BRAVO is the first outboard powered launch built by Atlantic Boat in Brooklin. Sea trials went well as she performed as expected.
At Safe Harbor Kittery Point, they are replacing the three outboards on this Grady White. The boat is very well kept and when the owners learned that these engines were being phased out, they decided to repower.
Atlantic Boat, Brooklin, ME
In December they launched a 26-foot launch, which is not unusual since they build several every year, but what was unique was that this one was powered with twin 60-hp Suzuki outboards. The launches are based on the Duffy 26 hull, usually powered with a Yanmar diesel engine, and certified for 24 passengers. They started building them back in 2005 and the only major change was when they added a canopy and were still able to be certified for 24 passengers. Then came a customer from Lemon Bay, Florida who wanted an outboard version with the canopy and maintain the same capacity. Alex Loer said, “It is going to run across the Intracoastal between the mainland and one of the barrier islands. They are limited in terms of the water depth. I have always wanted to build the outboard version of this boat. We had the bracket already designed and made for it and we laid up a keel-less 26 hull, put the bracket on it, which made it a 29. We went with low horsepower because that is what the Coast Guard wanted for requirements. We also, on the request of the owners, have put a bow and stern thruster in and kind of tricked it out with some nicer woodwork on the inside. The initial sea trials have been really good. We are just waiting our final Coast Guard inspection. All of the paperwork has been done on it. Looking forward to seeing it in action.”
When asked how he liked it, Alex explained, “It is a lot quieter. That is one thing that we noticed right off. The two 4-stroke engines are all the way on the back, and it is a whole different noise game instead of the engine underneath you. Handling-wise, it is nice, it has got an excellent turning radius. You might not be able to jockey it like a standard yacht club launch with a tiller steering system, but it is certainly plenty maneuverable with the thrusters. It is a little bit more complicated in terms of all your hand movements and running it with a wheel, but I think for a water taxi application it is a perfect solution.”
The same customer has another one on order. Alex said after the first of the year they will start getting the word out on this version. They are also working with a broker, Stellwagen Yachts in Massachusetts, and they are going to market it in southern New England.
For winter work they have a Duffy 37 from Long Island, New York undergoing a refit. They are redoing the V-berth, so the mattress has a better fit, extensive galley upgrade including new counters, modifications to the head, new deck hatches in the platform, tuna door and maybe a swim platform.
A Duffy 35 from Massachusetts is in to have her platform replaced. Once they got the platform up, they realized that the muffler system needed work. This is being done by Billings Diesel & Marine in Stonington.
They have two sailboats in for refits. One is an older wooden ketch owned by an Italian customer, which needs work done on her mahogany deck, garboard plank replacement and some rudder work.
The other sailboat is a Tripp designed cruiser, which is having her interior joiner work redone. This includes new cabin sole, galley cabinetry, new refrigeration system and some varnish work.
There are three repowers, one on a Robinhood 33, which is getting a new Yanmar diesel engine.
The Duffy 26, which was fitted with an outboard motor, was delivered to her owner in Portland the end of Spring. Alex said that the owner absolutely loves it, and she is back for the winter. They have some minor changes the owner wanted to make. Alex delivered the boat in the spring and said, “I loved it. She is very comfortable to navigate and has good visibility. We did about 25 knots and made it in about 4½ to 5 hours. She handled great. It is different. It tops out at 35 knots, but its sweet spot is kind of high 20s-30. It tracks really well, does not plow, kind of jumps right up on plane. At top end it gets a little squirrely. We’re going to toy with it a little bit in the spring, maybe add another fin. She has got two fins under her right now and the owner was asking us maybe to try one more and see how it handled. We will give it a try and see if it works. With the outboards, again very quiet and having no engine boxes is really nice. You are able to get around easily and you can have more seating.”
There is a lot of interest in this one, but no one yet has stepped up and placed an order.
So, besides the repair work, they also have five launches on order and a number of parts. One of the parts was top for a BHM 31, which is being redone on Long Island, New York. They are being careful as help is very hard to find. Alex said that they have two 35s pleasure boats on order and they will probably start them this summer for a 2025 delivery.
As for the storage customers they were all hauled out before Thanksgiving,
Richard Stanley, at Yankee Marina, Yarmouth, ME
It is always a pleasure to stop in and see what Richard Stanley is up to. For a number of months, he has been working on an Alden schooner in Brunswick. However, in December he began work on the 60-foot motor yacht IROQUOIS at Yankee Marina in Yarmouth. When I arrived, he was working on the port cutlass bearing. He said, “We have got a cutlass bearing that we pulled out of the shaft tube. To do this we invented a tool to make it come out and we got it out without destroying it, in fact it came out pretty easy. The bearing was just touching in places but wasn’t in other places. Right now, we are standing out the inside of the tube so the cutlass bearing will slide in. Then we are going to drill some holes, tap them and put setscrews in at each end of the cutlass so we can adjust it and hold it where it needs to be. Then what we are going to do, I am okay with, but I am not really okay with, we are going to wax the cutlass bearing and drill holes in the shaft tube. We then are going fill a syringe with West System and put the West System around the cutlass bearing and fill the voids solid. The West System will not stick to the cutlass bearing because of the wax and that will allow the cutlass bearing to be removed easily. This shaft was an inch lower and a half an inch closer to the rudder than the other shaft. What we are going to do is make it, so it matches up to the other side.”
