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Email This Page to a FriendAboard the Legendary Commuter Yacht APHRODITE
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March 6, 2012
Like the Goddess of Love, Beauty and Pleasure she was named for, the iconic 74′ commuter yacht APHRODITE, built in 1937 and rebuilt in 2005, can sweep you away. So hold on tight.
Navigate Further...
Brooklin Boat Yard's Aphrodite webpage with History and Photos
Alan Dinn's (2010) book entitled "The Many Lives of Aphrodite"
Alan Dinn's earlier book of 2003 entitled "Boats by Purdy"
Check out this YouTube clip of an APHRODITE model (1" to the foot, or 74" long) that James DeLaney built; It's quite the Homage! It's also worth watching this video on some of the building techniques he used in making the APHRODITE model.
Comments, Thoughts or Suggestions?
You can leave a comment or question for OCH and members below. Here are the comments so far…
I grew up in Port Washington during the 60’s and 70’s. We belonged to the Port Washington Yacht club and next door to the north, was Purdy’s boat yard. In high school after hours and during the summers, I worked as a dock boy at the Riviera Marina on the north side of Manhasset bay. My boss, Captain James Fleming, on occasion would fire up an identical boat called the Moonfire for the owner. This boat had twin Allison V-12’s and also cruised at better than 40kts. I believe this boat was a sister ship to the Aphrodite and I will try to confirm that with Captain Flemming who still lives there and was Harbor Master before he retired.
As a side note, next door to the Riviera Marina, was a small seaplane base called Ventura, run by John O’Neil. I later became a pilot flying several stock brokers in a seaplane into Wall St, to a dock just east of the heliport and prior to the tennis courts on the East river. East of the marina and seaplane base, was White’s marina. Just east of them, were three hangers with a large seaplane ramp and the PanAm symbol on the face of the hangers. The Flying boats would leave the Marine Air terminal at LaGuardia and go to these hangers for maintenance.
It was truly amazing to see the work that the BBY crew did , to save a piece of history and to the new owner for saving her.
I recently spoke with Captain Fleming, and asked about the Moonfire. He said it is the original Aphrodite, and the name was changed after she had sunk on Center island, New York. The new owner had the boat refloated and repaired back at Purdy’s boat yard with the new name, Moonfire.
I sail out of Little Narragansett and always love hearing APHRODITE motors before even seeing her! You know when you turn your head she’ll be there!
I was running the ferry from Shelter Island, N.Y. to Greenport, N.Y., few years ago, and looked down bay to see Aphrodite coming, and she pulled into the S.I. Yacht Club for a couple of hours. Unfortunately couldn’t get to see he up close as still working on the ferry. A friend who
worked at Coecle’s Harbor Marina did get to go aboard for a few minutes at the dock. He said it really made his day as he had admired that boat for a long time through pictures and articles in boating magazines. I had seen her in person some 60 yrears ago in the Purdy Boat Co. shed in Port Washington, N.Y. It was a thrill then, as it was when she visited here Thanks for the video. Keep em coming.
Aphrodite is a magnificent exception to the first rule of vintage boating: “Preservation is better than Restoration” “Don’t tear up and re-plank a good old boat just to get a few more points at a boat show. In fact The Antique and Classic Boat Society International (ACBS) now judges Preserved and Restored vintage boats in separate categories. Aphrodite was a basket case and her total renewal of everything except for some deck hardware is an elegant honor to the history of the commuter era.
Despite her affinity for salt water, Aphrodite would be the highlight of the planned 2022 ACBS Annual Show at Burlington Vt should the owners decide to join the cruise up the Hudson to Lake Champlain and join the other historic boats that will be on display 5-11 September.
