The vessels being built along the Saco River were largely schooners engaged in coastal trade. These coastal vessels sailed up and down the Atlantic seaboard, through the Caribbean and the West Indies--some even made it around Cape Horn to wind up on the Pacific coast.
The local markets demanded the smaller coastal vessels, but the shipyards also built larger ships for sale to outside interests. Practically all the larger vessels built on the Saco were for Boston, New York, Salem, Portland and similar registry and thus they escaped local records.
