#maineboats

The massive French frigate L’Hermione showed up on computer screens in Maine before anyone saw the actual vessel. As L’Hermione headed to Castine, its last American port of call, mariners around Penobscot Bay followed her progress on various maritime tracking web sites. A thick fog had settled in and while she’s big — 153 LOA, with a beam of 36 feet and masts reaching up to 185 feet — even L’Hermione was hard to find in the swirling mist. 

A flotilla of close to 100 boats, gathered for a parade to escort the big vessel into port, meandered back and forth off Resolution Island, appearing and disappearing in the fog and exchanging word of possible sightings over the VHF.

As the midday sun burned through the fog, L’Hermione was revealed complete with her array of 34 guns, 1,000 pulleys, 15 miles of cordage and 35,000 square feet of sail area. It was easy to imagine how such a site might have terrified the opposing fleet back during the American Revolution when the original L’Hermione brought the Marquis de Lafayette to the fledgling country with his promise of French support.

This exact replica took over 15 years to build in Rochefort, France. A crew sailed her across the Atlantic last spring (the crossing took 27 days compared to the original vessel’s 38 day voyage) and she visited 11 ports along the East Coast, including Washington D.C, Philadelphia, Newport and Boston, before arriving in Penobscot Bay.

The original L’Hermione visited Castine in the summer of 1780 to spy on the British after dropping Lafayette off in Boston. This time around, the coastal community had organized a rousing welcome and two days of celebration, including a welcoming parade with a small replica of the replica carried by children, and plenty of speeches.

Appropriately for a town founded by a Frenchman, L’Hermoine’s visit fell on July 14, Bastille Day when France celebrates the revolution leading to the overthrow of its monarchy. French flags waved from everywhere, clutched in hands, poking out of backpacks, hanging from doors — a small girl on a fishing boat off Resolution waved a flag almost the same size as her.

Many in the crowd were French-speakers down from Canada just to see the boat. Attendees include the French consul from Boston and the mayor of the French town of St. Castin, named after the family of the French nobleman the Baron de St. Castin who founded Castine in the 1670s.

Native American historians told the crowd that St. Castin married a Native American princess. Their Native American descendants included Penobscot Indian Charles Shay, who’s many war medals include the French Legion d'Honneur for his valor on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day in World War II. He was in Castine for the party and received a long standing ovation.

Others present at the speech-making included L’Hermoine’s Captain Yann Cariou, Maine Gov. Paul Lepage who professed pride in his Franco-American heritage; Ogilvy and Mather CEO Miles Young who is president of the Friends of Hermione Lafayette in America and organized the American visit of the L'Hermoine; and representatives of the Castine Historical Society which organized the town’s reception.

The playing fields at Waynflete School were filled with long-skinny rowing shells May 24 as 150 high school rowers from around the state converged on the site next to the Fore River in Portland for the third annual Maine Youth Rowing Championships, hosted by Waynflete.

Especially wonderful was seeing all the teenagers milling around their boats before and after the races, with nary a cell phone in sight. Competing in fours and eights, the teams battled a sometimes howling headwind up the 1,500 meter course on the Fore River. Spectators lined the shore screaming encouragement into the wind.  

Four clubs sent boats to the day-long event: Berwick Academy, Megunticook Rowing, Waynflete and Yarmouth Rowing.  

The sport has been growing more popular in recent years. Megunticook started just six years ago on Megunticook Lake in Camden and this was the team’s first time at this event. The club’s five midcoast rowers competed twice, winning both the B1 and B2 fours races. Berwick, which started its rowing program just three years ago, has seen its number of participants triple to as many as 60 youngsters this year.  Beriwck girls won the G2, G3 and G4 fours races. Yarmouth, a club like Meguntucook that draws rowers from several different schools, has been around for about a decade. The club posted a win Sunday in the girls G1 (first boat) four. Waynflete’s program has been around about the same amount of time.

