If, after crossing the Northumberland Strait via the 8-mile long Confederation Bridge, you turn left and pass through the town of Summerside, you'll soon find yourself in the gently rolling farmland of western Prince Edward Island (PEI). This is the road less travelled as far as island tourism goes. No roadside attractions and only a few hotels and restaurants. Along the western shore of the island you will pass through tiny fishing hamlets built around the mouths of small creeks. Often they consist of just a breakwater and a few homes. This is unpretentious rural countryside and it's where the local inhabitants have carved out a living from the sea and the land for over 200 years. About half way along the western shore, between West Point and North Cape, you'll arrive at Miminegash, where Jimmy Doucette and his sons build traditional Northumberland Style fishing boats for work and pleasure.
Like many of the local inhabitants of this region the Doucettes are descended from French-speaking Acadians who were the first Europeans to colonize the area of what are now known as Canada's Maritime Provinces. Under French rule Prince Edward Island was known as Ile St. Jean and had a population of around four or five thousand. After the island became British at the end of the Seven Years War in 1760 most of the Acadians were deported to France or fled to Quebec. However by the 1830s many had begun to settle again on the island. By this time much of the best farmland was occupied, so, as in other parts of the Maritimes, the Acadians on PEI turned to the sea. Today their descendants carry on this tradition of hard work and self-reliance.
Like fishing boats the world over, the boats of western PEI have evolved to suit the local conditions in which they have to work. These boats are commonly called Northumberland Strait boats and their distinctinve sharp and flared bow was developed to cope with the short steep seas common to the area. The early wooden boats were often referred to as "Wedge Boats" and were built with an edge nailed technique using narrow wood strips. This was due in part to the fact that the boats were hauled out in the winter and an edge nailed boat was more likely to stay tight. These boats were also easily driven to allow for a good turn of speed with modest power (some early powered versions were very narrow indeed). Since the islanders generally fished lines of lobster traps rather than individual pots, the boats had long straight keels, which made for good directional stability. This directional stability also aids fuel efficiency.
Jimmy Doucette started fishing while still in his teens. Over the years he experienced most of what the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait have to offer. When Jimmy started his boat shop in the early 1990s most of the boats he serviced and repaired were still made of wood. Although the boats were all of the Northumberland type, each local builder had his own favorite characteristics and style. The experience Jimmy gained by fishing and working on many different boats gave him a good idea of what characteristics worked best. When he began building his own boats (in wood at first, using the local edge nailed system) he was able to incorporate the best features of the many boats he had seen and used. In the last wooden boat he built Jimmy felt he had a hull that gave him the best all around performance. It was this hull that was carefully and laboriously faired to make the plug for the Doucette 45 mould.
The same characteristics that make the Northumberland style boat so well suited to its local waters also make it particularly good when adapted to recreational coastal cruising. Many popular cruising areas, such as Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes and the shallow waters of the Bahamas and Florida Keys, have similar characteristics. A seaworthy boat that can handle rough, steep waves and still have the turn and speed needed to make safe harbour ahead of bad weather can be the difference between leisurely cruising and endurance cruising. Whether it is a commercial vessel or a luxury yacht, Jimmy and his sons, Andy and Mark, put the pride they have in their Acadian heritage into each boat they build.
You can view aerial photos of Miminegash Harbour at www.marinas.com .
