WINDWALKER ~ TED HOOD 60

LOA --- 60'
BEAM ---16'
DRAFT---6'6"/13'
DISP. --- 57,000 lbs.
SAIL AREA ---1256 sq. ft.

In Thomaston we have had a very good year with the launching of two spectacular boats. The first one we launched, WINDWALKER , is perhaps one of the finest cruising sailboats in the sixty foot range built today. This is not a cruiser/racer as is advertised by so many manufacturers, but is a full blown, no holds barred,  cruiser designed by the Ted Hood Group (primarily Ted Fontaine and Matt Smith). She has a big stick in her at 82’ off the water and a Leisure Furl in-the-boom furling system. As a result she will probably be averaging between nine and ten knots on a normal trip and has a large Volvo 150 hp engine to motor through the calms. This boat is a true passage maker with all the trimmings that will make her an ideal boat to live aboard when she reaches the Caribbean.

We installed a Panda 12 KW generator to run the Marine Air air conditioning, a Sea Recovery watermaking system, Mastervolt inverters off the 24 volt system, Asko washer and dryer, and a host of other top-of -the line equipment.

The rig was built by GMT (all carbon) with the Leisure Furl system supplied by Hall Spars. Win Fowler at Maine Sailing Partners made the sails and most of the deck hardware is from Antal or Harken. The jib roller furler is Reckman leading to an electric winch. In fact, all winches in the cockpit are electric making this boat an easy boat to manage.

The general perception of a good cruising boat seems to be eroding into two camps. The straight cruising boats have given up on reasons why they are out here and put so much stuff on their boats they have sacrificed their sailing abilities. The other end of the spectrum sees the boats having to stay light and sacrificing good cruising for speed. In all designs there is some middle ground. The newer designs with their wide sterns have to be longer and simpler to accommodate the necessary tankage and equipment for cruising and still sail well. The heavier boats should perhaps say no to some of the great equipment available today to allow easier maintenance.

I was truly impressed by the boats in the Caribbean 1500 this year. Very large boats with large crews and all the trimmings. I thought this rally was a way to help first time cruisers get offshore and enjoy the Caribbean. It is extraordinary how the average size of the cruising boat has increased so much in size, but they make very good business for the industry.

As a result, WINDWALKER has been a delight to build with Alice and Craig insisting on the best available in every facet with the full realization she will have either full time crew or shore side help. She is truly a remarkable boat.

NIGHTHAWK ~ SPARKMAN & STEPHENS 53

LOA --- 53'
LWL --- 50' 1"
BEAM --- 16'
DRAFT --- 4'6"
DISP. --- 52,000 lbs.

NIGHTHAWK was launched late summer right behind WINDWALKER making for a very busy summer. I can’t say enough about the quality of our crew this summer as they pulled together to launch two great boats in a very short time frame. They gave up their summer vacations and worked a lot of overtime to accommodate the time schedule we had. Both boats had a priority of heading south for the winter and we made it!

However, you do not get a crew of sixty in Maine (We live here because we all have a strong streak of independence) to give up their vacations and a good part of their summer unless the owner has met their acid test. Well, both the Cullens and Twomblys have been a joy to work for and with their insistence on only the best quality the crew really rallied.

George and Mit Twombly being from Maine are the rare customer for us and took an active interest in their boat often appearing for less than a half hour to look over the latest developments. What a great couple! Decisions were made quickly and very rarely changed. As we all headed south, CHEWINK, NIGHTHAWK and WINDWALKER ended up on the same dock in Newport where Mit made the best pancakes most of us have ever had. Now we just have to get her Vermont maple syrup from the Rooney Farm to make them unbeatable.

NIGHTHAWK is a Sparkman & Stephens design with two Caterpillar 3196 engines at 660 hp apiece. She cruises at 18 to 20 with a top speed of 22 knots. With her Portuguese bridge she has a northwest look to her, but with our New England touches and Bob McClean’s painting she is a unique and elegant yacht. Greg Matzat was the chief designer whom we worked with at S&S with great success. Mitch Neff has assembled a young and enthusiastic team of designers who are easy to work with. The boatbuilder’s lament is often about the designer, but this past year we have had a good time coordinating with both Hood and S&S. Perhaps I am mellowing in my old age and the designers are younger and more enthusiastic. It doesn’t matter as the product is superb.

The Twomblys chose cherry for a light and airy interior. All the cabins are forward with the master cabin under the foredeck with very high overhead and a lot of light for a well ventilated and spacious cabin. Mit and George chose to concentrate on a large guest cabin instead of trying to fit two extra cabins and even found plenty of room for fold down berths for grandchildren.

