February 2018 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 19. C N C - H B, B It has been announced that D.N. Hylan
& Associates Inc. will become Hylan & Brown - Boatbuilders. In their winter 2012 newsletter Doug announced that he had brought on a partner, Ellery Brown. Since that time Ellery’s responsibilities as well as his ownership of the company have grown to the point that Doug thought they ought to put both names on the shingle. Ellery said, “I’m honored to be associated with all the great work that Doug and this shop have turned out over the past 20 years. I look forward to continuing and building upon the great reputation for quality, honesty and creativity that Doug has worked so hard to build.” From his previous 24/7 schedule Doug
has transitioned to part time in the past couple years. He has taken time to realize some long term goals with his wife Jean, in- cluding a cruise to the Bahama’s last winter, and construction of a new home behind the shop on Benjamin River. Doug continues to turn out custom design work and supply the shop with detailed construction drawings for new builds and restorations. Whether he is in the offi ce designing on the computer, or 1000 miles away steering down the ICW he is almost always the fi rst place Ellery turns for help in solving any number of the won- derful problems that arise in custom yacht construction. Last winter they built PELICAN, a
pleasure boat inspired by the Chesapeake crab “scrape boat” DARLENE. “Scrape boats” or “barcats,’ are a distinctive member of the Chesapeake deadrise family. The have a very fi ne bow that rapidly transitions to almost fl at sections by the midship station. This twist was traditionally achieved by cross planking the bottom from chine to keel. In his Point Comfort 18 design, Doug developed a method for achieving this hull shape in plywood, and that same method was applied, on a larger scale, in the construction of PELICAN. After sea trials and boat shows this
past summer she has just taken to the water in her home port of Stuart FL. Doug had started the custom design for PELICAN in summer 2016. But when he departed on his cruise south last September the design was unfi nished and there was no contract to build.
In December Ellery got the best kind
of phone call you can get in this business: PELICAN’s future owner said “let’s build it!” Luckily Doug brought a computer along on his trawler MIM. So while Jean took the helm Doug fi nished the design of PELICAN. And with the help of a cloud, wifi and a robotic router in Blue Hill they were setting up molds for PELICAN in no time. Ellery added, “PELICAN was mostly
completed by the time Doug returned to Brooklin at the end of May. It was a reward- ing project that gave me great hope for the future of our little shop. While Doug was rarely unreachable, there were inevitably challenges in the construction that had to be solved without his help. Our foreman Matt Elwell and I found ourselves quite capable of collaborating to overcome these challenges. So while I have to respect the technology that enabled us to build a custom boat designed on a boat thousands of miles away, it was really the experience gained from years un- der Doug’s tutelage that enabled us to turn out a great boat in his absence. And that’s old technology! “This summer we were subcontracted
to build 49 door sets for a 91 foot sloop currently under construction at Brooklin Boat Yard, explained Ellery. “The order was for cherry passageway and cabinet doors, all with curved/ laminated cherry frames. It was the largest joinery project to date at Hylan & Brown, and it all went very well. A special
thanks is in order to Kit Macchi who made every laminated frame, built some of the doors, fi t every lockset and morticed every hinge. She did a great job and missed out on more than a couple afternoon sails to get it all done.” Early this fall they started construction
of a “bare hull” Marsh Hen design. Her own- er, a recently retired architect, will fi nish the boat at his shop in Castine. Ellery said, “We look forward to consulting with him and providing him assistance when necessary as he brings the boat to completion. I’m hoping this arrangement might be appealing to some other ambitious amateur builders. Doug’s designs are wonderful to work from, and well within reach for many reasonably capable carpenters. But the logistics of building and rolling a hull the size of Marsh Hen or Bowler are challenging in most home shops. Have us build the hull and call or e-mail whenever you need help. It could be a cost eff ective and rewarding way to take on a project that might otherwise be out of reach.”
The yard will be fi nishing up work on
a 1973 Quoddy Pilot called INTEGRITY this fall. Her devoted owner reached a point in life where he was ready for a boat with a more manageable sail plan than the big cutter rig he’s been wrestling with for the last 30 years. Rather than sell a boat that he often refers to as “part of the family” he hired Nat Benjamin to design a ketch rig for her thereby dividing the area of the cutter’s big gaff main into a more manageable main and marconi mizzen sail. Kit Macchi built him a lovely hollow mizzen of clear Sitka spruce. It’s fi tted out with a combination of new “in house” custom hardware beautifully fabricated by Matt Elwell, and reclaimed antique bronze hardware. The enormous main boom was cut in two and the result- ing pieces were reshaped and refi nished to become the new main and mizzen booms. With the addition of a roller furling jib and an electric windlass, sailing INTEGRITY will be a whole new experience in 2018. Ellery hopes a strategic and cost eff ective refi t like this might encourage others to keep the ‘old girl’ in the family when the time comes to make some changes. This winter the shop will be busy. PA-
TIENCE, a 1927 Elco 50 fl at top, arrived at the shop early this winter. She has had some structural restoration done over the past 10 years. We will begin with outstanding struc- tural issues and then direct our attention to the design and construction of her aft cabin. In “Junior’s” shop they will begin
Doug Hylan designed PELICAN, built and launched last year from the yard.
construction of the latest of their “hat” de- signs. Starting with Doug’s Top Hat design, fi rst built in 2002 followed by the Bowler design fi rst built in 2013, they will call this one “Gatsby” (a somewhat obscure hat also known as a newsboy cap.) Her hull will be built to the same lines as Top Hat and Bowl- er, drawing characteristics from each. Her main bulkhead will be at the same station as Top Hat’s, providing more cockpit and less cabin than Bowler. Her raised sheer will be nearly as high as Bowler providing enough
space down below for a V-berth and a toi- let. She’ll be new and diff erent from both previous designs in other ways: A rounded windscreen with a convertible canvas top, a 90 HP outboard on the transom (no motor well) and wrap around seat in the rounded aft end of the cockpit will amount to a speedier, and perhaps fl ashier version of her sisters. Doug’s at the computer taking the design from concept to construction details. They
Continued on Page 22. Saving Tug SATURN
We need you to be a Member!
SATURN is an 117-foot railroad tug built as the BERN for the Reading Railroad in 1907.
She is one of the last railroad tugs and is
being saved for future generations to enjoy. For more information: (207) 223-8846 or to join the Friends of SATURN, send a check for $25 or more to P.O. Box 710, Winterport, ME 04496. On Facebook: Saturn-Historic railroad tugboat restoration project
NEED TO MOVE YOUR BOAT? CALL YORK'S BOAT TRANSPORTATION
YORK'S MARINE 11 Gordon Drive Rockland, Maine 04841 (207) 596-7400
www.yorkmarineinc.com
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