morris yachts maine

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VERA NORTH Hinckley Talaria 55 MKII Flybridge 2021

SEA DEACON Hinckley Picnic Boat 40S 2024

• Southwest Harbor, ME

WILLOW Hinckley Talaria 43 MY 2017

• Portsmouth, RI

HOT WATER Hinckley Picnic Boat 40 2022

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Become America’s premier builder of fine sailing yachts for discriminating sailors around the world. Morris yachts are stunningly beautiful handcrafted boats built by Maine craftsmen who have demonstrated the highest standards in quality, style, performance, and luxury. 

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The Hinckley Company acquires Morris Yachts

Hinckley Yachts acquired the assets of Morris Yachts on Friday, Jan. 1. Hinckley indicated it plans to continue using the Morris brand as it absorbs Morris’ boat-building and service operations in eastern Maine.

“Both companies build fine quality yachts within a quarter mile of each other in Trenton, Maine,” Hinckley wrote in the release. “With the new arrangement, about 380 craftsmen, engineers and technicians will provide a deep pool of talent for the building of world-class yachts. “

Hinckley Yachts, founded in Southwest Harbor in 1928, makes luxury sailing and power yachts. In the 88 years since then, the company has expanded to include facilities in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey and Rhode Island. It has eight service yards along the East Coast and counts 1,500 Hinckley yacht owners and 5,000 service customers among its worldwide clientele.

In 1998, Hinckley opened a manufacturing facility off Route 3 in Trenton where it builds power picnic boats. Hinckley itself was acquired by Scout Partners LLC at the end of 2010.

Morris Yachts , a smaller company with about two dozen employees, was founded 40 years ago and has built more than 300 sailboats. Morris, which bills itself as “America’s premier builder of sailing yachts from 29 to 80 feet,” last year hired a new CEO in Pete Carroll and opened a new waterfront service yard in Falmouth.

Morris officials were not immediately available Tuesday morning for comment. With the acquisition, Morris Yacht owners can now bring their boats for servicing at any of Hinckley’s facilities along the East Coast, Hinckley officials indicated.

Roe O’Brien, director of marketing for Hinckley, said Tuesday that no other immediate operational changes have been planned as a result of the acquisition. She said additional details about the purchase were not available but that more information may be released sometime in the near future.

“We’re thrilled to have the companies join hands,” O’Brien said. “We’re delighted to have another great Maine brand in the family.”

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Hinckley Announces Acquisition of Morris Yachts

Morris Yachts was founded 40 years ago and has built over 300 sailboats.  Morris owners will be welcomed at any of Hinckley’s east coast service yards from Maine to Florida.

No further details are available at this time.  Please submit questions to [email protected]

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Somes Boats

Acadia mountain rises up from somes sound behind us, and we’re aboard a hinckley. these coveted yachts are still built by hand a few miles away, known for their iconic curves, polish, and posture..

W hat I know when I start driving toward Mount Desert Island on a sunny day earlier this summer is that Hinckley Yachts are beautiful, and prized. A boat captain friend back in South Carolina happens to call while I’m on the way, and  he actually gasps when I mention that I’ll  be visiting the Hinckley boatyard. “Wow, wow, wow,” he repeats. “To have one of those beauties would be my dream.”

I can remember hearing the buzz about Hinckley when Martha Stewart commissioned the Southwest Harbor- founded company to build one of its famous “picnic boats” for her, and she had them paint the hull an exclusive-to-her color that’s a heathery soft green. (The yacht’s name is Skylands II , after her cottage, up high in Seal Harbor.) But I’ve never gotten nearer to a Hinckley than to see the gleaming, million- dollar yachts in pictures or when passing through harbors. I’m ready.

HARBORSIDE START

Steam’s rising from the lobster pots at Lunt’s, and there’s a lineup of private planes at the Bar Harbor airport when I turn into the industrial park just across from the runways. Phil Bennett, one of the Hinckley Company’s vice presidents, is meeting me here, at the hangar-sized warehouses that make up Hinckley’s boatbuilding headquarters. The Hinckley Company got its start nearly 90 years ago on the shores of Southwest Harbor when engineer Henry Hinckley’s father bought a small boatyard facing directly into the mouth of Somes Sound. In the 1930s Hinckley built luxury pleasure boats with the swooping, curved features of the grand automobiles of the day, and by the 1950s the company was pioneering the use of fiberglass in boatbuilding for its powerboats and sailing yachts. Bennett compares Hinckley boatbuilding acumen to “something like watchmaking in Switzerland.”

On MDI, the Hinckley Company still operates a service yard at the original site of its founding in Southwest Harbor. (With the Hinckley Company’s acquisition of Morris Yachts in 2016, it added the sailboat builder’s service yard in Northeast Harbor, too.) But it’s the Trenton facility that’s home to the real “toy shop” now, Bennett explains as he shows me around the former woodland property near the bridge to MDI. “This is where every Hinckley begins.”

A dapper dresser in yachtsman style, Bennett is a longtimer at Hinckley and in the boat world generally. His grandfather was a boat maker, and Bennett himself decided to move to Maine and join Hinckley after first getting to know the company while visiting to sell Hood sails back in the 1970s. “Most people know that a Hinckley is expensive and shiny, but they may not fully know why,” Bennett says of the yachts that typically take a year or more to build and customize for each owner. “They haven’t yet seen what goes into making them.”

