A student from Belfast, Maine, shares her experience of a daily commute by ferry to attend the Islesboro Central School’s magnet program for mainland students in grades 5-12.
Built for a Louisiana hotelier and his wife, the jaw-dropping rooms of Portland’s Victoria Mansion constitute the first and only extant interior by 19th-century design star Gustave Herter. Today, more than 150 years after it was built, the mansion retains 90 percent of its original furnishings and grants a rare look at 19th-century design.
Rope’s history in Maine is as long as the coastline that once housed the long buildings, known as ropewalks, where lines for fishing boats and sailing vessels were made. Like sail lofts and chandleries, ropewalks were a necessary part of any seaport, yet few of the buildings remain today. Writer Laurie Schreiber explains why.
Maine has a thriving oyster growing industry. Until recently most of these oysters were raised from commercial seed. As the industry has grown and coastal water temperatures have inched up, cultured oysters have begun to multiply on their own, particularly in the brackish waters of the Damariscotta River.
Founded by Bill Lowe of Owls Head, Maine, who started out making special metal fittings for yachts, Lowe Hardware has expanded into the high-end custom hardware home market. The company makes doorknobs, pulls, hinges, cabinet handles, and even fittings for furniture, in finishes that range from shiny or rough bronze to gold-plated brass or nickel.
While Nate Levesque has a day-job at the law firm of Eaton Peabody, his true love is photography. Levesque, who graduated from Hampden Academy and the University of Maine, acquired a professional-grade digital camera soon after college and began teaching himself how to use it. A hiker and lover of the outdoors, he sought to capture the scenes that meant so much to him. A few years ago he became interested in shooting the night sky, particularly at Acadia National Park.
Paul Molyneaux and his son build a skin-on-frame kayak as a home-schooling project and learn deeper lessons about the balance of power between man and nature.
The MJM 50z not only boasts a classic downeast look and smart design; it also takes offshore performance to a new level. Designer Doug Zurn’s modified deep-V hull provides a snappy helm response and a dry ride, even in steep seas.
The new e33LM is a fast, wood-fiberglass hybrid daysailer. The first model proved itself right away last spring, winning its class in the Hyannis-Nantucket Figawi Race just a day after it was launched and rigged.
The new Morris Ocean Series 48 GT has more sail area, a lighter hull, and a redesigned interior. Morris Yachts also took note of many small features that customers appreciate and worked them into this distinctive Chuck Paine design.
<em>Tubby Legs</em>, a Finboat designed by Harry Bryan of New Brunswick, Canada, has a flexible fin off the stern. Reciprocating foot pedals push the fin back and forth, propelling the vessel through the water like an undulating fish. It’s the eighth boat built at Islesford Boatworks, a summer boatbuilding school.
Most Maine boatbuilders who cater to commercial fishermen will tell you the same thing: 2014 was the year of the big boat. The majority of those big boats were built for lobstering. We look at a few of them.
The new Trefoil 33 Patrol Cat could play a starring role in a spy novel. Front Street Shipyard is building these nimble catamarans, high-speed patrol boats designed for shallow rivers and rough ocean water, for Trefoil Marine.
Cottrell Boatbuilding of Searsport, Maine, built a pair of custom classic Moths for a customer who had raced Moths when he was young. His charge to the Cottrells: “Design and build me two identical Moths within the classic Moth rules.”
Cottrell Boatbuilding of Searsport, Maine, built a pair of custom classic Moths for a customer who had raced Moths when he was young. His charge to the Cottrells: “Design and build me two identical Moths within the classic Moth rules.”
The New-York Historical Society has sent an impressive array of its marine and maritime art holdings, mostly 19th century, to the Portland Museum Art for the 2014-2015 winter season. “The Coast & the Sea: Marine and Maritime Art in America” offers an excellent opportunity to take in a clutch of sea-going artifacts, plus ships, seascapes, and portraits by a top-notch lineup of painters.