Below are the complete results:

Maine Youth Rowing Championships May 24, 2015

Girls 1st 4+

1.   Yarmouth                       6:32.14

2.   Waynflete                      6:55.61

3.   Berwick Academy                   7:05.32

Girls 2nd 4+

1.   Berwick Academy A                6:44.74

2.   Waynflete                      6:52.83

3.   Yarmouth                       6:56.03 *

4.   Berwick Academy B                7:15.18

 Girls 3rd 4+

1.   Berwick Academy                   6:51.85

2.   Yarmouth                       7:08.87

3.   Waynflete                      7:25.6

Girls 4th 4+

1.   Berwick Academy                   7:37.76

2.   Yarmouth                       8:36.29

 Girls 8+

1.   Berwick/Yarmouth/Waynflete   7:20.10

2.   Yarmouth                       7:51.03

3.   Waynflete                      7:51.45

 Boys 1st 4+

1.   Megunticook                          5:30.32

2.   Yarmouth                       5:37.13

3.   Waynflete                      5:41.64

4.   Berwick                         6:01.18

 Boys 2nd 4+

1.   Megunticook                          7:15.31

2.   Waynflete                      7:27.14

3.   Yarmouth                       7:34.74

4.   Berwick Academy                   7:40.14

Boys 3rd 4+

1.   Yarmouth/Waynflete Composite       7:20.24

2.   Berwick Academy A                8:07.52

3.   Yarmouth                       8:09.3

4.   Berwick Academy B                8:55.89

For some spring, begins when the peas are planted; for this boat guy, it begins with the visits to the boatyards to see what fruit the long winter has produced. My recent trip to Newport, Rhode Island was more than bountiful.

Peter van Lancker, president of Hunt Yachts, had invited me, to go for a boat ride aboard the new Hunt 32cc, Hunt’s interpretation of a luxury, outboard powered center console. As I set out from Camden, headed to Rhode Island, the sun came out and the mercury rose — perfect weather for a road trip.  

 My first stop was at Kittery Yacht Yard to see what projects they been up to this long cold winter. Plenty. Yard owner Tom Allen met me for a quick tour between customers. The first bay we entered contained a beautifully finished Holland 32, which was getting the final touches on a multi-layered refit. It was a stunning boat, simple but excellent in its execution. The name of the boat is August West , which confirmed for me that the owner has great taste in music, as well as boats (West is a character in a Grateful Dead song). Work on the Wilbur next to the Holland was not quite as far along, but it, too, will be launched later this spring. Both boats are examples of how it is possible to get a really great product when refitting well-built older designed hulls. The boatbuilder’s art shines in projects like these. 

(Tom Allen, right, and employee Marshall Farnham at Kittery Point Yacht Yard in front of August West. Photo by John Hanson)

Tom had to run to the yard’s other location and he handed me off to his partner, George Patten. I first met George forty years ago when he was working out of a shop behind his house. He was then, and is now, a consummate boatbuilder. We went off to inspect the wooden William Garden-designed schooner that George has been building over the last several winters.

(George Patten showing off the schooner he has built. photo by john Hanson)

On the way, we stopped to admire the work being done to strip the bottom of a Carroll Lowell-designed lobster boat that George had built way back in the day in that shop behind the house. It still looked good. 

(Working on an old wooden Carroll Lowell designed boat. Photo by John Hanson)

After a lovely lunch at the Ceres Street Bakery in beautiful downtown Portsmouth, N.H., I blasted through mid-day Boston in record time and reached Newport in time to check out the Volvo Ocean Racing Village at Fort Adams. The Volvo Ocean Race is a 39,000-mile, eleven-stop race for high performance 65-foot sailing machines. The race has been designed as a multi-media experience for race fans around the world. The villages, which are recreated at every stop along the route, are the “in person” part of a competition that otherwise takes place over the horizon at sea. When we got to Fort Adams, there was a buzz of people, but no boats. The wind had died and the leaders were still at sea, doing just a knot and a half.  After a quick tour, I decided I couldn’t wait until midnight or later for the first boat to arrive.

