The View from the Helm

Here’s a coupla photos of recent progress on the F&W 27.

Here’s a sailplan of French & Webb’s Nat Herreshoff designed SADIE with her Paine designed fixed keel. Stop by and see her- she’s a real beauty!

I will be giving an illustrated presentation at Boothbay Harbor (Maine) Yacht Club on June 15. Also at NYYC (NYC) in November. In getting ready for my talk I unearthed this photo of me in the late 1970s carving a half model. Even after we were using computers to design our hulls I insisted upon carving a half model. It was slow, and tedious, but I felt that it enabled me to perfect the shape, so I did it and convinced the client to pay for it. It worked- the boats performed beautifully and looked good.

Much progress on French and Webb’s full-keel SADIE adaptation. The keel is installed, the transom ready for finishing and the cockpit coamings in place. The owner has substituted an incised cove stripe for the Herreshoff sculpted wale. This will be a Herreshoff Alerion/Sadie brought up to date with 21st century expectations.

French and Webb hired me to convert Nat Herreshoff’s “Sadie” design to a computer-lofted set of hull lines, and to design a new, fixed keel to make her more stable. Yesterday the ballast, weighing exactly as predicted and fitting beautifully, was fitted to the hull. The deadwood, built in advance from the computer lofting, is waiting at the left and will go on next. Don’t worry… that ugly fairing at the sheer will soon give way to a lovely gold-leaf cove stripe, and the transom will get a varnished mahogany overlay.

AMELIA, our custom WEST System cold molded PAINE 14 demonstrator, is for sale! Built at a cost of over $80,000, she would cost over $100,000 to reproduce today. She is in sparkling new condition, and would make a great boat for you to store on the boat deck of your motoryacht, or hang from your boat-lift for use in a Florida canal. She comes with carbon fiber mast, custom fitted galvanized trailer, and every conceivable option. She is probably the most beautiful and finest constructed yacht in America today at anything near her size. Significant price concession for the right purchaser.

Just to remind you what summer is about on the coast of Maine.

The crew at French & Webb are making good progress laying up the custom Herreshoff Sadie with our custom fixed keel replacing the original centerboard. As everyone knows I have been a lifelong admirer of Nat Herreshoff’s designs, and was honored to be able to contribute to this version of his design from 100 years ago. It will be a lot more stable and quicker to tack.

French and Webb’s Sadie project is coming along nicely. We were hired to give her a new keel for more stability, and a more modern rig with a permanent backstay.

Nat Herreshoff invented a beautiful shape when he designed SADIE

Nice shape, n’ est-ce pas?

HULL PATTERN NEARING COMPLETION