<P> A town of workers made the process more efficient because a 150 - ton ship required 200 workers, and the shipbuilding process could take 60--100 days . Local governments supported the shipbuilding industry because it provided wealth for the local economy . Relative to other laborers, shipwrights earned a higher standard of living with their acquired skills . During the colonial period shipbuilding became the major source of employment; even slaves helped to build the ships . </P> <P> The east coast of the United States provided a specifically dense area for raw materials especially around Massachusetts . There was an abundance of oak forests that provided wood for the ships . In the late 1680s "there were more than 2 dozen sawmills around the Maine and Massachusetts areas These sawmills, along with a dense supply of wood, helped to increase the business of colonial shipbuilding . The wood was usually white oak, but "cedars, chestnuts, and black oaks were perfect for the underwater portion of the ships ." Demand was high for wood, colonial Americans needed faster ways of producing more wood . This led to inventions of different types of sawmills . One of the first types of sawmills was the water sawmill . This process allowed for faster, more efficient wood to be made for shipbuilding . "Early sawmills simply adapted the whipsaw to mechanical power, generally driven by a water wheel to speed up the process ." </P> <P> The shipbuilding process began with the frame and then heating the hull of the ship . This was done using steamers and wood as fuel . Planks were heated up to be able to bend with the curve of the ship . Once all the framing and planking was completed, caulking waterproofed the ship . Ships made of wood required a flexible material, insoluble in water, to seal the spaces between planks . Pine pitch was often mixed with fibers like hemp to caulk spaces which might otherwise leak . Crude gum or oleoresin could be collected from the wounds of living pine trees . </P> <P> Tools used included the mallets and iron s . Mallets were usually 16 inches from end to end with the handle bar usually being about 16 inches . The material that was hammered in between each of the planks was typically oakum, a kind of hemp fiber . There were oftentimes 2 - 3 layers of this oakum fiber placed in between the planks . Putty would be put on afterwards to finish off the waterproofing . Tar, which also came from the thousands of trees available, was oftentimes spread over the top of these planks and they were covered with copper plating . Copper was used because without it the ship's hull would often get infected with worms . The copper was fastened to the ship with bronze nails . The ships were oftentimes painted yellow, to help make the ship appear faster and newer . </P>

Which factors led to a strong maritime industry in new england