Browsing: Front Street Shipyard

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Front Street Launches New Harbor 28

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…

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Meet Blue Chip from Front Street Shipyard

The Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, is promoting Blue Chip, the 41-foot custom dayboat it built for a private client who will be cruising on Long Island Sound this summer. With classic Down East lines, a low profile and a long sheer, all designed by Ray Hunt Design, Blue Chip also has the iconic deep-V hull that C. Raymond Hunt developedfor superior blue-water performance some 60 years ago. It’s powered by twin 480-hp Volvo IPS650 pod drives, giving it a top speed of 38 knots. The people from Front Street delivered it to its new owner in Sag Harbor,…

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New Hope 40: A Power Cat with Foils

At first glance, the Hope 40 looks like another Down East picnic boat, but with a slightly broken sheer line. But then take a look under the hull. It’s a state-of-the-art power catamaran with hydrofoil technology. The new Hope 40 is the brainchild of McCullough Yachts in Newport, Rhode Island, and it’s going to be built at Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine. On its website, McCullough says, “For years customers have asked us why existing power catamarans look like futuristic alien spacecraft.” They say their reply is the Hope 40, “an attractive vessel that still utilizes the smooth riding…

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Front Street Launches 41-Foot Custom Hunt

The Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, just launched a new 41-foot custom dayboat named Blue Chip that it made in collaboration with Ray Hunt Design. The new boat, with its classic Down East lines, low profile and long sheer represents an iconic Hunt design, with the deep-V hull that C. Raymond Hunt first developed for its superior blue-water performance more than 60 years ago. The boat is powered by twin 480-hp Volvo IPS650 pod drives, with a top speed of 38 knots and a cruising speed of 32 knots. The topsides and deck are cored fiberglass with vinylester resin for…

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Front Street Shipyard Making New Hunt 41 Dayboat

Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, is building a new, custom 41-foot Hunt Dayboat, powered by twin 480-hp Volvo IPS650 pod drives. With Hunt’s classic deep-V hull, the new 41 is expected to top out at 38 knots and cruise at 32 knots. The new boat has classic Down East lines, with a fine entry, long sheer and low profile, all the work of the iconic Ray Hunt Design studio in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Hunts have been known for their superior seakeeping abilities for past 60 years, ever since C. Raymond Hunt developed the first deep-V hull. The Hunt Dayboat…

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Front Street Shipyard Building Tough New Sea Blade X with Revolutionary Hull

This wicked-looking 36-foot center console with a revolutionary hull design is now under construction at the Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine. The new SBX36, hull number one of the new Sea Blade X line from Navatek Ltd. of Honolulu, will be ready for sea trials in the spring. The Sea Blade X hull is built of fiberglass with a foam core; the boat has a T-Top and an inflatable Hypalon perimeter tube. The stepped V bottom hull, with outer sponsons for stability, was originally designed for the military, and is being used by law enforcement in Hawaii. The boat…

Cruising Life
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Front Street Shipyard Finishes Major Refit of 1962 North Sea Trawler Sindbad

Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, just finished an 18-month major refit of Sindbad, an 80-foot North Sea steel-hulled trawler that was built in Norway in 1962 as an ice-class vessel. Sindbad was transformed into a yacht in the early 1990s, and needed some major work to restore it to yacht-quality again. After the latest refit, Sindbad underwent sea trials off Front Street, where Billy Black took these pictures, before heading south for the season. Sindbad was a major refit for Front Street Shipyard, which is a combination of custom builder, service yard and marina. Front Street Shipyard also is something of a…

Cruising Life
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Belfast, Maine: A Summer Cruising Destination with a Now-Thriving Waterfront

Once a major shipbuilding and commercial fishing center that fell on hard times, Belfast, Maine, is enjoying a revival that makes it an attractive cruising destination this summer if you’re heading Down East. Way up Penobscot Bay, Belfast seems a bit off the beaten track, but it’s well worth the detour. For one thing, the newly invigorated waterfront, centering around a public Harbor Walk and the thriving Front Street Shipyard, is worth a visit in itself. For another, because of its location, Belfast often gets less summer fog than many other Maine ports. Belfast dates to 1630, when it was…

Cruising Life
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Devastating Maine Storm “Worse Than Sandy” in Belfast Harbor

The storm that roared up the coast and left half a million without power in the Northeast really walloped Belfast Harbor in Maine early this week. Indeed, the Bangor Daily News reports that the wind and waves caused at least half a dozen boats to break free of their moorings and wash up on shore. Several were destroyed on the rocks (see the top picture). JB Turner, owner of the Front Street Shipyard, which is in the inner harbor, said his yard avoided the worst of the damage. Still, he said, “This hit us worse than Sandy.” See the picture…