Physical Dimensions
Length Overall: 76 feet
Length on Deck: 56 feet
Length at Waterline: 51 feet
Beam: Overall 17 feet
Draft: 7 feet
Tonnage: 42 tons burthen
Height of Main Mast: 64 feet
Sail Area (approximately):
1,965 square feet
Power: 2 Lehman 4-cylinder, Super 90 engines
Architect
William Avery Baker (deceased) of Hingham, Massachusetts. Mr. Baker was the designer of several historic vessels, including Adventure, a trading ketch of the 1670s; the 1776 whaleboat Middlesex; and Mayflower II. Mr. Baker served as curator of the Francis Russell Hart Nautical Museum at MIT.
Builder
James B. Richardson (deceased) of Cambridge, Maryland. Then 70, Mr. Richardson was coaxed out of retirement in 1977 to begin construction on 1978 Dove. A lifelong resident of the Eastern Shore, Mr. Richardson came from a long line of shipwrights. He and five assistants worked for 15 months on 1978 Dove at his boatyard off the Choptank River on Lecompte Creek. Richardson died in 1991.
Dates
Launch Date: August 14, 1978
Commissioned: October 8, 1978
1978 Dove
1978 Dove is a tall ship that was built in 1978. The ship design was based on cargo vessels of the late 1680s. In 17th-century Maryland, travel was a necessity for communication and trade, and water transportation was the best or only choice.
The 1978 Dove is now in dry dock at an off-site location.
1978 dove under sail. the current ship was built in 1978 by james b. richardson of cambridge, md.