The "Silver Heel" was built in 1902 by Eugene Thompson on Kent Island, Maryland as a workboat for John Wesley Dickerson. Her original name was "Maud". She is a 5-log canoe, 33 feet long, and in the early 1900's was powered with a gasoline engine. She was rigged for sailing for the first time when she was acquired by Clyde Trippe of Chestertown, Maryland.  The "Silver Heel" is currently owned by Rober M. Hewes 3rd of Chestertown, who purchased her from a Mr. Jenkins of Rock Hall, Maryland in 1961.  Over the decades, Mr. Hewes nurtured his four children, plus his nephews and nieces of the Johnson clan who currently own "Persisence", racing on the "Heel". Although no longer personally sailing, Mr. Hewes, an enthusiastic supporter of the log canoe fleet, makes sure that the "Silver Heel" is racing every season.

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