2009 BOATS OF THE YEAR
Carpenter’s Boat Shop: Republican THE CARPENTER’S BOAT SHOP of Pemaquid welcomed 10 apprentices from all over the map—even Scotland—to its program, which runs from September through June. They joined the 6 staff members to create a flotilla of new craft: 10 Monhegan Island skiffs, 5 Jordan Cradle boats, and 1 Acorn dinghy. The dory that sits outside the lighthouse on Monhegan Island (subject of many a photo and painting) was revived after too long in the salt air. The Marblehead Gunning dory Republican, originally built by Capt. Gerald Smith of Marblehead, MA, and featured in some of John Gardner’s books, was brought to the shop by its new owner, a friend of Captain Smith. After refastening, the addition of a mast step, the refitting of seat risers and thwarts, and a bit of paint, the boat returned to the water after a long hiatus to be used for recreational winter rowing on the Maine coast. Other repair projects included skiffs, dinghies, a Friendship sloop, and a Boothbay Harbor One Design. Visitors are always welcome at the shop during the 10 a.m. public tea-time. The 2010 summer program will include a Shaker woodworking class. www.carpentersboatshop.org; 207-677-2614.
Alison Langley(3)
ham, Massachusetts, company is the rebuild of Nat Herreshoff’s 23' Marlin design to look more like the Fish. The prototype is slated to make the boat show rounds in the fall of 2010. Repair jobs included brightwork and bottom work. www.capecodshipbuilding.com; 508-295-3550.
BEQUIA
BROOKLIN BOAT YARD by John Snyder
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N THE FALL OF 2007, STEVE WHITE, owner of the Brooklin Boat Yard, thought that it might be time to upgrade the yard’s Travelift to accommodate some of the larger boats stored at the yard. He purchased a refitted 80-ton capacity rig and rebuilt the Travelift piers. He could not have made the upgrade at a better time. Two years prior, designers Robert Stephens and Paul Waring of Brooklin Boat Yard Design Associates, now known as Stephens, Waring & White Yacht Design, had begun design work on a 90-foot yawl with world cruising capability. The owners had sought out the design team after seeing examples of the yard’s previous work, especially Donald Tofias’s 76-foot Spirit of Tradition racing stallions Wild Horses and White Wings, which were built in 1998. They were drawn to the graceful sheer and overhangs that are so much a part of Stephens’s work. But the owners wanted more than a thoroughbred racer; they wanted the same classic look in a more substantial yacht that could take them anywhere in the world in safety, luxury and style.
Chesapeake Light Craft Dory CHESAPEAKE LIGHT CRAFT builds new boats
and produces kayak, rowing craft, canoe, and sailboat kits. The Annapolis, Maryland, company released a kit for the 17-foot rowing and sailing Northeaster dory in May, after working on the prototype over the winter. By early fall, 50 kits had shipped, and a number had already been built and launched by October. More than a dozen were built in week-long “Build-Your-Own-Boat” classes held at the WoodenBoat School in Brooklin and the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, Rhode Island. You can view one of those classes, captured in time-lapse video
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White woodwork and ebony-stained sole, the saloon exudes restrained elegance. MAINE BOATS, HOMES & HARBORS
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February / March 2010
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Issue 108