The next stop was Hunt. I’ve had a Ray Hunt designed powerboat for more than thirty years. It is a terrific boat and I am a fan. My visit began with a christening party for a beautiful new Hunt 25, the yacht Clueless.  This design is a little bit bigger than my boat, and a lot more elegant. I hope to see a lot of this new boat, as it is will be based in Penobscot Bay, where I also use my boat.

Then came the main event. The new Hunt 32cc is a beautifully crafted take on today's most popular style, the center console boat. The Hunt design group took their signature hull design concepts and married the hull with a deck and cockpit layout that was the product of much collaboration with owners, dealers and industry experts. The results are terrific.

Our crew was Roe O'Brien, Peter van Lancker, and Gretchen Thor representing the builders, and myself. Our destination was Fort Adams and the Volvo Ocean Race Village. It was a beautiful day, calm almost August in feeling. As we went under the bridge we saw that a bright pink sailboat just creeping into the finish — the women's boat SCA arriving in port. The 32 is capable of close to 50 knots and we sped across the harbor in no time.

(Team SCA arriving in Newport. Photo by John Hanson)

Many in the crowd on the docks at Fort Adams were dressed in pink to match the boat and sporting pink umbrellas; all were ecstatic. The Village had come alive with people, music, and the boats.

This had proven to be much more than just a test ride on a new boat, it had become one of the nicest days on the water I’ve experienced in a while. The spectator fleet was almost as interesting as the race boats. There were classic cruisers, sailboats, multihull, even a very early Hunt design that made Peter happy. For others in the fleet, we were the boat to watch, a brand new design with perhaps 30 hours on it.

(This photo by Billy Black shows the Hunt 32cc checking out the Volvo boats)

  One of the most high-tech yachts ever built in this country was launched Saturday, Sept. 27 by Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay.

Built for Internet entrepreneur Jim Clark, the sleek carbon fiber ocean racer named Comanche is designed to break monohull sailing records. About 100 feet long and 23 feet wide, the boat looks like a giant surfboard, with a wide, flat transom and stubby bow. When it is rigged, mast will sit well aft and the transom will act as the traveller for the boom, explained Kimo Worthington, a leader on Clark’s ocean racing team who was on hand for Saturday’s launch.

That and “a lot of other little things,” will help make the boat very, very fast, said Worthington. “Just look at it. It’s a machine,” he said proudly.

In order to save weight, as well as to qualify the boat for manual sailing records, the boat’s sails and dagger boards will be controlled by manually powered hydraulics. Comanche will be sailed by a crew of 20, Worthington said.

Worthington, whose competitive sailing experience includes six America’s Cups and four Volvo round-the-world ocean races, works for North Sails President Ken Read, who will be Comanche’s skipper. He was part of the team that picked Hodgdon for the job.

“This is a great facility,” Worthington said. “This was a logical choice for building a boat of this size. Plus, it was important to us to have it built in the United States.”

Hodgdon, which has been building boats in East Boothbay for 200 years, has worked with carbon fiber on past projects, including a prototype of a fast patrol boat for the U.S. military.  The yard has been on the cutting edge for some time. Eleven years ago almost to the day, the yard launched Scheherazade, a 154-foot ketch, which at the time was the largest cold-molded yacht ever built.

In addition to Hodgdon employees, the crew building the boat included about 10 people from Cianbro and 20 from Clark’s own team, said Hodgdon Director of Human Resources Neal Williamson. Cianbro became involved because of the company’s experience working with high-tech carbon fiber.

The boat was designed by French firms Guillaume Verdier and VPLP.

“There is a great deal of pride in this,” Williamson said of the project. “The team did a great job getting this done in such a short time.”

Members of Clark’s ocean-racing team planned to tow the hull to Newport, Rhode Island on Sunday. There they will add the mast, which was built in New Zealand, as well as the 22-foot deep canting keel and two dagger boards, all of which were built in Italy.

Saturday’s splashing of the hull is what is called a technical launch. The formal launching ceremony won’t take place until later this fall when the boat is fully rigged.

