| A buy boat
is a large vessel (usually 50' or more) that went up and down the Chesapeake
Bay and bought the daily catch from the Skipjacks and other working boats. The
buy boats would then take the catch to the market. You might say that these
boats were considered the middle men of the water. This practice enabled the
other working boats to stay out on the waters longer. These boats still work
today, but they also carry seed oysters out and plant them for the state, and
sometimes take classes or tour groups out for hire. |