Alec Brainerd’s Artisan Boatworks in Rockport, Maine is a modestly sized yard with about 16 employees that builds, restores, and maintains wooden yachts by some of the world’s most famous designers.

Inside the yard’s sheds, there are boats by Nathanael Herreshoff, William Fife, Starling Burgess, K. Aage Nielsen, B. B. Crowninshield, John Alden, Sparkman & Stephens and other great naval architects.

Every year, the yard keeps about 80 wooden boats in Bristol condition. And since its founding in 2002, it has rebuilt nearly 20 boats and completed 19 new builds up to 29 feet.

But in April 2023, Brainerd was approached by an experienced sailor, a man in his 80s, who was looking to construct something bigger than Artisan had ever built, a feature-rich daysailer in the 40-foot range. The caller had commissioned numerous builds throughout his long sailing career, including two yachts of around 100 feet from Royal Huisman in the Netherlands.

His most recent commission had been a 50-footer from Rockport Marine in Rockport, Maine. – Full report