IN THE WORKSHOP

The smell of wet epoxy resin is like a wasabi jolt.

We’ve entered the fiberglass shop, a garage- style building arrayed with elephant-sized boat hulls inside even larger molds. Vacuum fans whir and rumble, and at least a dozen men are working among the raw boat shapes and spools of silken-looking fiberglass cloth.

From a lobstering family, Barry Archilles started at Hinckley about 40 years ago and figures he’s helped build about 1,000 boats. He’s seen the fiberglass processes develop and improve to be lighter, thinner, and stronger, he says. “It’s a lot more technical now.”

“Years ago, all you would do is build layers of fiberglass,” he says, and the result was rugged, heavy construction that was about 65 percent resin. Now Hinckley uses techniques similar to those used to build airplanes, Archilles says, so that a hull is about 65 percent fiber and only 35 percent resin. That’s where the technical know-how comes in—this is composite construction that makes use of super-strong materials like Kevlar and carbon fiber, lightweight core and resin infusion processes, and engineered laminates.

Archilles is explaining all of this in his downeast accent and with the fervor of  telling great sea stories. When an owner bumped a rock ledge recently while out on his new yacht, Archilles hurried down to  the boatyard to take a look. “That boat was  in the water for about two weeks afterward, because the man didn’t want to tell anyone at first.” Since Archilles had helped to build the yacht, he was curious to see how it had fared after the accident. “I was excited to see for myself and make the repair,” he says, “and do you know what? It never leaked in all that time. The rock had punctured all the way into the core, but the water didn’t migrate.”

That means the high-level finishes in the cabins and on deck were just fine. Hinckleys are known for well-varnished wood cabinetry and trim: teak with a  swirling grain, rich-toned mahogany, and American cherry, tulip, and red cedar. Bow-front drawers and other curved details are throughout, and even the toe rails are shaped into a tapered curve. We soon meet Ronnie Nelson, another Hinckley longtimer who started in the yard about four decades ago. Bennett says Nelson is known as a magician when it comes to carpentry. Quiet and busy, Nelson is sanding long, serpentine cherry rails when I stop by his workbench. Barry Buchanan is nearby, inspecting the woodwork of a finished console. He says he came to Mount Desert Island specifically  to build wooden boats, and notes that a Hinckley has so many wooden features, it’s often thought of as a wooden boat inside of fiberglass. “It’s one thing to build a table,” he says. “But it’s another to build a boat that goes somewhere. I like that movement.”

THE WOW FACTOR

To see more, we continue walking through the hive-like action and industry in all corners at Hinckley on this early summer’s  day when many of the tall bay doors are open. On an upper level above the carpentry floor, Carlando Grant is focused on one thing: carefully brushing on coats of varnish by hand—10 to 15 coats onto cabinet doors and other wooden pieces of each yacht’s interior. Born in Jamaica, Grant moved to Maine  to go to college to study engineering and to work. But first, he took a job with FedEx. One day he brought a delivery to Hinckley and saw the Talaria 55 Motoryacht being built here (the largest of Hinckley yachts), and he applied for a job immediately. That was over three years ago. He still daydreams about a Hinckley of his own, but for now he and his wife own a 21-foot Bayliner to which he’s been adding wooden touches. “I’m a perfectionist,” he says. “I want you to look at a piece that I’ve varnished and say, ‘Wow!’”

Close to 300 men and women work in the Hinckley Company’s boatbuilding yards here in Trenton and another 85 or so work at the service yards on MDI; that includes the crew at the sailboat-focused Morris Yachts across Route 3, another formidable yacht builder on MDI that was begun in the 1970s and that Hinckley acquired in 2016. Since the purchase by Hinckley, Morris Yachts is still operating much as it has, with its name on new boats and the boatyard at Northeast Harbor.

It’s Friday afternoon, and some of the Morris Yachts crew have left by the time we call out   a “hello” to someone on a narrow, deck-style platform built around a 42-foot sailing yacht that’s underway. Up there is Ian Ashley, a formal residential carpenter who invites us to climb the temporary stairs and take a look at the deck up close. Once up on  scaffolding, Ashley tells me he came to work  at Morris about four years ago and “fell  in love with building boats.” This one he’s  finishing has an extra-long keel for racing,  and it almost looks like the yacht’s in graceful  motion, even as it’s securely parked upright  and steady in a wooden frame.

Throughout the day of taking in all the sights and sounds, I keep noticing that the carpenters and craftspeople are working on different parts of the same boat at the same time —the hull might still be in the mold in  the fiberglass shop, while carpenters are already constructing the bunks and galley  spaces. Bennett explains that’s possible because everyone’s following precise design and engineering plans that were generated for each boat. In a small office of computers with big screens he introduces me to nautical engineer Peter Smith, who has also been with Hinckley for decades. Smith is part of the team that works out each boat’s design and engineering particulars, including figuring out how and where to incorporate features  that a boat buyer dreams up. Those options  have included pull-down cabinets for wine  storage, retractable deck awnings, bait wells,  Italian espresso makers, and disappearing screens. He says they even once designed a compartment lined with a mink pelt, creating a new use for the vintage mink from a client’s fur coat. 

