The East

James Rose
Boat builder and waterman

"I learned boat building from observing the best. My distant cousins started the original Rose Brother's Boat Works. Dad worked with Earl Rose, the noted builder. When fishing was off, Dad built boats. He was strong - his biceps were as hard as a piece of black walnut. Swinging a three pound maul, he drove the spikes deep into the hull of the ship. Imagine - the builders worked beneath the hull, swinging their mauls upward!

Mostly, I built skiffs, like the flat bottom Core Sounder; schooners; trawlers; and re-creations of famous boats. My miniatures are made the same way full-size crafts are built. Some of the wooden-hull boats I make are centuries-old designs. I could build them blindfolded."

From an early age, James Rose absorbed everything there is to know about boats from his grandfather and father. He can build 100 different designs but has never used written plans. His models of authentic North Carolina working boats are as rich and detailed as the stories he tells about his memories of working on the water.