Steve Stone

Filmmaker

Steve Stone Steve Stone runs Off Center Harbor's business and marketing, and he has filmed and directed most of the site's 500-plus videos.

Steve studied business in undergrad, and then fine art (documentary filmmaking and animation) in grad school. Long before taking up filmmaking and business though, when Steve was 9, his dad came home from the office one day with a Laser sailboat in tow. It was a totally random act by his dad — the boat was rented for the weekend to see if the family might have interest in sailing. 

The first outing in 30 knots ended with blood gushing from dad's nose as he hung onto the sheet for dear life as the Laser sailed away with Steve's sister aboard after dad was bashed overboard by the boom.  Somehow, the Laser would stick with the family go on to imprint a deep need within Steve to be on the water, under sail, playing with the edge of the wind

Nearly twenty years later, on a serendipitous outing in the South Pacific aboard a leeboard ketch designed by L. Francis Herreshoff, Steve read one of Maynard Bray's books and got hooked on the beauty of well-designed traditional boats. Steve credits Wayne Roberts, a boatbuilder in New Zealand, for deepening that appreciation for beauty into a reverence for simple boats and a simpler life. 

And after nearly another 20 years passed, Steve moved to Brooklin, Maine. As Maynard was snapping still photos of Steve steam-bending frames into a Herreshoff S-boat, Steve said: "Hey Maynard, does that camera shoot video?"... and OffCenterHarbor.com was born. You just never know where life will turn.

Here's Steve at work filming aboard the legendary Malabar II (PHOTO: Benjamin Mendlowitz):

And on a camp cruise in Maine in HOWDY, a Caledonia Yawl:

 

And here's a sampling of Steve's work on Off Center Harbor . . .

Videos

Title
Tom Robinson’s Presentation at the 2023 Worldwide Classic Boat Show: At the 2023 Worldwide Classic Boat Show, we were able to connect with Tom in a live video feed after his first leg voyag...
Tom Robinson’s Solo Row Across the Pacific, Part 1 – Overview: This is a video created by filmmaker Abir Tarafdar in Tom's home town of Brisbane, Australia. Thanks to Abir for letting...
Slow August – Ghosting Along: With the ever-present sound of the sea being halted by granite outside this protected anchorage, we go drifting along am...
Slow August – Waiting for Slack Tide: Sunrise in our new favorite anchorage in Vinalhaven, ready to sail out into the day....
Slow August – Damariscove Island: The quiet welcome of a remote island harbor can be a spiritual experience.  We feel a deep sense of gratitude to th...
Recovering from an Open Boat Capsize, From Denial to Self Reliance: A cautionary moment: Steve Stone purposely capsizes his Caledonia Yawl to show us what to expect when an open boat goes...
Sail & Oar Camp Cruising, Part 2 – Sail More with an Electric Motor: The EP Carry is powerful, light, and weatherproof. A perfect solution to expanding your small boat’s cruising range....
Jack Stone’s Senior Project: My son Jack chose to build a boat for his senior project in high school, and here's a video we made for his presentation...
Sail & Oar Camp Cruising, Part 1 – Dreaming & Planning: Making a camp cruise fun and safe takes careful forethought. Here are the elements that went into a late summer trip alo...
How to Build a Wooden Boat — AROHA, Part 1 – A Close Look at the Original Boat WHIO, a New Zealand Weekend Cruiser: When WHIO hove into view across our camera lenses, the entire OCH crew found a new boat to fall in love with. As easy on...
CHAMPAGNE – A Float Plan for Life: With degrees in engineering and naval architecture from the U.S. Naval Academy and MIT, plus a 21-year career in the U.S...
Slow August – Island Time: The tent is set up, dinner is cooking, and you have the island all to yourselves. Nothing to do except smell the salt ai...
Live Well, The Cruising Smack STORM BAY, with Tim Phillips: A cruise of glorious sailing along the Tasmanian coast aboard an authentic cruising smack. Fishing along the way for sup...
A Sail Aboard CORA, A New Zealand Mullet Boat: Over a century old with her original planking, once a work boat, now a family boat with a little racing on the side for...
The Smallest Boat in the Harbor — Nutshell Pram & Shellback Dinghy: As time moves on we are discovering that, often, it's the smallest pleasures that generate the sweetest dividends - the...
Just Be, In a Boat: On a remote lake, deep in the famed North Woods of Thoreau country, a family discovers a space and time that's all too r...
Introducing Kids to Boats, Part 1 – A Sense of Command: Getting children interested in boats can be as easy as finding a safe setting and letting them explore it on their own ...