A YACHT’S DAY

Finally, we’ll get out on the water. At the  shop earlier in the day, we’d seen a gorgeous blue-painted motor yacht with a Swedish  homeport painted on the stern. A Talaria 43,  the boat will be shipped to its owner soon,  so it’s going through another sea trial first  to check its systems and performance. In  mirrored sunglasses and a t-shirt, Shane  Dowsland is the man for the job. He must have the coolest gig in the harbor.

Dowsland is a licensed captain who was a  deckhand on a schooner based in Bar Harbor  and then worked in the boatyard for Morris  Yachts before landing the sea trial job. Now  he tests the new boats before delivery. Shoes  off and on-deck, we join him for a couple of  sea trials departing from Southwest Harbor.

It’s my first time on a boat that moves by  water-jet propulsion, and immediately I feel  the airplane-like stability—even at 30 knots  and higher. We’re in a smooth glide as we  cruise past Beal’s Lobster Pier and the Coast  Guard field office in Southwest Harbor. The  docks and moorings at the Hinckley yard  are flotillas of Hinckley and Morris yachts  this time of year. In a quick glance, I count  more than a dozen picnic boats that I’m  finding easily recognizable since seeing them  crafted up close—the highly varnished, teak- trimmed, well-upholstered takes on classic  lobster boats, often with million-dollar-plus prices.

We thread through the moorings and pass several lobster boats, too. It’s like an informal  water tour of Maine boating. At one point, Dowsland points out another classic boat, a 40-foot Friendship sloop, and mentions that he has one like it. Originally from upstate New York, he married a local woman and says he knows most of the local lobstermen. And the lobstering crowd doesn’t mind seeing a Hinckley pass near their trap buoys, he notes, because the jetboats don’t have exterior propellers that might damage the buoy lines. Plus, he says, “They know these aren’t just rich, plastic boats. They know the local craftsmanship that goes into every one.”

When we motor into Valley Cove, where the seaside mountains of Acadia National Park  create a vertical wall of rock and trees that rises straight from the deep water, I step  out from the comforts of this brand-new Hinckley yacht’s cabin that’s all windows and wood paneling and soft, couch-like seating— and I look across the teak and holly lines toward the bow and feel the rush and cool  of the early summer air. So, I think in those moments on the water, this is what yacht dreams are made of.

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Alpha 328' Morris 1988

This vessel is no longer on the market.

  "Morris Yachts is well known for building sailboats that border on floating works of art. From this all-American builder comes the Linda 28 which was introduced in 1985 from drawing board of Chuck Paine, one of America's pre-eminent naval architects. The Linda 28 is a fast and nimble pocket cruiser built on a custom basis for customers with an outstanding fit and finish, the kind you'd expect from Morris Yachts." ~ Blue Water Boats

Alpha Three is a rare find with her new Awlgrip paint job in 2020, varnish work in progress, repower in 2018, new Doug Pope genoa in 2019, new Doug Pope asymmetrical spinnaker in sock that has never been flown and a custom built trailer that will convey with the boat. Exceptional well built by talented Maine craftsmen, lovingly maintained and easily transported Alpha 3 is an exceptional opportunity.

Specifications

• Price USD: $ 75,000

Byron, Maine, United States

• LOA: 28 ft in
• Display Length: 28 ft
• Water Capacity: --
• Fuel Capacity: --
• Engine Details: Volvo Penta D1-20
• Engine 1: 18.80 HP
• Engine Fuel: Diesel
• Days on Market: INQUIRE

+ Description

Morris linda 28.

  "Morris Yachts is well known for building sailboats that border on floating works of art. From this all-American builder comes the Linda 28 which was introduced in 1985 from drawing board of Chuck Paine, one of America's pre-eminent naval architects. The Linda 28 is a fast and nimble pocket cruiser built on a custom basis for customers with an outstanding fit and finish, the kind you'd expect from Morris Yachts. Perhaps best of all she's got the same drop dead handsome lines that have won over Morris lovers worldwide." ~ Blue Water Boats 

Designers Notes

   "The new Morris 28 is my latest design for Morris Yachts of Southwest Harbor, Maine. She is intended to combine the robust construction, ample tankage and unsurpassed directional and transverse stability demanded by a growing Bermuda and Beyond clientele, with fully modern, computer optimized hull lines and weight distribution to please the coastal cruisers and yacht club racers. The 28' overall length was selected in order comfortably accommodate four adults for brief periods (or two living aboard for longer cruises) while still permitting a fully enclosed head... full sized galley usable upright or offshore, and truly ample storage in sensibly sized lockers. Yet in terms of original cost, ease of anchoring, size of sails and winches, and ability to be maintained simply and inexpensively, she still retains the virtues of a small boat. Linda possess all the seakeeping qualities which has made the Morris/Paine line of yachts so well respected. The designed waterline is exceptionally long for high speed potential and damping of pitching motion; ballast is of external cast lead for stability and security if grounded; all ports are opening and bronze; interior headroom is over six feet as are the cockpit seats for snoozing; inboard diesel power is standard with the propeller fully protected in a properly faired aperture; the glass work superbly laminated yet completely hidden from view belowdecks by fine Maine standard wood joinerwork. Most important in the opinion of her builder, is the fact that this yacht exhibits the graceful traditional appearance which will continually enhance the pleasure of ownership, and return fair value if resale is ever contemplated." C.W. Paine Yacht Designs 

