2015
Year in Review
 


PELICAN
This year went FAST in more ways than one!  We launched our first of three new boats just nine days into January.  Our floats were out of the water, there were ice cakes in the river, high temps in the low 20's, a light snow falling and we needed to sea trial a boat designed and built to achieve a top speed of over 50 mph.  Despite some cold fingers the sea trial was a resounding success.  PELICAN clocked in at 53 mph. But part of the success of this design is that you don't have to go that fast.  In a traditional deep vee the stern squats and the bow points up until you climb over that b
ow wave and plane.  If you want to see where you're going you've got to either idle or floor it.  Due to her shallower deadrise PELICAN will keep her trim at a range of speeds.  So if you ever get sick of screaming along at 53 mph you can slow down and actually enjoy the view.
Check out this video of the sea trial, and for more on PELICAN's design and construction visit our website.


 
COQUINA


Our second launch of 2015 featured
much improved weather and a change of pace.  This Coquina, designed by N. G Herreshoff in 1899, is the third launched by D.N. Hylan & Associates since Doug Hylan and Maynard Bray first developed the plans nearly 15 years ago. It was a surprise gift from a father to his son and grandson who sailed in the Olympics and rank among the top youth sailors in the country respectively.
On the day the boat was presented it was decided that the 14 year old grandson should be the first to sail the boat.  I launched into what was bound to be a long winded description of sailing Coquina.  Before long I was politely interrupted and informed that: in THIS family they learned by doing! With that they shoved the poor kid off the dock before I had even gotten to explaining what a peak
halyard is.  Within 5 minutes he was roll tacking and had adjusted the peak halyard to relieve a crease in the main.
A wonderful thing about Coquinas is how much you can play around with different rig configurations.  But for this family, the standard 6 spars, three mast locations, four halyards and two sails was just not going to cut it.  Doug designed a jib headed sloop rig and a second rudder with tiller steering to provide yet another configuration for this family of sailing phenoms to play with.  The trick from a design perspective was to achieve balance with the same centerboard location that worked with the cat-rig. 
We had a blast trialing and fine tuning this rig. For more on COQUINA visit our website.
SKYE
 
Our third new construction launch of 2015 was SKYE.  Built for a couple from Houston who spend their summers in Rockland, she is hull # 2 of our BOWLER design.  There were some very minor changes to the design and layout of hull #1 BAGATELLE, and of course a different paint
scheme, but they are really two peas in a pod (so to speak).  SKYE does feature considerably more systems than BAGATELLE, including integrated VHF/ AIS/ Charlotter, shelter top solar array, electric refrigeration, a cabin heater and more.
From Rockland, SKYE's owners can take her to North Haven for dinner, Camden for some schooner watching, or even back here for a quiet overnight on the hook in Benjamin River.  For more on our BOWLER design visit our website.
In the shop: MOLLY B.

MOLLY B. is a 28' cruising cat boat with a cat yawl rig.  She was designed and built by C.C. Hanley in 1927, and was one of his last design/ builds.  Her rig is quite conservative as compared with some of the extreme racing cats with which Hanley earned his reputation.  Hanley was a very prolific designer in his time, even producing an America's Cup contender that was essentially an enormous cat boat. N. G Herreshoff reportedly once said of Hanley "he was the toughest nut I had to crack."

MOLLY B. is a special boat with a rich history and lots of character.  One of her
many interesting traits is the reverse rake in the stem that was signature of many of C.C Hanley's designs. 
We have been undertaking a thorough restoration of MOLLY B. in stages since 2009.  In this stage we will bring her nearly to completion, save only some interior joinery, trim and finish.  Look for her on Eggemoggin Reach this summer, she'll be hard to miss!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Wishing you many memorable cruises, with cozy anchorages and stunning sunrises in the year ahead!

Look for this photo of DELIVERANCE as Miss November
featured in the 2016 Calendar of Wooden Boats