Eric and Steve, I rewatched today and then saw the music comment. As a swing enthusiast I thought the music appropriate. Original Django would have been also but I love current bands carrying on the genre much like Brooklin and other yards carrying forward wooden boat building and rebuilding. Steve
Wow, such a beautiful work of art. Thanks for the ride and video. Great job 👍👍👍
That Was Beautiful. Thank You
A beautiful resto BBY. I was at WB school in August/September 2004 for Bronze Casting course. My roommate Roger took me into the shed at 6am for a look at her. Planks removed to make patterns, spilling in place, stern reframed, keel in place and basket framing near completion, wow! I’m amazed it made it to Brooklin, it was so rotted. That flared bow dwarfed Roger, looked about 15ft high. Lots of cherished pics from that day & glad this one escaped a Viking Funeral.
Thanks, John Warner, Sydney Australia
It must be disconcerting to have the boat idle at 10 KTS. Doesn’t it “lurch “when put in gear ?
More from the captain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xZWgsUqZmc
Goosebumps to see a vision from the from the past. Remember admiring her while learning to sail w/ PWYC sailing class and then as a deck hand on KYC commodore’s yacht while Aphrodite was docked next door at Purdys. Still looked assume in the mid 50s.
What a shock! I couldn’t have been more than 12 when I first saw Aphrodite at Jock Whitney’s boathouse on Manhasset Bay. Call it 1951. From time to time, I’d see her come and go from my dad’s old Lightning. Breath taking.
I joined OCH today and my 79 year old heart about stopped when she lept off the screen in the introductory video. Thanks for the restoration.
overwhelmingly .. any day give me Eric’s dialog,or that amazing engines roar or hum to this ungodly tune from the depths of h-ll . Certainly you selected it carefully and somehow evaluated as a good fit .. maybe the 1&only time I’ll ever bikker with your artistic choice .
That whine aside,gosh what a specimen … Thank you !
Stunning.
I grew up in Westerly, Rhode Island. Aphrodite’s arrival down in Watch Hill has been the silent harbinger of the tourist season for many years.
She is a beautiful boat in person, easy to admire from just a few feet away all summer. Thanks for sharing this video.
And one more thing to add:
Westerly is a smallish town. I am good friends with a Little Narragansett Bay pump-out boat pilot.
He reports that all aboard the Aphrodite have been good and decent folks to the guy who pumps the poop. You can tell a lot about a person’s character by the way they treat the help/waiter/waitress/plumber. A beautiful boat deserves a fine crew. This lovely lady has one.
Truly majestic! Who was the genius who designed this masterpiece in motion?
What a beautiful boat, arn`t we fortunate there are people with enough passion (and money ) to restore these beautiful bits of history, keep at it people,
Regards Royal Mount Martha, Australia.
After seeing so many plastic tubs go by at lesser speeds It’s amazing to see a boat designed long ago making a mockery of current tech. Let this be a lesson to Marine architects everywhere. Not every boat has to be a floating condo.
Mark
I certainly agree with you!!! I was 9 yrs old when we (My Dad) bought a 50′ Elco and had her refurbished in Miami. Took her back to Sarasota home by Okeechobee and the Canals.
Inch and a quarter Long leaf Yellow pine hull, with lots of Teak and Mahogany above. Twin Kermath Engines with a real Wheel House. Four of us and Dalmatian dog lived the life for five years aboard. Dad’s lungs and heart were damaged from Mustard Gas in WWI and we had to give her up .Seeing all that bright work reminded me of the Saturdays I spent polishing all the bright work. The original owner owned a Bronze foundry, so custom hardware everywhere. Some of the best days of my life.
About 1500 feet Sou,east of Center Harbor is the Bemis house which folks who have sailed the reach know as a castle like turret located on a bluff. That house and turret, that looks modern, was also built in 1937. Take a look at the old footage of it as it was built. As far as I know there is no connection to Aphrodite other than the year.
https://youtu.be/Rb0-P3aaQl8
Saw Aphrodite today 28 July 2016 docked in Watch Hill RI and looks as nice as shown in the video, at least on the outside and would guess that the inside does too.
I saw this or a sister ship in NYC at the 79th St Marina on Riverside Dr in 1967. It was named Moonfire or MoonSomething. The owner always had the word Moon on his vessels. Bulkheads had been removed so the interior was huge dance floor with parquet flooring. What made it distinctive was the reverse stern and the black hull. However, the comment above contradicts my memory. A sistership? A mystery!