Hull and Deck

   "Built to the highest specifications using Reichold Hydrex Vinylester resin and quadaxial e-glass laminate. The gelcoat is the highest marine grade of ISO NPG. Decks are balsa cored. All areas with thru fastenings are solid fiberglass" ~ Morris Linda 28 Brochure

• Solid fiberglass hull
• Keel hung rudder
• Flag Blue Awlgrip topsides ~ 2020
• White Awlgrip cove stripe ~2020
• White Awlgrip boot stipe ~ 2020
• Red antifouling
• Two tone decks white gelcoat with tan nonskid
• Varnished teak toe rails ~ additional coats 2021
• Stainless steel stanchions with coated braided wire life lines up and lower
• Port and starboard gates

   Foredeck

• Stainless steel tube pulpit
• Stainless steel stem head fitting with singe anchor roller and built in port and starboard chocks
• Stainless steel bow cleat
• Haws pipe for chain and rode

   Weather Decks 

• Stainless steel thru deck chainplate fittings
• Stainless steel midships chocks built into toe-rail
• inboard jib/genoa tracks port and starboard
• Stainless steel infills

   Coach Roof

• Secondary winch
• Triple rope clutch clusterMolded turtle for sliding hatch
• Varnished teak dodger coaming
• Molded turtle for sliding hatch
• Varnished teak hand rails port and starboard 
• Varnished teak dorado box with stainless steel cowl
• Triple turning block on beveled varnished teak pad
• Three deck mounted blocks at base of mast
• Whisker pole end fitting
• Vent for heater on varnished teak trim
• Solar fan above head
• Large deck hatch over forward cabin
• Varnished teak brow port, starboard and forward

   Cockpit

• Molded cockpit coaming
• Primary winches port and starboard mounted on molded coaming pads
• Upholstered fitted cockpit cushions 
• Suite of electronics (see Electronics)
• Aft facing destroyer type stainless steel wheel
• Varnished teak box for wheel shaft
• Winch handle pockets port and starboard
• Engine control panel
• High volume emergency manual bilge pump with handle
• Main sail traveler on aft cockpit coaming

   Aft Deck

• Stainless steel tube pushpit
• 75 Watt solar panel mounted on pushpit
• Shakespear VHF antenna mounted on pushpit 
• GPS antena mounted on pushpit
• Stainless steel chocks port and starboard
• Stainless steel cleats port and starboard

  "The Linda 28 is seakindly and fast, though specifically designed for day sailing and coastal cruising she has capability for extended cruising into blue waters. The 4' 4" draft makes accessing shoal waters easy and opens up the Bahamas and Florida Keys as cruising grounds. While loaded down with cruising gear, beware that it's easy to have the boat stern heavy due the leading edge of the keel (hence ballast) so far aft, this is a gremlin Chuck Paine has noted on occasion." ~ Blue Water Boats

• Bohndell mainsail 
• Furlex mainsail furling system on mast
• Pope genoa ~ 2019
• Pope asymmetrical spinnaker in sock ~ 2019 (never used)

Electronics

• Furuno radar display
• Raymarine rotary autopiloit with control head and mount on wheel
• Moor depth display
• Datamarine Corinthian II speed display

Companionway

• Raymarine C120 chart plotter

Navigation Station

• Standard Horizon marine VHF
• Closed array radar dome

Electrical System

12-Volt DC Sytem

• Bass Products 12 volt DC distribution panel 
• Battery tester
• 12-Volt outlet below companionway step
• Nova DC Power main switch
• Perko double bank battery switch
• True Power 600 watt marine inverter 
• Solar Industries 75 watt sollar panel

   Stepping into the interior of Alpha Three to port is the galley that features:

• Opening port-light outboard
• Locker storage outboard above work surface
• CSI Gas Systems, Inc. (2)-burner CNG range with stainless steel safety rail with harness rings
• Icebox 
• Single basin sink 
• Drawer storage below work surface

   Continuing forward past the Galley and Navigation Station you enter the beautifully thought out and built salon. With port and starboard settee's that double as single bunks and the low profile varnished teak table with fold up double leafs, this area is open, bright and most importantly comfortable. This area also boasts;

•  Opening port lights port and starboard
• Dome lighting below the soffits port and starboard
• Large locker storage port and starboard forward
• Stainless steel chain plated attached to partial bulkhead aft of large lockers with easy access from both sides
• Additional locker storage above the settees port and starboard aft
• Diesel heater
• Upholstered seats and backrests port and starboard
• Wide plank sole

   Passing through the door forward of the salon you enter the head that separated the forward cabin from the salon. With the head to port and the sink to starboard this set up allows for a larger head while also allowing access from the forward cabin and the salon to the head. Also of note in this area:

