Shauna McCranie. The boat was built in 1924 by Charles Spencer who built two boats in his yard at Brick Inn on Main Street in St. Michaels, Md. One of the boats was named Fannie, after his daughter.
History has it that Spencer sold Fannie to the Charles Kilmon family who worked her during World War II from Oak Creek near Newcomb, Md. The Kilmon family sold Fannie to Thomas Melville, who kept her on Balls Creek near Neavitt, Md., with plans to restore her, although that restoration work was not carried out during his ownership. When Melville moved to Ohio he sold Fannie to Douglas Edwards, who restored her at….
