Maritime Historian
Few people in the world have devoted as much time and energy, or have become more knowledgeable about classic boats, than Maynard Bray. After a dozen years of marine engineering at Electric Boat and Bath Iron Works, Maynard began to pursue his passion for traditional boats by heading up watercraft preservation at Mystic Seaport in 1969. Among the major projects he tackled was the creation of the Henry B. duPont Shipyard and refloating the whaleship Charles W. Morgan and turning her back into a living vessel. Since then, Maynard has had a hand in reviving many notable classic boats as well as finding caring owners for others. In 1973 he moved with his family to Brooklin in his home state of Maine and began building and restoring boats in his own shop, at the Brooklin Boat Yard and at the Newbert and Wallace Shipyard in Thomaston, Maine. A prolific writer, Amazon lists Maynard as the author or co-author of 10 books on the subject of wooden boats. He also writes the text for the Calendar of Wooden Boats and serves as Technical Editor for WoodenBoat Magazine.
Title |
|
 |
Remembering Sam Manning: Samuel F. Manning lived well and helped countless boatbuilders and marine historians through his career in maritime illu... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Sculling: At last, a close-up look at an old-time technique that can prove useful under many circumstances. Maynard Bray talks us... |
|
 |
Rowing: Rowing can be a real art form. Maynard Bray takes us for a row and describes techniques that can help you become more gr... |
|
|
|
Title |
 | Roaming in ROAMER: A rare glimpse of the Herreshoff family’s summer cruises aboard their steam yacht ROAMER The 94-foot ROAMER was with t... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | Enhancing a Cape Cod Marlin: The fiberglass-hulled Marlin design came about in the late 1950s when Cape Cod Shipbuilding asked Sidney Herreshoff to m... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | Short Ends; Long Waterlines: Ever since I saw one of Starling Burgess’s 30’ Yankee One Design (YOD) sloops, I’ve been obsessed with them. To me... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | PACIFIC and the McMenemys: Our friend, Bill Page, became so hooked on the husky fishing vessels of the West Coast that he ended up purchasing four... |
|
|
|
 | GRAMP Heads to Mystic Seaport: What's GRAMP, and what's this trip all about? GRAMP is one of the very best of the V-bottom designs of William H. Hand,... |
|
 | Visiting Bill Garden: Bill Page recently alerted me to this video - an excerpt from "Throwbacks to a Golden Age of Northwest Boats" - that fea... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | The Dragger ST. GEORGE: This begins a series showcasing photos from the Penobscot Marine Museum (PMM) that I feel OCH members will enjoy. A larg... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | Winter Boat Cover Ideas: Now that winter is approaching for boaters living in the northern latitudes, we've begun to hear about various ways of s... |
|
|
 | Punting: Some eight years ago when they were just kids, Dan and David fell for this 8' punt as soon as they saw it—newly broug... |
|
 | Scrollwork and How to Carve It: Boats planked with wood lend themselves so beautifully to carved-in decoration that it's surprising you don't see more o... |
|
|
 | Small Boat Dolly: Here’s an idea for moving small boats around the dooryard using a wheeled dolly—one that I bought at Home Depot for... |
|
|
|
 | Peening Rivets Faster: Long-lasting copper rivets can't be beat for fastening planks to frames. Here's a faster and easier way of peening rivet... |
|
|
|
|
|
Title |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | The Birth Of A Dugout Canoe: This Flotsam video suggested by Off Center Harbor member Paul Slowick. Thanks Paul. We've read about how pre-industrial... |
|
 | Dhow: The way Europeans and Americans understand history is that westerners did business in ships and Arabs did business on ca... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deus Ex Machina: It's a motorcycle, not a boat, but while you're watching Jack Churchill create this astonishing machine that was inspire... |
|
|
|
|
|
Repairing a Herreshoff 12.5: Here's a great series documenting the repair of a leaky Herreshoff 12.5 (or 12-1/2-footer, as some put it). Created by F... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Website for Herreshoff: OCH members interested in the works of Herreshoff Mfg. Co. will love this new site posted by the MIT Museum. Here, you... |
|
|
Rick Mercer on the Bluenose: This one's a hoot. Canadian Broadcasting's Rick Mercer visits the Bluenose. Here's a link for more information on the Bl... |
|
|
The Lugger Grayhound: Seasoned sailors Marcus Rowden and Freya Hart became intrigued with the French bisquine LA CANCALAISE and decided to bui... |
|
Båtbygge med Hemming Forsell: Building a boat doesn't get anymore down-to-earth than this. No glue; no plywood. It takes place in Perna, Finland, in 1... |
|
|