The starboard side is good, and they just need to fit and fastened the strut in place to the hull. Richard added, “I’m going to have to cut that one strut off and shorten it. May have to change the angle of the strut too because it was down lower. I don’t know if they have anybody here that can fabricate stainless steel like that or not but we’re going to have to find someone.”
Once the shafts are lined up Richard and Sawyer Theriault will shift their attention to the inside. They need to go through all the systems and make sure they are fastened properly. Then they will remove the electronics that were placed in the bilge and move them to a drier location and rewire what needs replacing. Work also needs to be done on the exhaust system. The exhaust tube is sitting in half a fiberglass pipe, but the pipe needs to be longer, and the exhaust tube fastened in place with hose clamps.
One thing that Richard had requested was a set of plans for the boat. He contacted Paul Waring of Stephens & Waring of Belfast to make a complete set of plans. He said, “Plans make things go a lot easier and quicker. Everybody knows what is going on and when it is going in.”
Richard said that if he can get some help from the crew at Yankee Marina, which he thinks he can, he can probably have the boat ready for this summer’s season. There is some interior woodwork which needs to be done, mostly reinstalling the interior, adding Soundown in the engine room and replacing the thru-hulls.
As for the Alden schooner, Richard said that he has been going up to Brunswick to work on her in the evening. He has purchased some cedar so that he can fit the bulkheads to the ceiling. He also said that the ceiling has been painted a number of times filling the grooves and beads, which he is stripping out. He then said he also needed to order some oak for the guard rails. He did not think she would be ready for the water this year.
Fogg Boatworks, Brunswick, ME
Two issues ago, I showed a photograph in Boat Yard News of a pile of aluminum on a palate. That pile of aluminum is now a 32-foot hull being finished for the Merrimack Valley YMCA to be used on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. Patrick Fogg, the boat’s designer and one of her builders, said, “Basically the hull is pretty much all wrapped up. We’re starting to put in some of the tubing and conduit for the systems. Waiting on some pieces for the interior to be bent. This will be like your seating and cabin things. Wayward Industries is doing that for us and hopefully that will be done this week (third week of December), but in the meantime we are going to get started on the second hull.”
This is the first one of this design. A couple of years ago Patrick designed the 29-foot VESTA MERLE, which is somewhat similar. The entry is finer, added a step chine with more flair and sheer. Patrick added, “That is part of designing and building is that you always want to make changes and improve. These guys wanted something bigger, and they were looking for something to carry at least 25 people.”
They still have the cabin, all the seating and the interior to do. The cabin will be way forward, walk-around and have sliding doors on either side with a full-length overhead. Then they will fair and sand everything, giving it a brushed look before they add the systems. Then they will bring in Tim from Marine Electric to do the wiring before she heads to Yankee Marina in Yarmouth where the 425-hp Yamaha outboard will be added.
She is being built to U. S. Coast Guard specifications, but does not need a Certificate of Inspection, but all the plans are still going through Marine Safety office of the Coast Guard for their approval, because the next one might be for saltwater.
As I said, the panels for these boats come in on a couple of palates. Patrick does all the design work and then sends the files to a CNC company to be cut. This one was cut by Pierce Aluminum in Massachusetts who had all the metal cut and delivered in two weeks. Patrick said, “There is a fair amount of work to get to this point. It is a huge difference and timesaver. They cut it with a laser and that is what we prefer, a fiber laser. They have a 24-foot x 10-foot bed so on something like this there is one seam down the side and on bottom.”
They were getting the second hull plates lined up on the floor so they could start putting her together.
The first hull they expected to have done and out the door early spring and the second will be a couple of weeks after that. The delivery date is April and even though they got a little late start they are on track to have them both done on time.
They have interest in more of this design, but no one has signed on the dotted line yet. Patrick added, “The beauty with this aluminum, and the way that it is designed and cut, it is pretty easy to change things. We focus on the COI vessels, and they are purpose built so everyone wants something a little different and it is easy for us to do. I think this will be a really nice hull. This cabin set up is pretty much to carry people, keep them dry, wide open. But if they wanted a sort of Downeast cabin cruiser we can do that. Aluminum is probably more expensive than fiberglass, even having it laser cut and the time that it saves putting it together. That sort of keeps the cost down. It is definitely comparable, for sure. The other thing with aluminum is it is bulletproof, and it is easy to repair. We have videos on YouTube of taking sledgehammers to the side and nothing. The marine grade alloys, as far as corrosion is concerned now, is pretty minimal if you are in salt water and you put the proper aluminum anode on it.”
On the water taxi side of things, Eben Fogg is managing that through the winter. That is just general maintenance this winter. They just installed a pair of twin outboards on the 29. As for the rest of the fleet they will come in one after the other for clean up, paint and a thorough go over to make sure everything is in perfect order to minimize breakdowns.
