Rum-running Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===The ships=== [[File:75ft Coast Guard Patrol Boat.jpg|thumb|left|''CG-100'', a typical [[75-foot patrol boat]]]] [[File:Rumrunner on fire.jpg|thumb|right|Rum-runner ''Linwood'' set afire to destroy evidence]] [[File:StateLibQld 1 147135 Malahat (ship).jpg|thumb|right|Pacific Coast offshore rum-runner [[Malahat (schooner)|''Malahat'']], a five-masted [[schooner]]]] At the start, the rum-runner fleet consisted of a ragtag flotilla of fishing boats, such as the schooner ''[[Nellie J. Banks]]'', excursion boats, and small merchant craft. As prohibition wore on, the stakes got higher and the ships became larger and more specialized. Converted fishing ships like McCoy's ''Tomoka'' waited on Rum Row and were soon joined by small motor freighters custom-built in [[Nova Scotia]] for rum running, with low, grey hulls, hidden compartments, and powerful wireless equipment. Examples include the [[HMCS Reo II|Reo II]]. Specialized high-speed craft were built for the ship-to-shore runs. These high-speed boats were often luxury [[yacht]]s and [[speedboat]]s fitted with powerful aircraft engines, machine guns, and armor plating. Often, builders of rum-runners' ships also supplied Coast Guard vessels, such as Fred and Mirto Scopinich's [[Freeport, New York#History|Freeport Point Shipyard]].<ref>{{cite video| date = February 23, 2007| title = History Alive:Rumrunners, Moonshiners and Bootleggers Trivia and Quotes| url = http://www.tv.com/history-alive/rumrunners-moonshiners-and-bootleggers/episode/988813/recap.html?tag=episode_header;recap| medium = television| publisher = History Channel| access-date = March 11, 2011| archive-date = June 29, 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629022904/http://www.tv.com/history-alive/rumrunners-moonshiners-and-bootleggers/episode/988813/recap.html?tag=episode_header%3Brecap| url-status = dead}}</ref> Rum-runners often kept cans of used engine oil handy to pour on hot exhaust manifolds in case a screen of smoke was needed to escape the revenue ships. On the government's side, the rum chasers were an assortment of [[patrol boat]]s, inshore patrol, and harbor cutters. Most of the patrol boats were of the "six-bit" variety: [[75-foot patrol boat|75-foot craft]] with a top speed of about 12 knots. There was also an assortment of launches, harbor tugs, and miscellaneous small craft. The rum-runners were often faster and more maneuverable than government ships, and a rum-running captain could make several hundred thousand dollars a year. In comparison, the [[Commandant of the Coast Guard]] made just $6,000 annually, and seamen made $30/week.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} Because of this disparity, the rum-runners were generally willing to take bigger risks. They ran without lights at night and in fog, risking life and limb. Shores could sometimes be found littered with bottles from a rum-runner who sank after hitting a [[sandbar]] or a [[reef]] in the dark at high speed.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} The Coast Guard relied on hard work, reconnaissance, and big guns to get their job done. It was not uncommon for rum-runners' ships to be sold at auction shortly after a trial β ships were often sold back to the original owners. Some ships were captured three or four times before they were finally sunk or retired{{example needed|date=October 2019}}. In addition, the Coast Guard had other duties and often had to let a rum-runner go in order to assist a sinking vessel or handle another emergency.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7-EDAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+mechanics+1932+the+president+of+a+big&pg=PA242 "X-boats War On Smugglers"] ''Popular Mechanics, August 1932</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page