 

Guide Posts

Title
Coming Soon – New Website Features – Update #1: Here are a few things that we're working on in the development of the new website. We're paying close attention to the f...
Beginning the Houseboat Design Spiral: Perhaps it's time to stop dreaming, and start living... The houseboat in the photo above has inspired me and Amy to seek...
Camp-Cruising the Maine Coast in the Caledonia Yawl HOWDY: Thanks for following along — you'll find links to a live GPS tracker and to the feed of photos/etc available to Off Ce...
That Boy Jack Sure Loves to Race: We were just trying to get the damn kids in the car for school. How were we supposed to know Jack was telling us who he...
Beauty In the Hand of the Beholder: It's all relative. A boat built with PVC pipe that may be beautiful to one person might be an eyesore to another. And th...
Are You Scared of Your Boat? (Reality Check): Are you scared of your boat? After filming hundreds of boatbuilders and craftspeople over the past ten years as they bui...
Our Most Valuable Secret NON-Boat Gear, Part 2: The original post to this series by OCH Co-Founder Steve Stone received so many requests for "More!", that we went to th...
Our Most Valuable Secret NON-Boat Gear, Part 1: I'm writing notes for this post from one of our favorite islands. We're on a camp-cruise in our home waters in Maine and...
Hop In and Buckle Up for the National Championships: From Jack's early days, he LOVED to race... He's always been just like that. Kind, thoughtful, and not afraid to show wh...
Dreaming of a Herreshoff Golden Ball, with Wayne Roberts: Wayne Roberts built a 38-foot Herreshoff Leeboard Ketch in New Zealand in the 1980's, and then sailed that boat for seve...
New Off Center Skiff for Sale: This brand new Off Center Skiff is being launched today, and then auctioned off in a sealed-bid silent auction. She look...
The Secret to Happiness, Part 2: At Off Center Harbor, we like encourage the ideas of slowing down, getting out into nature in simple boats, and making t...
Do You Have OCHD?: Hi. My name is Steve, and I’m an addict... After 41 years of explaining away my behavior as a “love of sailing,” I...
Kayak with a Water-Bed-Hammock in the Cuddle Corner: Seriously, this is what the FOX is like in real life......
Charter VELA in Maine This Summer: We just learned of a sailing opportunity that's so rare and unique, we wanted to pass it along to OCH members... The 50-...
The ‘How, Why & Where’ of the Stone Houseboat: I have been thinking on how to creat a simple life afloat...
Dreaming of a Houseboat and a Simple Life: I've been dreaming of a houseboat, and all this dreaming is keeping me awake at night. I must have sketched this dream a...
Ask Her to Dance – The Music & Soul of Off Center Harbor: We get so many compliments about the music on OCH videos, I thought I'd take you behind-the-scenes and share a song and...
Insider’s Guide to the 2015 WoodenBoat Show, by OffCenterHarbor.com: THE INSIDER'S GUIDE, by OffCenterHarbor.com For Members and Friends of OffCenterHarbor.com Feel free to pass a link to i...
Tasmania & the Australian Wooden Boat Festival: The secret is out on Tasmania — this small, remote island-state of Australia just earned the #4 spot on Lonely Planet'...
Educating Stella — A Father’s Wish for His Daughter: Wild islands along the Maine coast provide an almost endless trail of playgrounds for camp-cruising in small boats with...
The Straight Truth About OCH (from our Members): "This is great stuff. You have rolled the experience of ten or twenty lifetimes into one source. Keep it up." OCH Member...
Good Reads, Recommendations by Steve Stone:   Sensible Cruising Designs, by L. Francis Herreshoff I've spent hundreds of hours in the pages of this book dreami...
Willie Nelson, Walt Wilkins, and OCH: I saw a great video recently on the web that I thought OCH members would truly enjoy, although it doesn't have a single...
Westward Ho! Port Townsend and Beyond: On September 5th, Eric and I boarded a plane to Seattle, Washington to attend the Wooden Boat Festival and shoot a few "...
Barefoot August: As you may know, our boating philosophy at OffCenterHarbor.com can be summarized in one word -- simplicity. L. Francis H...
The Soul Behind Our Videos: If you've had a warm feeling when you've watched some of our videos -- maybe even a feeling that we've hidden a bit of s...