• Single basin sink
• Locker storage below sink
• Manual marine head
• Locker storage above and outboard of head

Forward Cabin

  Continuing through the head is the forward cabin with a traditional v-berth. With a large hatch overhead and this space offers good ventilation. The area also features:

• Overhead dome lighting
• Shelf storage to starboard over bunk
• Access to chain locker forward
• Upholstered infill for v-berth
• Upholsterd split cushion mattress cushions
• Storage below bunks 

   Opposite of the galley and outboard to port of the companionway steps is the aft facing navigation station. Locating at the navigation station are:

• Opening port light
• Dome light under the soffit
• Marine VHF (see Electronics)
• Inverter (see Electrical System)
• Top loading chart table
• Bench seat with upholstered seat cushion
• Cubby storage outboard with shelf storage over
• CNG Solenoid for stove
• 12-Volt outlet this (2) cigaret lighter type inlets and (1) USB inlets
• DC distribution panel under companionway (see Electrical System)
• Battery switch (see Electrical System) 

  The current owner had a custom built trailer built for Alpha Three. The trailer is in like new condition and will convey with the boat.

Represented by a Certified Professional Yacht Broker (CPYB)

     A Certified Professional Yacht Broker (CPYB) is recognized as having achieved the highest level of industry accreditation, available only to fully-qualified yacht sales professionals. The CPYB program is administered by Yacht Brokers Association of America in partnership with Florida Yacht Brokers Association, Northwest Yacht Brokers Association, California Yacht Brokers Association, Boating Ontario Dealers, British Columbia Yacht Brokers Association and Gulf Coast Yacht Brokers Association.

    The CPYB program is also endorsed by the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) Marine Industry Certified Dealership (MICD) program and leading yacht manufacturers as a key component of their own industry standards; the highest level of achievement for their member yacht sales professionals.

Experience & Validity

    The CPYB designation is earned by eligible yacht sales professionals, who, after serving a minimum of three years as a full-time professional, have successfully completed a comprehensive written examination to validate professional competency.

Continuing Education

    A CPYB is committed to their personal and professional development through continuing education, as mandated for CPYB recertification every three years.

Ethics & Standards

    A CPYB adheres to, and is accountable to, a nationally recognized Code of Business Ethics and conducts yacht sales transactions in accordance with a stringent set of industry standards of practice.

Fiduciary Responsibility

    A CPYB maintains a dedicated escrow/trust account to protect their client’s funds. A CPYB understands their fiduciary responsibility and obligations with respect to client funds.

Transaction Management

    A CPYB uses proven, industry-recognized transaction documents, which fully and clearly describe all terms and conditions of a transaction. Honesty & Integrity A CPYB maintains the highest standards of professionalism, acting with honesty and integrity.

Trust & Confidence

    A CPYB instills confidence, trust and consistency in all transactions involving fellow yacht sales professionals for the benefit of the client.

+ Mechanical Disclaimer

Engine and generator hours are as of the date of the original listing and are a representation of what the listing broker is told by the owner and/or actual reading of the engine hour meters. The broker cannot guarantee the true hours. It is the responsibility of the purchaser and/or his agent to verify engine hours, warranties implied or otherwise and major overhauls as well as all other representations noted on the listing brochure.

Not all boats listed online are listed with United, but we can work on your behalf. For more information on this vessel or to schedule a showing, please contact a United Yacht Sales broker by calling our main headquarters at (772) 463-3131.

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Morris Yachts: Ranger

Supercharged sailing performance.

“We’re in a world today where everybody wants more performance in their computer, their car, their home security system,” said company owner Cuyler Morris. “They want things to go faster and work more easily.”

The M-Series, designed by Sparkman & Stephens, debuted in 2004 with the M36. The idea was to deliver performance sailing that is easy and comfortable in a classically styled yacht. Lengths ranging from 28 to 52 feet have followed; 135 have been built. The line has won several top awards for its marriage of beauty and performance.

The concept for the X started incubating quite a few years ago. 

“Over time, you look in the rearview mirror and say, ‘We can do this or that to take the product up a level,’” Morris said.

So Morris went back to Sparkman & Stephens to push the M-Series design envelope to obtain maximum sailing performance in all conditions, while also making every effort to keep modifications within reasonable financial limits. Features include a taller high-modulus carbon-fiber rig from Hall Spars, high-performance 3Di sails from North Sails, and Harken Performa Racing winches. A deeper high-aspect-ratio stainless-steel fin keel with a fitted lead bulb maximizes stability and enhances sail-carrying ability, while taking additional weight out of the boat. A carbon-fiber and teak wheel delivers fingertip control, and a bowsprit was added to improve gennaker performance. An optional custom carbon roller-furling boom, manufactured by Leisure Furl, is also available.

Weight has been removed by using resin infusion on the hull and covering the deck with simple non-skid rather than teak, although customers have the option to install teak decks in keeping with the classic styling of the M-Series. The hull is faired to ultra-precise tolerances and covered with drag-reducing bottom paint. Like the standard M-Series, the interior is built Herreshoff style, with antique white bulkheads and gloss varnished cherry joinery. 

