Projects
Here are some of McClave Marine's current and recently-completed projects:
Technical Support of Projects at MP&G
Ed remains a partner of MP&G, providing design and technical support, but he is no longer working on the shop floor.
The Restoration of Little Gull II
MP&G's current major project, which began in the fall of 2015, is a complete restoration of Little Gull II a 43' William Hand-designed motor yacht built by the Herreshoff Mfg. Co. in 1928. Ed is defining the shape to which the hull will be restored, based on the original offsets, on observations of how the original construction deviated from the originally-designed shape, and on a laser scan of the existing hull shape (by 3DMeasure of Rhode Island). At this writing (Summer 2018) the restoration of the exterior of the hull is more or less complete, and work is focusing on the interior of the hull, and the deck and deck joinerwork. The two Hall-Scott Invader 6-cylinder gasoline engines are being rebuilt by the Phil Reilly Co. of Corte Madera, Cal.
The Refit of Marilee
Beginning in fall 2014, Ed acted as a technical consultant to boatbuilders French & Webb of Belfast, Maine on a major refit of the 60' 1926 Herreshoff "New York Forty" Marilee. Ed has designed and produced the plans for structural reinforcements to the hull, a complete repowering, some new spars and rigging for the gaff rig, and changes to deck joinerwork and deck hardware,. The Marilee project was completed for summer 2016.
The Restoration of Doris
Beginning in late fall 2015, Ed began providing technical assistance to Snediker Yacht Restoration of Pawcatuck, Conn. for their now-in-progress complete restoration of the 78' 1905 Herreshoff gaff topsail cruising cutter Doris, a U.S. National Historic Vessel. So far, the shape has been defined with a combination of large-scale lofting and 2D computer-based lofting. Molds were made for every frame and for internal web frames, all of the white-oak frames have been steam-bent on the molds and beveled and their floor timbers are bolted in place. The hull was recently moved to Dave Snediker's new shop on Old Mystic, so all parts of the project are now in the same location.
Training of USCG Marine Inspectors
Since fall 2012, Ed, working for Tony Guild's Maritime Technical Services of Novato, Cal, has been co-teaching the wood boat portion of the USCG wood and fiberglass Marine Inspector Training Course, training USCG Marine Inspectors and Fishing Vessel Examiners. There are three courses in 2018, two in California in April and May andone in Connecticut in August.
Motor Yacht Project
We recently adapted the design of the motor yacht Acania, for a possible near-reproduction. The original is a 126' steel motor yacht designed by John H. Wells and built in 1929 by Pusey & Jones of Wilmington, Del. The project includes a 3D hull design, scantlings to ABS Rules, modern machinery and systems, but retention of the look and feel of the original 1929 configuration of the vessel, in exterior appearance and in interior public spaces. This project is currently"on hold".
The illustration above is the lines of the adapted hull. The link below leads to a preliminary, rough 3D model of the hull with its decks and deckhouses.
3D Models of Recent MP&G Projects
These links will open Adobe Reader for viewing, panning, zooming, and rotating 3D pdf files:
(The hull shape information we use to create 3D models of Herreshoff-built boats comes from the Herreshoff offset books provided by the Hart Nautical Collection of the MIT Museum)
3D Model of the Herreshoff Buzzards Bay Twenty-Five
3D Lines Plan of the Herreshoff Buzzards Bay Twenty-Five
(This model does not display well on iOS devices)
(This page discusses how to view and manipulate the interactive 3D models on various types of computers and also details how we create them.)
2D Sail Plan of the Buzzards Bay Twenty-Five
Past MP&G Projects
Lists about 30 extensive restorations of Herreshoff-built boats, plus others, from 1975 to 2016.
Slide Shows of the MP&G Spartan Restoration Project
This is a wicked-long one (over 400 slides), and it will be quite boring for most people. It shows the Spartan restoration project from the time the restoration re-commenced in 2005 until its completion in 2011. We do have some dusty, mildewed slides of our first phase of the project in the 80s, but we have not yet scanned them.
There are two versions, one in high-resolution (about 87 MB) and a slightly earlier one in a lower resolution (about 18 MB). Either of these is probably larger than you will want to load if you're using a tablet or a smartphone with a cellular connection. Wait until your mobile device is on a WiFi connection to view these.
Low-Res Spartan Slide Show (2014)
High-Res Spartan Slide Show (2016)