Perhaps the most emphasis was put on the bridge area with a desk, helm, and seating area that makes this area a wonderful place to pilot the boat, but also an office while in port with an impressive array of computers and electronics. NIGHTHAWK is using a 15 KW Northern Lights generator and a Marine Air A/C.

Not counting the many years of the old Morse Boatbuilding Co. we have been in business for 22 years as Lyman-Morse. The longer we are in this business the smaller our list of suppliers gets as we narrow down to those particular suppliers who have been so beneficial to us in the past. This business is one of personal relationships and follow through. I do not know anyone who does not try to do his best. In our case people often wonder why we choose a particular brand of equipment or supplier. It is simple. We have had good luck with the equipment in the past and because we know that all equipment will eventually break, we need to associate ourselves with people who will give us the proper backup. When we use suppliers like Ocean Options, Bay Sailing, Maine Sailing Partners, Caterpillar, GMT, etc. we know we are always going to find good solutions to the problems. The boatbuilding process does not quit when the boat is launched. Usually for at least a year these highly sophisticated machines have to be tweaked and massaged to meet everyone’s expectations and we need the experts to help us work out the problems encountered for each particular boat. Gone are the days when the boat was simple enough to keep everything "in house".

Custom boatbuilding is still the only way to make a really knowledgeable statement. In today’s world our custom boats stand out as never before, but it is the personalizing of the boat for the owners which is really satisfying for both the owner and builder.

We are working with designer Ward Setzer on this new 74’ boat. The parameters are to cruise close to 28 knots, be easy to handle for the owner, look traditional but unique, and have the best possible joinery in mahogany. And she will not be lacking in equipment. She will be fully air conditioned with a chilled water system, watermaker, two Panda generators 30KW and 15KW , full electronic package, and will be powered by two MAN diesels 12 cyl @ 1300hp apiece.

This will be an interesting project for us working with Ward as the designer and his wife, Marci as the interior decorator . They are bringing new ideas to us and some new looks in both the exterior and interior.

Marcey Setzer's Interior Design Concept for the interior portion of this project is to allude to "Turn of the Century" styling while avoiding the excessive ornamentation of the "Victorian" style.  The client desires traditionally styled elements, colors, furnishings, fabrics and lighting, and particularly those details that recall historical wood sailboat interiors and the classic motor yacht style of the 20's and 30's

Finely crafted woodwork and wood detail are of great interest to the client, and are to be emphasized throughout the vessel.  Specialty woodwork will be developed into focal points in several areas as appropriate.  Raised wood paneling, and trim accentuating rounded edges will be prevalent.  Plumbing fixtures and door and cabinet hardware will be significant elements in expressing the "retro" style desired, and will be selected carefully to express an historical, traditional feel while performing to current standards.

For a preliminary color scheme, the owner will use teal green and white, in addition to the wood tones that will be present throughout the vessel. Deckheads will be white painted beaded board planking.  In the galley, the client will use teal green granite countertops and stainless steel fixtures.  In heads throughout the boat, countertops will be mahogany. Lavatories will be white ceramic.

The furnishings will be "tailored" style upholstered pieces, antiques or reproduction style furniture. Durability and comfort of fabrics and finishes for this casual vacation setting will be given consideration. Floor covering will be wood with area rugs, or carpeting inset within a wooden margin, creating the look of area rugs.

Lighting will be arranged to provide a "warm" atmosphere, with fixtures that are de-emphasized or neutral in style.  Some natural lighting will be provided through deck prisms (the white deckheads will enhance this daylight).

Perhaps the most interesting part of this boat is the collaboration with Janicki on the West coast producing the mold to build the hull cut by a five axis router. We are under severe time constraints on this boat so to help we contracted with them to produce the molds necessary to build the hull in 8 -10 weeks. The molds were then trucked to us and we simply put them together to make one large hull mold. We would normally need six to seven months to make a hull in this fashion and although the delivery was a bit slower than intended we have saved considerable time. We also opted to use a female mold instead of our usual practice of a male mold allowing the owner the option of selling more of these boats and to accommodate the considerable tumblehome. I am excited about this process as I believe it is the natural progression of computer designed boats. Janicki has built a very large building housing a huge overhead arm in order to accommodate large structures such as boat parts. They are doing a great deal of work for many different types of industries from Boeing, defense department to boatbuilders. They are producing our deck for this project as well.

The cost of using this technology is still more expensive than the traditional approach of our shop using a male mold set up but the time saving is worth it. While we are finishing other boats we are getting a faster start up without using our manpower.