The idea came to fruition in earnest in 2014, when a prototype M29x and M36x were built. The most recent in the series to splash was an M42x named Ranger, launched in July 2015 for a repeat customer who summers in Southwest Harbor. 

“This particular client is probably 90 percent races,” said Morris, “and 10 percent day sails. He’s keen for anything that’s going to make for a fast boat.”

Morris estimates the enhanced features increase upwind sailing performance by at least 10 percent, and downwind by 30 percent. “The end result,” he said, “is the boat sails a hell of a lot faster.”      

Laurie Schreiber has written for newspapers and magazines on the coast of Maine for more than 20 years.

LOA  42'3" LWL  30' Beam  11'3" Draft   8' Displ.  16,030 lbs. Sail area  869 sq. ft.

Designer: Sparkman & Stephens Newport, RI 401-847-5449 www.sparkmanstephens.com

Builder: Morris Yachts Trenton, ME 207-244-5509 www.morrisyachts.com

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Stepping aboard the new Morris 46, designed by Chuck Paine and built by Morris Yachts of Southwest Harbor, Maine, one immediately gets a sense of solid reliability.

This impression is due to several factors: the boat’s 13-foot beam, which provides excellent initial stability; its 23,500-pound displacement; and a hull that is built of solid glass with numerous longitudimals, internal frames, and bulkheads. This is a boat that will be dependable in a seaway.

I knew firsthand how solid Morris hulls were after visiting the Morris yard in Southwest Harbor and seeing several Morris sailboats under construction. During our visit John Correa, head of sales for the company, told me to try and deflect the hull on a Morris 46 under construction that had not been fitted with a deck and had only a partially completed interior.

I thought I was up to the challenge and started by pressing against the hull at the deck edge with my arms, expecting at least a little give, but found none. I then laid my shoulder against the hull, and still no give. I leveraged my knee and finally slammed my body against the hull, but it refused to acknowledge my presence. We concluded the hull was most likely sufficiently strong.

Morris Yachts’ tough hulls are attributable to three main elements: a solid laminate hull, multiple internal frames and longitudinals, and interior bulkheads continuously bonded to the hull. Each hull is laid up using vinylester resin and knitted bi-axial fiberglass built of roving and mat. This material is advertised as having a lower mat content and a higher number of directional fibers. This arrangement results in a stronger finished laminate compared to traditional woven roving and mat, since less resin is necessary (mat is resin intensive). Morris feels their finished hulls have a fiberglass to resin ratio of 53:47. A traditional woven roving and fiberglass mat hull would have a fiberglass to resin ratio of 35:65.

Inside each Morris hull there four, full-length longitudinals laid on either side of the keel, two per side. These longitudinals, approximately five inches wide and three inches high, are cored with Baltek end-grain balsa and bonded to the hull with layers of bi-axial glass and vinylester resin.

In addition to longitudinals the boat has cored balsa frames, running athwartships on 20-inch centers and placed from bow to stern and gunwale to keel. Trapezoidal sides, on both the longitudinals and the frame coring, ensure that laminates can be laid over the core without producing voids.

These numerous cored ribsthere are 30 frames and longitudinals in the Morris 46provide stiffness to the hull while the solid laminate hull gives impact protection from grounding and collision. Another advantage to a solid glass hull is no chance of delamination, sometimes a problem with cored hulls.

To add more strength to their hulls Morris builds interiors completely within each hull. There are no prebuilt interior modules lowered into a waiting hull. Building an interior in place allows each bulkhead and panel that comes in contact with the hull to be continuously glassed to it, not just tabbed in place.

When a Morris interior is completed and a deck is installed, all of the bulkheads meeting at the deck are continuously glassed in place as well.

The only concession Morris makes to modules are head units which, though built outside its designated hull, are designed so all bulkhead edges are exposed and accessible, enabling lamination to the hull once in place. Morris builds head compartments outside a hull to allow for full waterproofing and sealing.

Squaring up

To ensure these head modules and other single interior pieces are perfectly square and will fit precisely within the hull, a special stand approximately eight feet by eight feet that is both level and square was built in the Morris carpenter shop. On this stand all interior pieces are dry fit before they are taken out on the production floor to be installed. Any slight misalignments can be corrected at this stage.

Additionally, custom mock-ups can be produced on this stand before the item is produced in its final form. This fact makes it no surprise that, when a bulkhead or other interior piece leaves the carpenter’s shop for installation, it does not come back.

Since strength should not translate into excessive and unnecessary weight, Morris makes use of cored interior panels in low-stress areas. Main bulkheads, supporting the mast and keel, remain solid marine plywood, but elsewhere cored panels allow a weight savings of up to 450 pounds on a completed interior. This amount of weight is obviously better used carrying people and supplies. Though Morris Yachts owner Tom Morris is known for building hulls of solid glass, supported by internal bulkheads, frames and lon-gitudinals all glassed to the hull, he is not averse to building cored hulls or incorporating new materials into his construction. “I am only going to use a new material when I am convinced it is going to improve the quality of the boat by contributing to its overall strength and safety,” said Morris. “We are always looking into new techniques and materials and seeing how they might fit into our construction. Ultimately, we are customer driven. We make the boat to fit the needs of the owner, using our knowledge of how a proper boat should be put together.”In an example of embracing new technology, Morris recently retrofitted one of their 40-footers with a carbon spade rudder weighing a mere 35 poundsa saving of 250 pounds compared to the original fiberglass skeg-hung rudder. Both the weight savings, especially in the end of the boat, and the more aerodynamic spade rudder are expected to improve the boat’s overall performance.