Plans call for trials in October off Newport, before the boat is sailed to Charleston, South Carolina, where it will be packed into a shipping container and sent off to Australia, Worthington said. Clark plans to race Comanche in the Sydney-Hobart Race, which starts just after Christmas.

Clark, who started Netscape, has owned a number of cutting edge yachts over the years. He decided to build this one last year after seeing a friend’s ocean-racing 100-footer, Worthington said.

The tight schedule meant Hodgdon has to finish the hull in just 12 months — usually a project like this takes 18 months or more.

ROCKLAND, Maine - Six courageous canines have been chosen to compete in the World Championship Boatyard Dog® Trials on Sunday, Aug. 10, at 10:30 a.m. The trials take place during the 12th Annual Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors Show, a celebration of coastal living, which runs Aug. 8-10, 2014, at Harbor Park in Rockland, Maine. 

The trials are a light-hearted, family friendly, paw-to-paw “competition.” They consist of three events: the Dockside Obstacle Course: dog and handler negotiate a maze of funky dockside detritus; the Dinghy Hop: dog and handler scramble in and out of an unstable little boat; and a Freestyle segment: each dog shows off whatever special talents they may (or may not) have. No holds are barred for this segment, but in honor of the 12th year of the trials, “twelve” MUST be included in the performance somehow, and either the dog or person must be soaking wet when they finish. 

The Field of Competitors

Ruffles (Defending Champ)

Homeport: Cushing, Maine

Ruffles is more than ready to defend her title, but she can't imagine having more fun than she did last year! She loved all the people cheering her on, the prizes, the Pup Cup, the photos, and the excitement on the docks. She is practicing her new act at her waterfront home, where the regimen includes chasing sticks into the water and cruising to the Lobster Dock next door where all the boats drop off their catch. Swimming is a daily pleasure as she is a Portuguese water dog, bred to retrieve nets full of fish and act as a courier between fleets. To improve her balance, Ruffles co-pilots her mom’s kayak and competes in agility trials. Other skills get honed as she leads her “gang” of five around the ‘hood. They swim, roll in bait, beg for cookies, and perform public service by retrieving anything that floats.

Gatsby

Homeport: Scarborough, Maine

Gatsby came in second in the 2013 trials, so she is bound and determined to win this year’s competition. When she heard that it was the 12th anniversary of the Boatyard Dog Trials this year, her response was “WOWZA!” Then she composed the following list of 12 reasons why she will be a great competitor:

I love the water,

I love to jump,

I love everyone,

I love tennis balls,

I love competition,

I love to give kisses, 

I love life, 

I love swimming,

I love to win, 

I love to play,

I am super cute (if I must say so myself),

I have big plans for the number 12 (One “rule” for the trials is that each dog must incorporate “12” into their freestyle act.)

Polly

Homeport: Stonington, Maine

Polly is a natural canine gymnast who is just so eager to strut her stuff at the trials. She absolutely loves to jump, and can’t wait to show off what her dad tells us is the “graceful twisting style” she uses in her efforts to fly. Since Polly weighs in at about 55 pounds, it’s quite a spectacle when she launches into the air; her leaps range from three to five feet off the ground. Polly was an alternate last year and did not get to compete, so she is chomping at the bit for a chance to shine.

Sadie Rose

Homeport: Marblehead, Massachusetts

Sadie Rose is a purebred golden retriever. She’s now six years old, but in her mind (like many of us), she is still just a two-year-old. Sadie has lots of water experience, and has been swimming in nearly every anchorage from Casco Bay to Northeast Harbor. Her favorite cruise activities are chasing birds from the floats in Northeast Harbor, sliding on her belly on the seaweed in Pulpit Harbor, and hanging out with her humans at the bars in Boothbay. She is in the water every day from May through October, where her favorite activity is chasing sticks and tennis balls thrown into the water, and then shaking off as close to people as she can. She also excels at dragging her master back to the float after he “falls” in, which is something that, as a retriever, is just in her genes. On her bucket list is to successfully drag a lobster pot to land. She finds it frustrating that they seem to be stuck on something on the bottom, but she keeps trying.