 

Flotsam

Title
Race to Alaska – The Movie! (Trailer): The Race to Alaska movie is in theaters now.  I could imagine a TIME magazine review saying: "The Feel-Good Movie o...
Emma Ringqvist & The Art of Slowing Down Time: A beautifully made short film about Emma Ringqvist's 164 days alone at sea......
Roger Barnes: Drizzly Days in the Shallows of Brittany Aboard Avel Dro: Roger Barnes at his finest — heading out when everyone else bails because the weather isn't perfect: HELPFUL LINKS: Li...
How It Feels to Restore a Beetle Cat at IYRS: Each first-year student at IYRS gets a Beetle Cat to restore, and many of the students have no woodworking skills when t...
Pink Martini – Amado Mio, Live in Concert: We've used this song in two of our videos, and the live performance of the song is quite special, so we thought you migh...
Poulsbo Boat – Built by the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding: If you enjoyed the Off Center Harbor video on the Poulsbo Boat, here's a closer look at the guts of this design and how...
Jack Stone’s Run at the World Rowing Championship: For those interested, I'll be keeping up with my son Jack's run at the World Rowing Championship here, so it's all in on...
The Maori Meaning of “AROHA”: We love name of this design. The moment we heard the Maori meaning behind the word Aroha, we knew this was going to be t...
Roger Barnes: Wild Camping in a Cruising Dinghy Aboard Avel Dro: If you're a devotee of the Church of Wilderness and Simplicity, here's a wonderful gospel video with Roger Barnes aboard...
Fretwater Boatworks — Can’t Beat This Place for Fun: Fretwater Boatworks — a legendary someplace in the middle of nowhere....
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston — Sailing Legend: An ordinary chap who became the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world:...
W.A.G. Bags to the Rescue: Is he really going there? Ya, sorry — but it's a reality/question we ran into all summer, and we've been thinking that...
J.T. Van Zandt — Filling Our Aprons: Remember that popular t-shirt from the '70's: "He who dies with the most toys wins."? We've learned a lot since those da...
Song of the Paddle, with Bill Mason & Family: Bill Mason and family were pioneers in the field of getting way out there in a boat and slowing down. The filming style...
A Second Life: It's not often that any of us get to have a second life, doing something we love that is totally different than our life...
The Soulful Art of Building a Flamenco Guitar: Every once in awhile we run across a video that we have to post. Despite not having a single boat in it, there are overl...
We Belong to It: "The secret is not to pitch yourself against nature, but to bend your flow to hers." Ray Mears...
Guided:  "Somewhere deep inside of me there is a drive to share something so magnificent." Ray Reitze, Maine Wilderness Gui...
Fishpeople — Lives Transformed by the Sea: A new film by Keith Malloy — just the right length for an evening's entertainment and inspiration. It's a series of pr...
Hot Racing in Kenya — Lamu New Year’s Dhow Race: Every January 1, crews of local watermen gather on Shela Beach on Lamu Island in Kenya for the most prestigious race of...
Roger Barnes: A Rogue Mariner on the upper Thames Aboard Avel Dro: We sure love the way Roger Barnes brings us aboard, with such grace and humility, letting us in on the world of dinghy c...
I Just Realized That I’m a Wimp: Just can't help but post these videos even though they don't have a single boat in them. After watching the movie Free S...
Double Rainbow All the Way: Still brings any room of people to laughter, still beautiful, and now legendary all over the world . . ....
Camel Finds Water: Probably too old for this myself, but I hope my kids do it someday:...
Building and Sailing Russell Brown’s PT11 – A Glimpse: Here's a well-made video showing the building and sailing of Russell Brown's PT11, with just the right flow and without...
Boys from Back of Beyond: Paul & Gary O’Donovan: ...
Camp Cruising Georgian Bay In An Open Boat: If you've ever dreamed of heading way north to sacred waters with an open boat — to cruise for days without seeing ano...
