2025 Projects: Domestic & International

• Friendship sloops

• Alden Schooner yacht: full suit

• Galloway Hooker: mainsail for Ireland

• Coaster III: 7 sails (staysail, fisherman, queen staysail, trysail, genoa, gollywobbler, and a balloon jib. )

Friendship Sloops: full suits for two different vessels

Like windjammers local to the area, Frienship Sloops started their history as working boats.

"Friendship' refers to the vessel's origins, a Maine town local to me. Used for lobstering the design originated from there around 1880.

At its peak the vessel was produced by five Maine, regional boatbuilders.

The origins were likely collective, influenced by the fishing boats of Gloucester, MA, and by other local, Maine fishermen of Bremen, ME.

Manageable single-handed and ranging up to 40 ft, they were used to haul fish or lobsters from offshore vessels to port for processing. As with the larger windjammers that sail from Rockland and Camden, ME, the vessels are yar beyond work and so their use and design lives on.

This time around, I made a full suit for two local vessels.

Alden Schooner yacht: Full Suit

Alden Schooners, those designed by John Alden, have been known worldwide and sought after since 1932.

In 1907, he took a rough voyage to Boston. He was part of a light crew, four versus the recommended 23. He learned, the hard way, about stability and ease of use. Those became the hallmarks of his designs.

By the 1917 he founded Alden Design. Since then his designs won many races, and many fans.

Galway Hooker: Mainsail

The Galway Hooker is a uniquely Irish boat. They were used for fishing and moving general cargo among islands and coastal towns similar to the small schooner and sloops of New England.

They are known for having what is called tanbark sails. When sails were made of natural fiber they would be "barked" which was a natural coating made from the tannins in tree bark and other natural preservatives. It was very common in commercial vessels from this part of the world. 

There has been a resurgence in the Galway Hooker and many old boats have been restored and new ones built. They now race them and sail them extensively. 

Nat made sails for a few of these boats years ago and the owner of a different hooker reached out to me for a new mainsail. 

Coaster III: Seven New Sails

Coaster III is a Murray Petersen designed schooner now sailing in France. Nat made sails to a sister of the vessel which were never used.

Coaster III's owner acquired the sails and reached out to me to build more to complete the schooner's suit.

The sails I have built this year include another staysail, fisherman, queen staysail, trysail, genoa, gollywobbler, and a balloon jib. 

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