Sandra Bee (a.k.a. Sandy)

Homeport: Gorham, Maine

This lucky pup accidentally found her current home via The Pixel Fund. The person who was supposed to foster her did not show up, so Lori Green grabbed the crate without looking inside and took it home. Green said she brought the crate inside, opened it up, and the “saddest, ugliest, baldest, smelliest” dog came out, madly wagging her tail. Still, it was love at first sight, and with lots of loving care Sandy has now been transformed. The duo was a bit reluctant about entering this year’s Boatyard Dog contest, since Sandy does not “do” water, nor did she have an act or a lot of tricks at the ready, but rumor has it that they are working hard on something with which to wow the crowd. We have great confidence in this 22-pound dynamo (and her ears). Not only does she now have a stage name—Sandra Bee—she has also promised to get her owner trained in plenty of time because she wantsThe  Pixel Fund (a Maine nonprofit that saves the lives of shelter pets through education, advocacy, and rescue efforts) to get lots of great publicity.

Scout

Homeport: South Portland, Maine

As soon as he heard about the trials, Scout barked and barked until his person agreed to write a letter on his behalf so he could participate. Scout doesn’t just stay at home every day while his humans go off to work; he really does live a “dog’s life.” Every morning he waits eagerly for the moment when he can jump in the car and head to the lake where, for the past year, he has been helping to build a lakeside house. As official job site dog, Scout excels at keeping wildlife away, drooling while begging for food, wandering (or, as he likes to call it, “exploring new territory”), and, of course, swimming. He has been known to body surf and stand-up paddleboard, and he is an accomplished dock jumper. Rigorous activities aside, Scout also has a soft side. After a hard day’s work, he likes to sprawl out on the couch and cuddle with his three best friends, his two humans and (shhh!) the cat.

Carolina (Alternate)

Homeport: Moose River, Maine

Carolina is a friendly, sweet, silly Dutch shepard that was rescued by The Pixel Fund to become one of the great loves of her owner’s life. She's a year and a half old but still acts just like a 50-pound puppy. Carolina’s talents consist of fetching baby chickens and (gently) bringing them inside, riding on a snowmobile, and pulling a dog sled. Recently, she tried to jump off the dock in a unique way: She left her hind end in place while putting her head completely under water. Once she recovered her dignity (more or less) and managed to swim back to shore, she decided that she loves the water. That bodes well for the trials, where either she or her handler will have to get wet!

Judges will be Dale Dyer, of Custom Float Services; Dr. Bjorn Lee, of Pen Bay Veterinary Associates in Rockport; and Joel Neal, co-owner of The Loyal Biscuit, with locations in Camden, Belfast, Rockland, and Waterville. The trials will be spiced up by the verbal antics of emcees Mike Joyce and Alan Sprague, who are also the co-hosts of WERU-FM’s call-in show “Boattalk” (89.9 FM and weru.org).

The overall winner takes home the perpetual “Pup Cup” trophy and is featured in an issue of Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors magazine’s “Boatyard Dog” column (where all this nuttiness began). All competitors receive a Sail Bags ditty bag filled with goodies from Loyal Biscuit Co.

The organizers emphasize that for liability reasons ONLY those dogs will be allowed onto show grounds. Please leave all other pets at home to avoid disappointment. 

Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors appreciates the support from Boatyard Dog® Lead Sponsor Custom Float Services, and from Supporting Sponsors Sea Bags, Loyal Biscuit Co., and Bell’s Furry Friends Photography. Other show sponsors are: Awlgrip/Interlux, Bangor Savings Bank, Bixby & Co., Dock Works, Epifanes, Fixtures Designer Plumbing Showroom, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors magazine, Maine Made, and US Harbors. The support of the City of Rockland, and The Pearl Restaurant are also much appreciated.  

The weather forecast for this year's Maine Boatbuilder's Show on the waterfront in Portland was frightful, but fortunately the weathermen were wrong. While Day One of the event dawned sunny and cold, the boats were enough to warm the heart of any winter-weary boater.

