BS: Great Boats (Ships o' Fools)

Subject: BS: Great Boats (Ships o' Fools)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 14 Nov 09 - 03:28 PM

Several Mudcatters have periodically posted about their favorite ships, those ships they have known or ones they have lusted after. Here's a thread to post links to your favorites, with maybe a prefacing remark about each one.

The marina I used to work at as a teenager in Georgetown, Maine, used to be the home port of two such ships, the Murray Peterson designed schooner and the Friendship Sloop.

The Murray Peterson schooner was about 36-feet long, about half the size of a traditional coastal schooner, and looked like this: click here for image!

We build several of these wicked-sharp schooners at the marina where I worked.

The Friendship Sloop was originally designed in the early years of the 20th century as a fishing boat but was later adapted as a cruising yacht. She is gaff-rigged, wide at the beam, and a clipper bow: click here for image!

I've never been able to afford to own either of these fine boats but I'd love to "borrow" one for a season.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Great Boats (Ships o' Fools)
From: heric
Date: 14 Nov 09 - 04:19 PM

Ha. You just caused me to stumble across someone's old home movie with a ship of the same plans as mine, that I built by hand, and captained until it was wrecked on a "reef."

There were no photos of the wreck, but as I recall it looked pretty much like this.

Subject: RE: BS: Great Boats (Ships o' Fools)
From: Little Hawk
Date: 15 Nov 09 - 01:20 PM

That Friendship Sloop is such a beauty!

Subject: RE: BS: Great Boats (Ships o' Fools)
From: gnu
Date: 15 Nov 09 - 02:55 PM

Murray Peterson schooner... wow!

Subject: RE: BS: Great Boats (Ships o' Fools)
From: EBarnacle
Date: 15 Nov 09 - 03:11 PM

Which of the Peterson schooners was that--Silverheels, perhaps?

Subject: RE: BS: Great Boats (Ships o' Fools)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Nov 09 - 10:03 PM

The crew at Robinhood Marina in Georgetown built three or four of the Murray Peterson Schooners. Murray's brother Roland used to own the Marina. I was pretty low as workforce crew; I got to man the gas dock, paint floats, and run errands for the real workers. Still it was exciting to see the schooners being built and launched, and then loaded down for their first cruise.

I eventually got to sail with some friends in a 40-foot ketch, after helping rebuild it. They were planning to sail around the world but by the time they reached the Bahamas they decided the world was too wide, and I flew down and helped them sail it home. There was never a boring moment!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble