It’s been a busy winter and spring for our crew, and even though it’s technically summer now, there are several more weeks of hard work ahead before any of us can slow down. And, given the season, our “In the Shop” page becomes “In the Shop and On the Water”! Read below for more about what we’ve been working on.
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TOODLIN’
A couple of our electric repower projects have launched, gone through sea trials, and been delivered. The first to leave was TOODLIN’, a electric runabout for a lake in Minnesota. Carefully shrink-wrapped for the 3-day trip, she was in perfect condition upon arrival. The 96V propulsion system booted up without incident, we backed the trailer down the ramp, and off she went! ePropulsion has done a nice job designing this system – there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes complexity, but the user experience is smooth and intuitive. Electric is a great fit for quiet sunset cruises around the lake, and with 40 kW of power on tap, a cool 25 kt breeze is always available at a moment’s notice!
WOMBAT
Next to leave was WOMBAT, who got the inboard version of ePropulsion’s 96V 40kW motor. Her owner brought her to us for systems planning and installation, and now that it’s complete, he’ll bring her back to his home shop to finish up some carpentry and finish work himself. We had a couple reps from Mack Boring, the NA distributor for ePropulsion, along for our sea trial with the owner. They put together a nice highlight video which you can watch here.
Fay & Bowen
Still in the shop is the Fay & Bowen torpedo-stern launch. She’s received extensive structural repairs, and a new cockpit layout is taking shape now. She’s getting a steerable pod from Rim Drive Technology, powered by Victron LFP batteries. This is our first project with a steerable pod, but marks our second year in a row working with Rim Drive. When finished, the F&B will serve as a launch at Buck’s Harbor Marina, at the head of Eggemoggin Reach.
PATIENCE
Last, but certainly not least, is PATIENCE, the 1927 Elco “Flat Top” cruiser. She gained a superstructure this winter, and looks like a real boat again (though it’s hard to take it all in in the confines of the shop). The pilothouse and trunk cabin are impressive for both their grand scale and tiniest details. Built as a multi-layered sandwich of plywood and mahogany veneers of various thicknesses, the paneled styling (raised panels outside, flat panels inside) will be even more striking once it’s all been varnished – and that varnish will be much easier to maintain on a stable substrate than it would be on traditionally-built house sides.
and more…
Beyond the big projects, there is always maintenance work on our storage fleet. Paint and varnish, launching, rigging, cleaning, deliveries – it all seems like it happens at once, every year! And this year, again, we will be at the WoodenBoat Show in Mystic, CT from June 26th-28th. We’ll be aboard AUK, an electric Point Comfort 23 that we built in 2020. This is an electric boat that’s been put through its paces, and we’re excited to talk to folks about electrical systems, efficient hull design, and the dreams and realities of electric boating. See you in Mystic!