Renowned birchbark canoe builder Steve Cayard's graceful 15-footer drew admiring glances all weekend. Almost as remarkable were the hand-carved, hand-decorated paddles laid over the thwarts.

Portland Yacht Services restored this classic 1968 Whaler Montauk 17. The PYS crew treated the boat to new woodwork, Awlgrip inside and out, and restored the rails and seating. Still to come: new controls, electronics, and a 70-hp Yamaha.

Maritime Boats is now under new ownership, and here's the very first boat finished by the new builder. This 20-foot center console features the well-proven Maritime hull with a brand-new full liner and self-bailing floor. The crowd of onlookers appeared to approve of the upgrades and overall fit and finish.

Traditional Maine wooden lobster yacht meets modern Maine yacht designers and builders. VIM is a 1957 Newbert & Wallace-built 36-footer that's been lavishly restored and upgraded at Artisan Boatworks of Rockport. Much of the woodwork remains original, though there's a good bit of fresh mahogany planking over new oak frames. The interior design and systems layout is by Stephens Waring Yacht Design, and the state-of-the-art electronics suite was engineered by Midcoast Marine Electronics.

Carolina flair (and flare), built in Maine. This rakish sportfish boat is a cold-molded 26-footer from Middleton Boatworks of Camden. That's builder Frank Middleton (right of ladder) showing off his new baby. Given its light weight, proven deep-vee Carolina hull form, and ample power from twin Yamaha 200s, it's set to be a speedy baby as well.

Cape Cod Shipbuilding brought its brand-new version of the classic Herreshoff Marlin. The redesigned Cape Cod Marlin Heritage combines the best of Cap'n Nat's Fish and Marlin designs with a touch of modern amenities. Though rendered in fiberglass, the classic hull shape below the waterline remains unchanged, with auxiliary power from a 14-hp Yanmar diesel. The cockpit is slightly smaller than the original Fish, allowing more cabin space--including twin 7-foot V-berths.

CW Hood Yachts displayed its new G20, a Doug Zurn-designed 20-foot center console that combines salty Downeast lines with lots of Carolina flare forward. The new powerboat would make a splendid tender for one of Hood's classic 32-foot daysailers, seen in the background.

One of the show standouts was this 28-foot welded-aluminum utility catamaran built by Winterport Marine. The boat has a landing-craft-style bow door that allows it to put a small pickup, tractor, or excavator ashore with minimal fuss. That's builder Henri Gignoux at center (white shirt) enjoying a laugh with a couple of friends. This boat was a compelling combination: a no-nonsense vessel outfitted for hauling, barging, towing or lifting stuff, yet it was 100% ship-shape.

Here's a gorgeous forward hatch being restored for a 64-foot wooden motorsailor by O'Donovan and Dole Traditional Boatworks of Searsport. Note the distinctive original metal sliding hatch cover combined with fine new woodwork.

And our boat show wrap-up report wouldn't be complete without a peek at the Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors booth, still in its same location after 27 straight years of exhibiting at the Maine Boatbuilder's Show.

Some of the MBH&H crew went to Boston last week for the Progressive Insurance New England Boat Show. Here is Associate Publisher Dave Getchell's report, complete with photos.

New England Boat Show, by the numbers:

Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston

Show ran daily Feb 22 thru March 2

59 = number of years this show has been held

444 exhibitors

800 boats for show or sale

48,000 visitors expected

48' = longest powerboat on display

45' = longest sailboat on display

$1.29 million = price of most expensive boat on display

$50 million combined value of all boats on display

Word on show floor was that opening weekend was "Crazy crazy busy" and that weekday traffic was holding up so far better than in recent past years. We saw more sailboats than in many years there. 

Exhibitor numbers are up, and demand for space was so strong that the show scrapped the on-floor food vendors, and the model sailing pond. The photo above shows the chrome meat cleaver bow of a Hacker Craft 28 Family Edition Runabout.