The shop will be humming this winter as we gear up to build two new Doug Hylan designed powerboats. One is a 34' Bahamian commuter, designed for high speed passage between Florida's east coast and Grand Bahama and amongst the islands beyond.

The other powerboat is a William Hand inspired 26' Vee bottom raised deck weekend cruiser. The shapely hull with flaring bow and tumblehome stern will be quietly and efficiently powered by a 60 hp outboard in a motorwell. Both boats will be of glued strip plank construction and sheathed in dynel fabric.  

There will be more to come about these two new powerboats on our facebook page and web site as work progresses. 

Said to be an enlarged Rozinante, DEVA is a 36' 6" LOA double ended cruising ketch designed by L. Francis Herreshoff . There's a great story behind her design and construction which you can read about in WoodenBoat Magazine # 157. She will be getting a general refurbishing above decks including new dynel deck, new toe rails and eye brow moldings, new deck hatches, stanchions and lifelines and more.     

We are happy to have two more Castine Class sloops currently in the shop. The Castine Class is an active and lively fleet of traditionally built 18' sloops that race every saturday in the summer out of the Castine Yacht Club.          

GUILLEMOT and BETTY P. are both in for some structural repairs and improvements. Another Castine Class sloop HOPPIE underwent a restoration in stages here over the past three years. Now structurally sound and lovely, she returns each fall for regular maintenance and storage.

She has always been called PENOBSCOT, and for many of her exactly 90 years she cut a fine figure in the waters of her name sake. D.N. Hylan & Associates of Brooklin, ME is pleased to announce that this past July the Charles Mower/Hogdon Bros. R-class sloop PENOBSCOT once again sailed in her home waters after a thorough restoration.

At 37' LOA with an 8 ' beam and 6' draft with 539 sq ft. of sail flying on a 46ft. mast, PENOBSCOT was designed by Mower to N.G Herreshoff's Universal Rule and built for speed. But not just speed. There is style and grace in every line and every detail. It is hard to look at PENOBSCOT and not romanticize a time when the elements of beauty, craftsmanship and technology were in tune and intertwined. While there has been monumental advances in technology in the 90 years since PENOBSCOT was built, it has perhaps outpaced and overwhelmed our developing notions of beauty and quality. In our yachts as in many other aspects of our lives we have exchanged speed and convenience for those precious and intangible elements of balance, harmony and grace.

We started the project by removing the teak over plywood deck that was installed in the 1980's. The sheer planks came off, the hull was forced back into shape and her original (and subtle) sheerline was restored.  The boat was 90% re framed with steam bent white oak and about 20 floor timbers were replaced. The 5000 lb lead ballast keel was removed and the original keel timber and all the keel bolts were replaced. New engine beds were installed, new deadwood and stern post, new transom and most of the bottom planking was replaced. With the hull back together we put on a plywood over dynel deck with v-matched red cedar beneath. An entirely new interior was built and all the deck joinery including the cabin house was built new. She has a lovely suit of new sails by Nat Wilson and her blocks and bronze hardware were built by J.M. Reineck & Son. When all was said and done, much of the boat's structure had been replaced and she is now as strong and sound as a new boat. The difference between PENOBSCOT and a new R-class sloop to the same design is her 90 years of rich history and the price tag. Even in such an extensive re-build the savings over new construction can be 40-50%.

In addition to significant structural repairs and improvements, a priority of the restoration at D.N Hylan & Associates was to re-create PENOBSCOT's original aesthetics. Without the benefit of construction drawings, the deck plan and interior layout were re-created with the help of an archive of photos provided by long time (and repeat) former owners Maynard and Ann Bray. To fill in the gaps the builder's relied on their experience restoring many other yachts of this era and construction details of other Mower R-class sloops. As the new owner consulted frequently with the builders to carefully select appropriate paint, wood species and finish details, the notion of "simple elegance" was employed often as a sort of litmus test. On deck, rich varnished Honduran mahogany predominates, contrasted by a cream colored deck paint. A varnished covering board with inset toe rail frame the deck in a gentle crescent with the toe rail just meeting the deck edge at bow and stern. The varnished cabin house with her rectangular ports is without a doubt the main feature on deck, and is an impressive display of fine joinery. Down below antique white paneling is contrasted by varnished mahogany trim, with a bare teak sole and quarter sawn oak house deck beams and ladder.

To find and restore such a significant example of early twentieth century yacht design is a remarkable undertaking. It requires an owner with the values and the vision to resurrect a culturally significant object. And it requires craftsmen, designers and historians with the skills, knowledge and experience to to make the vision a reality. Luckily for PENOBSCOT the stars aligned when her new owner discovered her and brought her to D.N. Hylan & Associates to restore her to former glory.