Inside the Morris construction building in late May, several boats near completion showed quite different features, reflecting the owners’ specific desires and intentions for their boats. There was a Morris 46 with a fiberglass dodger, all stainless steel and aluminum deck fittings, and a monitor wind vane fitted to the stern. This boat’s owner intended to circumnavigate and wanted a rugged, maintenance-free topside.

That boat contrasts with the 46 we sailed that was finished off with varnished exterior teak trim, a piano-quality wood interior, and a layout suited for day sails along the Maine coast. For example, the stainless steel twin bow rollers to feed out the mooring pendant have several design features that gave an indication of the detailed engineering that goes into a Morris.

First, the bow roller and headstay chain plate are built as one unit so the headstay has tremendous support both fore and aft and athwartship. The stainless steel used to build the bow rollers and headstay are a combination of 3/8-inch and 1/2-inch plate, providing a better than 2:1 safety factor.

Additionally, there are no butt welds in the fabrication between the headstay chain plate and bow rollers, since the headstay chainplate is fitted through a slot in the bow rollers and welded along both sides. The whole arrangement is bolted both through the deck and stem with massive stainless steel bolts.

Chuck Paine designed the bow roller not only to incorporate and support the headstay but to project past the bow by about one foot. “This provides the sail plan with the balancing effect of having a short bowsprit,” said Paine. “But it does it without having all the problems and appearance of a bowsprit, and it allows the boat to sail with an almost effortless helm.”

I recently sailed on Vixen, the first Morris 46 to be launched, with Tom Morris and Chuck Paine. After throwing off the mooring pendant, Chuck and I moved back to the mast to watch as first the Hood roller-furling mainsail and after that the jib were pulled out. Roller-furling mainsails are normally easy to furl and unfurl, but I have yet to see one that had the shape, performance, and reliability of a battened and fully roached main.

So, as the 885 square feet of sails came out, I looked up at the mainsail expecting to see a hollow leach and flat shape. But, while on a close reach, Tom adjusted the sheets, and I realized that these sails did not show the flaws often seen on rolling-furling units.

Vertical and tapered battens in the mainsail supported a leach that showed no hollow and maybe even a little roach. Built from vertical panels, the mainsail had a well-defined draft, which was forward in the sail. By the boat’s quick acceleration to four knots in seven knots of apparent wind we all knew the sails were developing good drive.

Carbon fiber mast optional

This Morris was equipped with an optional Goetz Marine Technologies double-spreader carbon-fiber mast that was 1.5 feet taller than the aluminum masts that come standard. Carbon masts are an option that more and more Morris owners are opting for.

As we made our way out into open water, the Morris 46 easily tacked through 80° and lost little boat speed in the process. There was also little pitching as we began to encounter ocean swells.

“One reason why our boats perform so well is due to weight distribution,” said Paine. “We keep weight low and in the center of the boat. The engine is placed in the middle of the boat, right over the keel. Being directly over the keel keeps the boat’s overall center of gravity low, plus by the engine not being aft its weight is not in the end of the boat where it would contribute to pitching.”

I knew Morris was serious about weight distribution when, in looking under the main cabin floorboards, we found a 70-pound Luke storm anchor securely mounted in a cradle that was specially built and fiberglassed to the hull. One hopes that the Luke anchor will never need to come out of its cradle, but should the occasion arise those on board will know where to find it. In the meantime, the weight of the Luke anchor isn’t adversely affecting the trim of the vessel. Another factor in the boat’s good performance is its low wetted surface and modern, balanced rudder and hydrodynamic keel. As we tacked and gybed throughout the day, the Morris 46 never showed boat speed below the true wind speed. “A rule of thumb I use is that boat speed should equal the true wind speed or be half of the apparent wind speed,” said Paine. And as I watched the true, apparent, and boat speed indicators during the day I observed that we were always moving, within a knot, of the true wind speed.

Attaching a 8,200-pound antimony and lead keel (antimony is added to lead to harden it) to the hull is done using both a generous layer of 3M 5200 adhesive and 12, one-inch-diameter stainless steel bolts. Providing both flexibility and adhesion, 3M 5200 forms a watertight seal as well as a tenacious bond between the hull and the keel.

Distributed along the top of each keel are the tops of threaded, J-shaped stainless steel bolts which have been cast in the keel. These 12 bolts provide redundant security, since a single one-inch stainless steel bolt has a breaking strength of approximately 12,000 pounds.These bolts actually come through the hull at the bottom of a sump under the engine, which is about 1.5 feet deep. This sump could probably hold 50 gallons of water, and since the sump is fitted with both an electric and manual bilge pump it seems clear that any water that might accumulate in the boat could be pumped out before it sloshes above the floorboards.

