30' Diggs Chesapeake Deadrise Power Cruiser (1997) - TRUANT

“Truant” is the last Chesapeake Bay deadrise boat build by Edward N. Diggs in 1997 at Horn Harbor Marina in Port Haywood in Mathews County, Virginia. Mr. Diggs was a prolific builder of commercial Chesapeake Bay deadrises on the southern part of the Bay. Truant was built for a local school teacher in Mathews, Virginia as a recreational Bay sport fishing boat which explains the choice of juniper planking over white oak frames. Juniper had the advantage of being very light weight and easy to work with but was generally not considered tough enough for the commercial boats. Truant still resides in Hudgins Horn Harbor Marina where she is honored to be amongst many remaining Diggs Deadrises still commercially working the waters of the Bay.

The following excerpt is from a Mathews Maritime Museum event/testimonial honoring Mr. Diggs at the time of his death on November 26, 2020.

Edward Diggs of Mathews County, VA, a well-known Chesapeake Bay deadrise boatbuilder,
passed away on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2020, at age 93.

On October 16, 2011 there was a surprise reception at the Mathews Maritime Museum. Over 100 people came to honor Edward Diggs and view his many boat models which were on display that day. Edward Diggs learned the boatbuilding trade with his father, Edgar Diggs, and with Lennie R. and Alton Smith, building everything from skiffs to deck boats. A co-worker at Horn Harbor Marina, Cecil Hudgins, was quoted saying ‘Edward knows more about boats than Noah.'”

And another excerpt from the local obituary for Mr. Diggs:

“Mr. Edward”, as he was known by a lot of his boat owner friends, lived in Mathews all his life. He was a master craftsman and was always building something. As a side job, he has built houses, and remodeled or whatever was required to keep the family fed. However, his true skill was as a boat builder. He was known far and wide but, especially in Mathews, for his ability to build a Chesapeake Bay deadrise boat. He built boats well past his retirement years and was always available to help work on someone’s boat. When he wasn’t able to build full size boats anymore, he started building model boats for people who owned his boats.