Last week, I wrote about two things that often pique my interest — place names and floating vessels. I could fill many more columns to come with variations on each of those themes and also how they often intersect. So, on that theme, or perhaps both of them, I am following up on my column about gundalows to write about a cadet.

While I have several family members who have been or are currently in the Navy, this cadet is a type of boat rather than a young Naval trainee. And, this cadet was built right here in Brunswick on Birch Island, a small island across from Paul’s Marina on the other side of Mere Point Bay.

It was during a conversation with a fellow boater that I learned about this type of boat, as well as a whole slew of small sailing craft that were used not just for pleasure, but also for a variety of functions. This was all before the advent of marine engines, which eventually replaced sail power in many types of boats, particularly those used for non-recreational purposes. At this point in time, it is sometimes hard to imagine that sailboats were not all designed for play, but were also very much made for everything from transport to exploration, to military battle. There is a great book that details many of these designs, “American Small Sailing Craft,” by Howard Chappelle.

The cadet is just one of many boats described in this book. This particular cadet was built on Birch Island by Ebenezer Durgin in 1847 for Elijah Kellogg, the then minister of the Congregational Church in Harpswell after whom the church is now named. It was a double-ended boat, meaning that both ends were pointed, not square, and was built using what is called “lapstrake” construction where each plank overlaps another and then the edges, known as “laps” are fastened together.

Kellogg used this boat to travel amongst the complicated and varied coastline of Harpswell and its islands to visit the families living there. Kellogg was apparently a deft and brave sailor and not afraid of exploring Harpswell’s coast under sail even in difficult conditions. Kellogg’s boat is now at the Mystic Seaport Museum.

It’s neat that it is also preserved as is the famous gundalow about which I wrote last week. That one, the Philadelphia, was used by Benedict Arnold in the Battle of Valcour Island in Lake Champlain and then sunk to the bottom before being discovered and preserved at the Smithsonian Museum.

The cadet was a more seaworthy vessel that had a V-shaped bottom rather than the flat-bottomed gundalow, and could be used more easily in open water for things like fishing and transportation instead of carrying heavy cargo. As with many boat designs, this type of boat evolved over time to have many variations. Now, there is a small sailboat called a “cadet” that is well suited for sailing instruction. While it has some of the same features as Kellogg’s boat, it has a simplified design and is definitely not made using lapstrake construction but rather has fiberglass and aluminum as primary materials.

As someone who enjoys getting out on the water in pretty much any craft out there, I am always amazed to learn how many variations there are and how these have evolved over time. The design and craftsmanship that have gone into them has changed, as has the technology, but the drive to be out of the water — either for work or for pleasure — is timeless. In this last week of official “summer” look around at the many boats on the water and take note of all that they are able to navigate and do and all that has gone into the designing and building of each of them no matter the use or era.

Susan Olcott is the director of strategic partnerships at Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.