Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors

01/14/2025

Off we go to Bass Harbor! Home to landmark beacon Bass Harbor Head Light Station which is a welcome sight when cruising up Jericho Bay. A popular destination for locals and tourists alike, the light sees some 180,000 visitors a year! Despite the flocks of visitors, this is the quietest part of Mount Desert’s so-called “quiet side,”. Bass Harbor remains anchored in the fishing industry with large lobster fleets occupying the vacated space of what was once the Underwood Sardine Company. There's lots to see and do in this corner of Maine, and as always Mimi Steadman guides us through it with aplomb.

https://buff.ly/4a29vHI

Photo: Mimi Steadman

01/13/2025

Hats off to a persistent crew! Holidays on island time.

While Christmas may be over, the Sunbeam crew is still making sure that islanders have a celebration! Bad weather cancelled the boat's December trips to Frenchboro, Great Cranberry, and Islesford, so the Sunbeam crew is headed out this week to spread holiday cheer!

01/10/2025

The Handiest Cat in Maine- A story by Art Paine

Inflation hit an already top cost industry with force in recent years. Paine went looking for a boat that could bridge the gap between those who might want to get out on the water but who also might not have the stock pile of cash often now required to do so. He found the Handy Cat, a boat rated highly in both performance and affordability. Designed by Merle Hallett this new version of the catboat can be described as the fore portion of the hull as normal catboat blended with Herreshoff-style hollow sections extending well aft. Paine ends his review with "I’ve always said yacht design is a blend of art and science, and the best yacht designers in history were nearly always artists. If you have any questions about my contention that you can judge a designer’s competence based upon his art, consider the two Hallett paintings that appear with this story. Like the Handy Cat, they look good."

Read his in depth review and see all the photos at the link: https://buff.ly/4fNGG2O

Photo: Hollow bows, rare in a catboat, are common to designers Hallett and Herreshoff.

01/07/2025

Nigel Calder and Cole Brauer, both with Maine ties, were among the sailors recognized by the Cruising Club of America with their 2024 awards. You can read about all the winners at https://maineboats.com/blog/2025/cruising-club-america-names-medal-recipients. Congrats all around!

01/05/2025

By 1913 political campaigning by automobile was an accepted practice. On Saturday, September 6, 1913, U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan conducted a speaking tour of Penobscot, Waldo, and Kennebec counties by car to promote Democratic candidates running for office that fall. In staunchly Republican Maine, he received the polite welcome due a national figure who had run for president three times and currently was serving as the senior member of Woodrow Wilson’s cabinet. This real photo postcard by Belfast photographer Charles A. Townsend shows Bryan at the right in the back seat of his touring car being driven through the city. In the front seat is Obadiah Gardner, a Rockland businessman and U.S. Senator from Maine from 1911 to 1913. While in Belfast, Bryan addressed a crowd of 2,000 from a speaker’s stand on Schoolhouse Common before traveling on to Waterville.

Text by Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., Maine’s State Historian

Photo courtesy the Maine Historic Preservation Commission

01/03/2025

Three Maine Boats Harbors & Homes staffers weigh in on what they love most about the state that gives them all a sense of place.

Sean Graves- Office Manager and photo hobbiest shares his images documenting his family's adventures in Maine

Mark Pillsbury- Editor and self described discoverer of suprises around each Maine corner

Jennifer McIntosh- Managing Editor and naturalist who enjoys playing with Maine's palette

See all their captures at the link: https://buff.ly/4iZfroR

01/02/2025

A year after they were battered by a pair of coastal storms, U.S. Coast Guard facilities in Portland, Rockland, and Southwest Harbor are getting more than $40 million in federal repair funds. Read more at https://maineboats.com/blog/2025/maine-coast-guard-stations-get-funding.

12/31/2024

Happy New Year from MBHH!

Photo: Peter Ralston Maine Coast TV/Community Media

12/30/2024

Is the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association Dock Dogs Calendar the only one you need to ring in 2025?? The answer is yes!

Dogs offer unconditional love, constant companionship, and unfailing optimism for hardworking Mainers who make their living on the water, and MCFA’s annual Dock Dogs Calendar celebrates the fisherman’s best friend. “He’s great at keeping morale up,” said Seguin’s (pictured) person, Justin Papkee, who operates the fishing vessel Pull N Pray from Long Island, Maine.

Maine looks forward to 2025 with renewed hope and dash of that dog-ish optimism after a tough 2024 storm season brought historic damages to many towns.

Get a copy of your calendar and read more about the work of the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association at the link: https://buff.ly/3ZU1Kim

📸 Waterfront dog Seguin takes a break on the rail during a long day at sea courtesy of the MCFA

12/28/2024

This is Waterway House, the most recent home created by multifaceted artist and homebuilder Richard Coakley. This hidden gem was years in the making, see all the photos and read about this beauty at the link: https://buff.ly/3VknBhc

Photo 1: Set back from the shores of Eggomogging Reach, the Waterway House displays elements of the gingerbread trim that decorated steamboats that once carried passengers and freight along the Maine coast, coupled with builder Richard Coakley’s desire to build a house filled with light by Elizabeth Coakley
Photo 2: The central stairway features black locust newel posts (deliberately mismatched) found at a midcoast salvage shop and exquisitely hand-painted treads

12/25/2024

Happy Holidays from Maine Boats Homes & Harbors🎄

Photo: New England Wanderlust

12/23/2024

Marine industry veteran Gavin McClintock has been named new CEO of . You can read about his appointment at https://maineboats.com/blog/2024/hinckley-names-new-ceo.

12/22/2024

There is a plaque in the Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society recognizing local poet and sailor Captain Walter E. Scott Sr. as a founding member of the society. Most of Walter's writing has long since been lost, adding to his local intrigue as both sailor and author. But a file of papers long buried in southern New England was brought to light in 2020. Read excerpts of his recently discovered work and learn more about this local mystery at the link: https://buff.ly/4gbFAP2

12/20/2024

The restored sailing vessel HINDU is on her way south, just in time for the holidays!

12/19/2024

Hey its a boat. A simple phrase to explain the emotional complexity that is boat ownership. Never a straight line in sight, Murphy's Law went into full effect as soon as our editor Mark and his wife Sue purchased the 1979 Camper & Nicholsons AC 40 CHICKADEE. Read Mark's story to hear the full comedy of errors that went into making their boat a sea worthy vessel.

Story: https://buff.ly/3OAHwVv

12/16/2024

En plein air refers to the school of painters who relish painting outdoors "in the fresh air". We'd argue you won't find fresher air than mid coast Maine and local artist Björn Runquist seems to agree. Home based on Clark Island, in the town of Saint George, Runquist makes forays to various spots along the coast. He is a committed year-round plein air painter, out in the elements with his easel, shifting his palette season to season, finding light and energy in every landscape he encounters. See more of his art and read the full story at the link: https://buff.ly/4gedzqe

Image: A local landmark in Tenants Harbor caught Runquist’s eye. Hall’s Market, 2014, oil on linen, 16 x 20 inches. Photo by Ni Rong

12/13/2024

Kudo go out to in Naples, Maine for being named Best Small Marina of the year by Marina Dock Age magazine. Read why this local family business won top honors at maineboats.com/blog/2024/moose-landing-named-small-marina-year.