We are using the computer more and more in our boatbuilding these days with two full time designers ( Dave Buckley and Craig Picard ) on the computers. They are using a three axis router to prepare the bulkheads and as many other parts as possible. They have become an indispensable and integral part of the building process.

Generally I like the direction the computer is taking us. Years ago we took a lot of license as a builder and made decisions on the spot as we were building . But today with the mock-up process and general expectations of owners and designers it is necessary to be more thorough in the beginning. What the computer really allows us to do is to be very exact. The pieces we build fit together better and save us time. As the boats get bigger we lose individual options for the craftsman but gain in accuracy.

We have Scrimped the hull of the 74 footer by using two layers of mat against the mold surface and then laying in the entire laminate and core before vacuum bagging and infusing the resin. We are having excellent results from this process producing a very high quality hull.

LOA --- 52'8"
LWL --- 45' 4"
BEAM --- 15'2"
DRAFT --- 6'0" Board up
DRAFT --- 11'0" Board down
DISP(half load) --- 51,500 lbs.
SAIL AREA --- 1200 sq. ft.

A no holds barred motorsailer! John and Nancy McKelvy have worked with Bill Cook to produce a traditional looking motorsailer. What makes this boat unusual is the McKelvy’s attention to the original concept. They are experienced sailors and spent a lot of time working on this project before coming to us. With a permanent house over the steering station and large engine Lugger 140hp, well laid out cockpit for easy access to the winches, Stowaway rig, and a strong laminate, this boat is a "go anywhere, anytime" boat. John weakened and allowed us to put in a centerboard for more efficient sailing to windward which will further enhance the all around capabilities.

The McKelvys also have kept the interior quite simple with only two generous cabins. Either cabin could be the master cabin but the aft cabin with its large head and great access to the cockpit will be the better cabin. While looking quite traditional with its double ended shape, the equipment we are installing is nothing but state of the art. She is going to have a Northern Light 8KW generator with full air conditioning, watermaker, etc. Working with the McKelvys and Bill Cook has been a real pleasure for all of us.

LOA --- 30'0"
LWL --- 26' 10.5"
BEAM --- 9'0"
DISP --- 9,200 lbs.
ENGINE ---Cummins 370hp

We are in the process of building a new 30’ jet boat for John and Pepe Maynard. John and Pepe have recently built a new boathouse/house on Maple Juice Cove and are going to supplement it with a new runabout to enhance their time in Maine. Of course, they still have MAGIC (Seguin 44) which is in its normal excellent shape. Nick Maynard and Dave Buckley have been working together on their respective cad programs to produce the profile and layout and with kibitzing from the rest of us we are going to have a very good looking boat. She is going to be kept very simple with an emphasis on practicality and a bit more horsepower for speed. These 30 footers have an outstanding hull shape that give an impressive ride, and although we tend to concentrate on larger boats we do enjoy occasionally building these simpler and smaller boats. Simon Castle is going to head this project for us this winter with Joe Thayer overseeing the mechanical end.

Duane and Jean Strawn, the original owners of WINDWALKER I joined us for dinner here in Tortola where they have recently moved aboard their lovely power boat TOAD HALL.

WINDWALKER I was sold this summer to Alan Worden and underwent a big re-fit before leaving late fall for Panama and the Pacific. Alan lived at the yard during all the work and was adopted by the crew.

WINDWALKER II will be spending the winter in the Caribbean with Justin Weigleb aboard as mate.

GALAVANT is back in Thomaston after being sold to Kenneth Slater and Brenda Richardson   this summer. We are going to miss Bill and Joyce Nelson but Ken and Brenda are determined to keep her in top shape.  We are replacing Galavant's engine and upgrading her instruments as well as other improvements.

HOBNOB was also sold this summer to Richard Quirk and is based in Salem Mass.

Ex-RAINBOW,  RIVER GULL is presently wintering in Spain after a rough crossing this summer.

NARNIA has returned to us this winter for a major refit.  She is replacing her fuel tanks, requiring removal of much of the main saloon.  Repairs are also underway on her teak decks, cabin sides and coach roof in preparation for a complete repainting of the deck and topsides.  All of her plumbing and technical systems are being examined and upgraded where necessary.  As is the case with many 1970's and 1980's boats, we know a great deal more about battery maintenance and charging systems than we did then and have been upgrading many systems to current standards.

LYRA - is back and having paint and varnish work, new interior hardware throughout and some strengthening of her mast step.

NIGHTHAWK is spending the winter in Florida

FINBACK is in the Caribbean for the winter having been in BERMUDA with both WINDWALKER and CHEWINK.

November 17,1999

As I write this we are holed up in Village Cay Marina waiting for hurricane Lennie which is increasing in strength by the hour and due in about six hours. This is an unusual storm as it formed in the western Caribbean and has tracked to the east. This is practically unheard of especially in November.