Alone in the Wilderness, with Dick Proenneke – Part 1: So many of us have dreamed of chucking it all and building a little cabin on a remote shoreline in the wild. In the 1960...
NY40 MARILEE: Restoration of a Herreshoff Classic, by Alison Langley: Thanks to the passion and generosity of the owner of MARILEE, we all get to sit in on her epic restoration at French & W...
This River, by The Warren Hood Band: Thanks to OCH member Stephen Clark in Austin for turning us on to Warren Hood and this song. And thanks, Warren, for all...
Sandy Hook Remembrance Sculpture Built at Brooklin Boat Yard: Check out the beautiful sculpture that Todd Skoog and Rick Chamberlain built at Brooklin Boat Yard for the Sandy Hook Re...
Grain Surfboards – The Real Deal: We love what Mike and crew do at GRAIN, and they're here in Maine......
Bay to Table – The Chesapeake Blue Crab: A well done piece that gives perspective on the crab fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay....
Pushing the Limits of a Dragonfly Sonar & GPS Chartplotter: When thinking about marine electronics on small boats, this video is thought-provoking... Like: "Where do you put the fi...
Why I Build — Stone Mason Jane Dewitt: In the "Age of the Kardashians", I'm sure glad we're starting to see more short films about women like Jane Dewitt....
Chasing Light with Wyman Meinzer: So fine to watch a man who's undergone such a profound transformation, in such a fury. Wild life. Transformative work. S...
Creatures of the Sea: Turn the volume up, click full screen, and get lost for a moment in a dream of fishing and creatures of the sea... The s...
Martin Litton’s Grand Canyon Dories: Thanks to Off Center Member Nathan Lunstrum for submitting this new Flotsam Video: The late Martin Litton believed the b...
My Boy in a Boat: It seems like yesterday that my son Jack was learning how to row, circling the boats in Center Harbor, and heading off f...
Epic Capsize, but That’s Only Half the Story: Anyone who has been with kiwis (New Zealanders) on the water knows their of their natural talent. But, here's the best e...
For the Tech-Challenged Among Us — Odessa!: We've been laughing about this all week at Off Center headquarters. Can you relate? Uh-huh. Crank up the volume and enjo...
Rocking the Boat – Congrats Stephanie Cabral: We love everything we see from Rocking the Boat. Here's another good video. Congratulations to Stephanie Cabral, winner...
Denali’s Raven: Check out the primal beauty and strength in the land, people and life choices......
YUKON in Tasmania: It was a stunning afternoon yesterday in Tasmania — at the end of a beautiful sail on the old working ketch KERRAWYN w...
Hard Ship (at the Race to Alaska): Here's a well-made film by CNN about a team facing a uniquely difficult challenge at the Race to Alaska....
Motor Boating on the Colorado River: This exciting video shows the boating skills of Team Bunny Whaler Nate and Cooper Rooks' own grandfather as he motors up...
Anchor Point: What a remarkable story of forgiveness and grace. Thanks to J.T. Van Zandt, a fly-fishing guide in central Texas, for op...
Live From the Heart, Be Who You Are: Wish I would have seen this when I was 16 years old. Just sent it to my daughter, Stella......
Slomo Describes the Neurology of OCHD!: If you think you may have OCHD, you'll definitely want to check out this video from the New York Times. Slomo's descript...
Off the Grid on a Homemade Island: A 45-minute boat ride from the nearest town sits a sustainable island floating off the coast of Vancouver Island. With a...
Kids Building a Herreshoff 12 1/2 at Rocking The Boat in the Bronx: Rocking the Boat, in the Bronx, New York, is one of the best kids boat building programs in the world, as evidenced by t...
Lego Car & Jet Bicycle?: This young man reminds me of an uber-talented classmate in film school at CalArts, Teddy Newton. Fast forward 20 years,...
Aboard a Legendary Houseboat – Meet the Moron Brothers: Who says you need a flawless houseboat design? Join the Moron Brothers as they take a journey down the Kentucky River in...