Riverside Boat, Newcastle, ME
Just before Christmas the last boat was hauled out on the railway. She was the Friendship sloop NOEL, but before they could haul her, they needed to find wood to build a cradle, which was not easy to locate. Nat Bryant, who is running the day-to-day operations, said that he had to go to a couple of different lumber yards and find the wood himself. This boat was purchased by one of their customers a couple of years ago and even though the transom says Mystic, Connecticut she is homeported in Friendship, and this is the first year she has been at the yard.
With everything up and covered for the winter they are getting ready to begin their winter projects. Presently they have a 26-foot sloop getting paint and then the projects will begin.
The 34-foot CLAIRE will be coming in for some new floors, frames and planks down in the tuck and part of the stem. There is also a question about replacing the transom, which might be this year or next. A Concordia 39 is in for new a fuel tank, sheer strakes, covering boards and Dynell on the deck. A 21-foot launch will be in to replace her port aft corner and a partial stem replacement, where there is a lot of rot. This boat had been abandoned in the yard for a number of years and one customer has decided to save her. A Herreshoff 12½ will be in for a new deck and maybe some new frames. The new 21-foot Striper has been lofted and they will start her this year.
There is no question that there is a lot of work on the schedule this winter.
Safe Harbor Kittery Point
In the main shop between two other boats is a tent covering a 15-foot Boston Whaler. This is a major restoration with no expense spared. When they opened her up, they were not surprised to see that there was water in the foam in the middle. The dug the wet core out, re-foamed it and then put Coosa board down. They also are putting a casting platform on the bow, which will deepen his storage and that will be surrounded by foam. Then they will install a bench seat and add a custom centre console. Once all the upgrades have been made, they will send her to the paint bay for Awlgrip from top to bottom and then a 70-hp Yamaha outboard will be installed.
To one side is the Crowley Beal 33, IDA MARY, a charter fishing boat out of Newburyport, Massachusetts. She was built in 2004 and it was time to replace the platform. Once it was removed, they found that the wood framing was in good shape and only needed to replace several pieces. With the deck up they also replaced the steering, fuel hoses and exhaust. They then added a storage compartment on the starboard side for his anchor, rode and general storage. Then they will re-gelcoat the cockpit and paint the inside of the pilothouse. The owner is looking to do more fishing charters and these upgrades will allow him to do that. Next year he plans to return and do even more upgrades.
On the other side is HONEYMOON, an Osmond 32, from Southwest Harbor, Maine. This owner formerly had SUSPECT, which was a Mitchell Cove 37 with big power built for Tim Toppins of Columbia Falls, but when his son moved, it was too much for one person. First, the crew did some routine engine maintenance (hoses, impellors, repair a leak, cleaned the coolers, and put in the zincs). They have also put in new seacocks, replaced the head hoses, added Soundown, added a hydraulic pot hauler, new battery switch, cleats, upgraded the electronics and did some electrical work. The owner is also thinking of bringing her back next year for new hatches.
There are a lot of storage boats, and all need some degree of maintenance. In another work bay they were working on some storage customer’s boats. SWEET POLLY, a Holland 32 sportfisherman, is in for some minor work. He is looking for a storage locker in the wash rail and then they will go through her to make sure everything is perfect for the harpoon season.
Next to her is a Grady White, whose owners use their boat extensively. She had three 250-hp outboards, which they thought best to change out as this model engine was getting phased out. They could get the normal maintenance parts, but anything more than that might be tough to find. She had developed an oil leak, and this was going to be a big-ticket item, so they opted for three new 300-hp Yamahas. Because this owner uses the boat extensively, they did not want any issues and when she goes in the water everything is ready and anything questionable is replaced. Marshall Farnham, yard supervisor, added, “I think you are going to start to see a lot of this, with the twins and the triples, which now have gotten more and more popular. The last 10 or 15 years is really when it started to ramp up and those motors are due. I think a trend where we keep doing these repowers is coming. The older boats, late 90s, 2000s, are due for motors. Transom work is the other part of this. The older boats, it is not just the outboards, sometimes they need transom work, whether they were installed properly or not. We are definitely selling a lot of outboards right now.”
There is plenty of paint and varnish to do this winter. In the paint bay they have a Duffy 35 that is getting Awlgripped from top to bottom. A Duffy from North Haven had all her exterior varnish stripped and redone. They also found a small place that needed to be recored where the mast came down through the shelter top. She may have her hull painted, either this year or next. This boat had her interior redone a few years ago and she is looking almost like new.
There are a number of commercial boats scheduled to come out. The Johns Bay 42 SHARON ROSEANNE, built in 1986, will be coming in to have her engine rebuilt for the third time. It was thought that the Detroit block has about 60,000 hours on it. Another commercial boat owner will be hauling out his engine and replacing it with another one. A Calvin 38 and Duffy 35, a father and son from York, will be coming in for regular maintenance. They do most of their own work and keep their boats immaculate.