What an absolute stunner but how does that basket frame hold up if you happen to hit a half submerged log at 40 knts?
Regards from Scotland
How does any boat survive hitting a submerged log at 49 KTS ? One might ask
Sorry somehow the boat just gained 9 KTS with the touch of a finger…if it were only that easy in reality
Thank you for maintaining and sharing this impeccable thoroughbred. She is a masterpiece.
Enthusiasts of vintage powerboats may also be interested in viewing gleniffer.ca
Wished the weather was blue sky background on this report.
There’s one word to describe Aphrodite: elegant! Watching her running down the reach at close to forty (or is it fohty) knots – no muss, no fuss, level, slicing through the water with almost no wake – she sure knows how to do it right!
I thought the same thing… and wish I had paid more attention in economics class!
I just joined OCH… and this is first video I watched since subscribing. Stunning! Thank you for capturing this beauty on film!
Cheers
Gorgeous!
That shot of it passing the camera at speed…I threw my chair back, belted out a belly laugh, clapped my hands and looked around for someone to share it with. Gold.
Thank you.
Paul
I had the same reaction, Paul! (laughing)
I remember being at the Purdy Boat Co. with my father in the late 40,s or early 50,s, and seeing her inside the boat shed on her cradle. Don’t know why she was inside, probably winter storage. As a 9 or 10 year old, it didn’t matter. She was awesome. The videos are terrific and do justice to the boat. Back in the day there where quite a few commuters running to the city from towns along western LI Sound. Thanks for the memories.
She’s coming out of the shed Monday to go overboard for the season. I’ll try and get some shots before she heads south. W
What an amazing piece of history.
Cool narration, swing sounds and great shots by Benjamin Mendolwitz – another great video!
I guess,I spoke too freely.. music like a painting has it’s place to hang and will be pleasing to at least half of it’s viewers. Still..
This might be my favorite so far! Felt like I was riding along in the big basket. Music was perfect, too.
A little more lore: You will note under Aphrodite is “Watch Hill”. This was the original name for Port Washington, Long Island, N.Y. until it was renamed after the American revolution. Near Port Washington is Roslyn, N.Y. where Washington camped and spent the night.
I left N.Y. in 1971 and moved to California. I currently reside in Boquete, Panama and regularly fish the Hannibal Bank in the gulf of Chiriqui in my sports fisherman “Sophia Grace”.
The Aphrodite was moored in Manhasset Bay for years. It was given to the sea scouts by the Whitney family. I watched it deteriorate for years, passing it regularly whenever I went out fishing from 1962 on. Then it was gone from it’s mooring! Nobody knew what happened to her. I discovered Aphrodite on dry land at a boat yard on City Island N.Y. when my account executive at Manufacturers Hanover Bank in N.Y.C, Scott Blatterman, asked me to come and look at a boat her had just bought for a song. This was in 1968. And there she was in really poor condition, dry rot above decks, but the hull seemed sound. He had found another boat yard to take her and work on her. I informed him that the costs would be terrific, but he asked me to tow the boat for him. I remember it was a cold day in December when Aphrodite was put into the water and I towed it through weak harbor skim ice to its new place in New Rochelle where Scott lived. I was slightly concerned with the ice, but no damage, we were going slow. After I got it to its dock, I had to leave to get across the sound to Port Washington.
That night, the boat sank before it could be hauled, and Scott called me the next morning. Apparently the seams had opened up. He had to go home that night and could not stay with the boat. He knew very little about boats, but he felt he knew a lot about bargains. Aphrodite was raised, and eventually sold to someone with large financial resources for restoration.
And so, Aphrodite is shown in your video. It is a true joy to see her restored beyond what I felt was ever possible. I thought that she was lost and gone forever. You have brought great joy to a 72 year old boat enthusiast.
What was her name at the time?
What a treat; such a beauty to behold!
Extraordinary! Thanks for the ride.