A Maine Lobsterman, with E.B. White & Eugene Eaton: Since the beginning of OCH, I've wanted to grab the camera and jump aboard a lobster boat with one of the local Maine lo...
OCH’s Trail Angel: Chances are, when you contact us at OCH, you'll reach Emma. She joined us in October after hiking 2,189.2 miles from Geo...
Nature Rx: I saw this at the Banff Mountain Film Festival and was so bummed that I didn't think of shooting it for OCH...   Di...
Cruising the Maine Island Trail In A Small Powerboat: This adventure is near the top of so many people's bucket list that I was absolutely captivated by this video as I watch...
Sailing Around the World in LA VAGABOND: Is it true that good things happen when you let go, take a leap of faith, and flow with the river of life? I love how Ri...
Sailing the Northwest Passage in a Junk-Rigged Wooden Boat – Parts 1, 2 & 3: I first heard about Chris Bray from friends in Tasmania. Chris grew up circumnavigating the earth on a small sailboat wi...
2015 Australian Wooden Boat Festival Video: Here's a teaser video recap of the 2015 Australian Wooden Boat Festival recently released by the festival and gives a...
The Important Places: Here's a new short film that's going to win a lot of awards. As I plot and plan all year to get my own kids out of achie...
Tom Cunliffe Visits the Axe Yacht Club in South Devon: I just love this video. Off Center Guide Tom Cunliffe visits the Axe Yacht Club in South Devon and gives the lay of the...
Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2013: Here's a nice highlight video of the 2013 Australian Wooden Boat Festival. Can you tell we're getting excited?...
Team New Zealand Training in Moths: I was in New Zealand when Team New Zealand won the America's Cup for the first time.  The entire country came to a stan...
Tall Ship Sailing in Tasmania: The anticipation is building for OffCenterHarbor's first journey to the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart, Tasma...
Sheltered Passage – Life as a Fisherman in Tasmania: Fisherman Des Whayman shares his memories of simpler days as a fisherman on the Entreacsteaux Channel in Tasmania. This...
Rescuing New Zealand’s Orcas: Few animals represent the power of our oceans as well as the Orca - the most intelligent predator on earth. For those of...
Strangers at Sea – Crossing the Atlantic in the Ocean Masters New York to Barcelona Race: Two men take two weeks to sail 3,700 miles. The Ocean Masters New York to Barcelona Race is a tale of grueling mental en...
Finding Closure on the Sea Floor: This video is a fitting (albeit belated) salute to our veterans. Follow along as the Bent Prop Project searches for the...
Volvo Ocean Race Video – To The Ends of The Earth: The First 40 Years: This is the place to start if you want to get up to speed on the history of the Volvo Ocean Race. Disclaimer: Although w...
New Zealand’s Akaroa Classic Boat Show: Some nice small classic boats and New Zealand scenery are on display in this video of the Akaroa Classic & Tradition...
The Path of Yellowstone’s Rivers Changed by One Species: For those of you who, like me, enjoy being on boats because it brings us into the wild — here's a remarkable piece abo...
Herreshoff Torpedo Boat STILETTO – Nice Aerial Footage: Here's a video showing cool arial footage from a drone by Tips from a Shipwright -- this one featuring the Herreshoff To...
Between Wood & Water Film – Dorothy Sails: "BETWEEN WOOD AND WATER documents the restoration and history of Canada’s oldest functioning sailboat, Dorothy, a love...
Learning from Old-Timers — A Day with Fred in the Dolomites: Forgive me for going off center, because the video below doesn't have a boat in it. But it does get right to the core of...
Old Boat Stories, Episode One: Splinter: Here's a video from our friends over at the Antique Boat Museum, located in the 1000 Islands on the St. Lawrence River i...
There’s No Place Like Here: Liberty Tool: Every woodworker has a favorite used tool barn, if they're lucky. Over the winter, I took my son Jack (age 11) on the ro...