Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, just launched the first New Harbor 28, a modern version of the legendary Wasque 26, but now with outboard power.
The New Harbor 28 is a modern take on an iconic design, usually attributed to John Alden. The Wasque (pronounced WAY-SQUEE) 26 was originally built with inboard power to handle the choppy waters around Vineyard Sound, first by Vineyard Yachts and more recently by C. W. Hood.
For more than a decade, when Ed Sutt was living in Jamestown, Rhode Island, he dreamed about owning a Downeast boat. A year ago, when he was on a flight from his new home in Nashville, Tennessee, he saw a listing for the Wasque 26 molds on Craigslist. By the time the plane landed in California, he had bought them.
Sutt then formed New Harbor Boats (since C.W. Hood owns the Wasque name) and hired Geoff Van Gorkom from Portsmouth, Rhode Island, to design the new boat, and Front Street to build it.
The new hull is two feet longer than the original, with the extension for outboard power. As a result, the cockpit has been enlarged so that it’s 85 square feet, with a built-in rear seat. The helm station is surrounded by a teak windshield, and there’s enough room for a V-berth and a head below.
The New Harbor still has Wasque’s slender hull, with just an 8’ 6” beam, which means it can be trailered from one spot to another. It comes with a standard bow thruster to make docking easy. A single 300-hp outboard produces a 30-knot top speed.
Specs.: LOA: 28″ (without outboard engine); Beam: 8’6″; Draft: 2’3″; Disp.: 6,800 lbs.; Fuel: 117 gals.; Water: 19 gals.; Power: 1×300-hp outboard engine.
Read more: http://newharborboats.com
