I remember first seeing an Alcyone II when I was quite young. We were cruising Dutch canals in my Grandfather’s boat. It had this peculiar tan yellow color and looked like something from a different age and then again not. It flew a large American flag and appeared to be quite new. It struck me… Read more »
This year is the 150th anniversary of the founding of Martin & Ottaway. We are in the middle of writing a company history, and we thought that towards the end of the book a picture of our present staff would be appropriate. On September 8, we almost succeeded in getting everybody in the same place… Read more »
It is a pleasure to introduce Capt. Murat Kilic as a member of the M&O consultant team. I first met Murat as a client on the construction of two high speed catamarans in Sicily for the Oman National Ferries Corporation. At that time, he was the fleet manager and there were some construction issues… Read more »
Solar Hybrid Electric Wheelchair Accessible Catamaran (SHEWAC) Aberration has been the subject of discussion on a number of Martin & Ottaway blogs, and also has received some attention in the press. This is the subject landing page for this vessel that chronicles the design, construction, operational experience and upgrades to the vessel. 1. … Read more »
Many years ago, before I left high school, I read a book about a famous Dutch ocean sailor who was asked what his preferred size for a safe ocean crossing sailboat was and, without hesitation, he responded 44 feet. I worked as a yacht designer and found time and time again that 44 feet is… Read more »
For an overall discussion of this design go to: SHEWAC Aberration Due to the fact that my wife became wheelchair bound recently, I am in the middle of the design and construction of a 35 foot hybrid propulsion wheelchair friendly catamaran. Together with the boat design and construction masters of Scarano boats, I am converting… Read more »
It is a pleasure to introduce Capt. Leonard Pucci as a member of the M&O consultant team. I have known Lenny for many years, and worked with him on quite a number of projects. Besides providing our standard basket of services (particularly in the Rhode Island area, where he will be based), Lenny’s area of… Read more »
A week or so ago, for a minute, Lenny Pucci and I were thinking about jointly owning a sailboat. That immediately raised the next question: Well, what kind of sailboat? I did not hesitate, and immediately suggested a Freedom 44. To me it is one of the most useful sailboats out there. Fortunately, our boat… Read more »
Point Pleasant Beach is a few miles south along the New Jersey shore from our office, which is where, on February 12, 1900, the County of Edinburgh ran aground. The vessel had very little damage, but then, as now, the stranding quickly became a tourist attraction. Merritt-Chapman refloated her on February 25, 1900 and she was repaired and… Read more »
It is always important to ask “why” about every detail in every design, since bad design imposes a penalty on every user for the life of the bad design. Bad design can hang around forever even if good design exists. I often ask “why?” when I am forced to use a badly designed cleat on a boat… Read more »
Congratulations to Yank Marine and NY Waterway on the rolling out of the hull of the passenger vessel P.V. Molly Pitcher on August 25, 2014. M&O provides construction supervision and attended on behalf of Owners. We caught the roll out on video too:
The year is not quite over, but, since I wrote a 2012 top 10 Maritime Things blog, I now feel somewhat driven to think about a 2013 top 10. Like last year, the subjects I am picking may not be entirely 2013 subjects, but they certainly came to the fore to me in this year…. Read more »