The Virgin Islands have a serious problem this time of year as there are too many boats to be accommodated by the limited number of good harbors. I have always considered the Virgins to be a mild area this time of year with acceptable harbors and to be a good place to relax. However, with a hurricane belting down on us there are in actuality very few places to hide. None of them very good. Being a good New Englander the Virgins are leaving a great deal to be desired today.

Why am I writing this now? Simply because we spent all day yesterday preparing with everyone else in the marina. We are mainly surrounded by crewed charter boats, many of whom have been through this before in this spot. What a spider web of lines! There are lines going everywhere, but so far it has been a very cooperative effort with a fair amount of skill. With the threat of storm surge I do not like being on a dock, but in this case it seemed the best option.

On board CHEWINK hurricane Lennie passed 50 miles south of us so we only saw about 75 knots of wind and essentially dodged a bullet as the hurricane was blowing 150 knots in the center as she passed by.

We had a mediocre trip from Newport to Bermuda leaving with strong Northwesterlies and motoring through the gulfstream and then fighting some headwinds for about twenty hours. The last day into Bermuda we had a delightful sail that made us forget the rest.

We stayed in Bermuda for a week thoroughly enjoying ourselves in St. George’s. The last cruise ship departed leaving us with a very quiet and peaceful island. Bermuda is an island with two personalities. Near Hamilton and St George it has the cruise ship mentality but at night and away from the downtown areas there is a very beautiful and peaceful Bermuda with outstanding people.

Our trip to the Virgin islands was excellent with a strong Northeasterly for the first two days and then slowly dying as we crossed under a trough. We motored for thirty hours and then had a delightful sail with light ESE wind into the Virgins. As we approached the islands we were aware of a circular low forming in the NW Caribbean, but all of us highly knowledgeable people scoffed at the idea it would ever come our way. Well, even after the hurricane has long gone we still have west winds here. Unprecedented in my experience in the Caribbean and without the tradewinds we are not totally relaxed about the weather.

We were sorry to see Bob Bynum and Laurie Rowley go. They were incredible shipmates. It is always a gamble to spend three weeks with the same people on a small boat, especially with my nature but they were the best especially leaving Newport. This was mentally a hard undertaking with all the loose ends involving the yard and the kids. Bob kept the spirits high and kept us going. I am very comfortable leaving the yard in Stuart’s and JB’s hands and thought we only had to worry about ourselves. I couldn’t have been more wrong ! The last time we left we had the kids with us which was far easier than leaving them and trying to organize the communications to keep in touch.

There are a host of different systems to communicate with shore now by E mail or voice but we have all learned that there is no really good system yet in place. We have Inmersat C on board for instant communications and we have started using Hotmail picking up our mail when we can find a place ashore to do so. This seems to be working well.

We have started our own metal fabrication shop at last. Scott Nelson and David Wyllie have moved their equipment into the old fiberglass shop on the dock. This is an exciting move for all of us with these two outstanding craftsmen making our operations far more efficient. We have been using a variety of shops to build our metal parts and although we like the results we are captive to their schedule. David and Scott will be doing some outside work, but we expect them to be kept busy with our own work load.

Scott and David are very experienced and ingenious craftsmen and will be a good fit into our operations. For years we have wanted our own shop but were never able to find the right fit. David has been lead mechanic at Wayfarer for years and Scott has had his own shop for years as well as experience in different yards. They will make our lives a lot easier.

Kevin has firmly established his base of operations at the upper yard.  Kevin is an independent contractor. He is an authorized dealer for Furno, Datamarine, SEA, Trimble etc. and we are happy to have his expertise nearby. Kevin and Kim Baker present a formidable team with almost all the bases covered in the sophisticated world of marine electronics. We can count on them for fast, courteous service.

Stuart continues to keep the service and storage operation going full bore. He has several re-fits this winter and the work continues to come in. You may be hearing us say no, more often lately. We are trying to be realistic about how much we can accomplish over the winter so no one is disappointed next spring. Our crew continues to produce great work and is great to work with but call early for Stuart and Mike to get your projects properly organized.

Many of you have met Mike Harrell already as he has been slowly modifying the rigging department. He has been a very welcome addition for us this summer as he saw to the proper rigging of WINDWALKER. He is working to generally upgrade our capabilities as well as our expertise. Mike is becoming Stuart’s right hand man. Stuart starts dreaming about the south as soon as the first frost arrives and Mike will be taking over for him in his absence. So if you cannot reach Stuart do not hesitate to call Mike. You will be in good hands.