Julian Guthrie, Boat Builder, Harkers Island

Julian Guthrie built his first wooden deadrise sail skiff in 1930 when he was twelve years old. He built it, he says, just to see if he could do it. Like other boatbuilders on Harkers Island, he hunted the local maritime forest for raw materials such as branches with the correct angles for making natural knees for the skiff. For the frame, he searched for heart pine or oak, and for the sides, juniper.

"A saw, a hammer, and a hatchet" were Guthrie's first boatbuilding tools. The wind-sculpted oaks sheltered his outdoor workshop for those early skiffs. His rare boatbuilding talents became evident when he built his boats without first drawing up plans or half models. He took his measurements by the "rack of the eye." How did he know his lines were true? "I just go off a ways and look at her," he said, "and if she don't look right, I change her."

In Carteret County, and especially among family members there, Guthrie could call on tradition and experience to help him complete his precocious boat projects. His uncle, for whom he built that first skiff, and his grandfather were among the many wooden boatbuilders that Harkers Island has produced. His mother, Marian Nelson Guthrie, from Brown's Island just north of Harkers Island, also came from a family of fishers and seafaring people.

The tradition originates, in part, from the 19th century community of Diamond City, a windswept outpost on Shackleford Banks once served by the Cape Lookout lighthouse. Diamond City was a fishing and lightering village where residents who wanted boats built their own. A series of severe hurricanes in 1898 and 1899 prompted the entire population of Diamond City to relocate. Julian Guthrie's father, a fisherman who was born in Diamond City, was among those who moved to Harkers Island.

"There was always something to do," Mr. Guthrie says about growing up on the island. The Guthries kept a garden, hunted, and fished for croakers and trout and mullet. During the seasons, they would shrimp and clam. Occasionally, they built a boat to sell. Guthrie remembers that it was a good life, and fun.

For about 35 years, Guthrie owned and operated Hi-Tide, a boatbuilding shop on the island. From his shop, he sold boats from Maryland to Florida. There he expanded his designs from the 20-foot skiff to 85-foot yachts and trawlers. He also created the "Red Snapper," a large workboat to accommodate commercial fishermen who complained that they could not stay out long enough to be cost effective. In his design, a styrofoam-insulated box in the boat holds 20,000 lbs. of fish and tons of ice, a capacity that allows the boat to be out for a week at a time.

Guthrie retired from his shop in 1985, but his influence continues. Over the years, he has shared his talents with younger builders who remain in the business today. Three years ago, he was honored at UNC-Wilmington by the Institute for Human Potential with its "Living Treasure of North Carolina" award. His most enduring reward, however, is more pervasive and daily: the "Guthrie Boat" is a recognizable boat type today along the southern end of the East Coast. Many folks would own nothing else.