“We try to build a fiberglass yacht that has the watertight integrity of a welded steel or aluminum boat,” said Tom Morris. “With a metal boat you are not forced to drill holes in the deck to mount fittings, you just weld tangs or fittings to the deck and bolt on the gear. On a glass boat you have to drill holes through the deck for the bolts needed to secure stanchions, cleats, winches, etc. When leaks occur it is usually from these holes and fittings. Prospective owners ask us how we prevent leaks since they have frequently owned boats with serious leak problems.”

Currently Morris Yachts taps and countersinks all holes drilled in the deck. A threaded hole allows a bolt to be tightened both by attaching a nut on the inside end and by the process of threading it into the tapped hole. Not allowing bolts the opportunity to move reduces the possibility of leaks starting. All backing plates are recessed into the underside of the deck so when sealant is put into the holes prior to bolts being threaded in, the sealant is not pushed out through the inside.

In keeping with the desires of Vixen’s owner, who wished to navigate in the cockpit, a Raytheon 600XX combination electronic chart and radar display was mounted on cockpit’s forward bulkhead. One display screen supported both systems and with a flick of a switch either the radar display or chart could be viewed. A useful feature on the charting system was a dotted track line showing the boat’s actual track.

As we sailed throughout the many islands that make up Casco Bay we were impressed by the resolution of the chart image and accuracy of the track line. We all realized what a good aid this unit would be in thick New England fog given that the weather on the day we sailed consisted of rain, drizzle, and fog. Of course, the best device for navigating in the fog is a properly tuned radar set and a trained operator.

It takes nine months and an inpressive 6,040 man-hours to build a Morris 46. Morris Yachts makes sure it is a methodical process that is recorded on detailed flow and task charts tacked to the wall by each boat under construction. Having spent a day in the spotless building where these yachts are constructed, having seen the solid boatbuilding skills that were employed, and having talked with the craftsmen who create them, I have no doubts about Morris Yachts being ocean-capable vessels for the voyaging sailor.

By Ocean Navigator

This classic Chuck Paine design is a capable offshore cruiser

When Morris Yachts launched the Chuck Paine-designed Annie 29 in 1980, it attracted plenty of attention in the sailing community. Its look was in sharp contrast to Paine’s double-ended designs, the Frances 26 launched in 1974 and the Leigh 30 launched in 1979.

“The boats had many similarities, but the Annie had a raked transom with a transom-hung outboard rudder,” said Paine, a Camden, Maine, resident with a long list of award-winning designs to his credit. 

Paine, who considers himself a disciple of famed boat designer Nathanael Herreshoff, designed the Annie 29 as an offshore cruiser and recreational keelboat. It was available as a masthead sloop or as a cutter. The production run was approximately half sloops and half cutters.

Occasionally some confusion arises when the boat is referred to as the Annie 30. 

“The hull itself was 29 feet 7 inches long. Once you reckon in the stemhead weldment and the fact the rudder extended from the transom, the overall length was around 31 feet,” Paine said. “Tom Morris and I always were assiduously honest in everything we did or said, so we agonized over what length to claim. At first, we called her the Annie 29, so as not to claim something that was not true. But in the end, people were putting them in marina slips and paying rent by the length, in which case calling her 29 was dishonest. So we settled on the name Annie 30.”

Despite that naming decision, the boat is most often referred to as the Morris Annie 29, which should not be confused with the Sparkman & Stephens-designed M29, built and launched by Morris Yachts in 2008 as part of its M-Series. Paine eventually designed a revised version of the Annie 29, which he dubbed the Annie 2. 

“It was an intellectual exercise that I undertook after I closed the office in 2008. None of them has ever been built, unfortunately,” he said. “I would love to see someone build it.”

First impressions

With low freeboard, a sharp bow, tall rig and sloped transom, the Annie 29 looks ready to take on most any sea with aplomb. Everything about it looks rugged yet graceful, from the bronze and stainless steel deck fittings to the elegant teak and mahogany trim. It’s immediately clear why she has been included on classic sailboat lists worldwide. The closer you look, the more you notice the top-shelf construction materials and the masterful boat building. The Annie 29 radiates quality. 

Construction

Morris Yachts built 16 Annie 29s and four more were built by Loomis Yachts in Maine after the company purchased the hull molds from Morris. The solid hull is hand-laid fiberglass. The deck is fiberglass with a balsa wood core. Portals are bronze, though some may be high-grade U.S. stainless steel, depending on owner preference.

The ballast is lead and attached to the keel stub with stainless bolts. All deck hardware is bronze or stainless steel. Handrails, toerails and other deck-mounted wood fittings are typically teak. The stanchions and bow pulpit are stainless steel and strongly support the lifelines. Chainplates independently attach through the deck to beefy fiberglass layers inside the hull. 

What to look for

The Annie 29 is nearly 40 years old and time may have taken its toll on certain aspects of the boat. Although the keel bolts are high-quality stainless  steel, there’s always a chance they’ve weakened and threatened to separate the ballast from the keel stub. Seacocks, through-hull fittings and chainplates should be inspected. 

“You have to take a look at them, but Tom Morris and I asked ourselves how we could make the chainplates last forever,” Paine said. “They’re designed so that the load is captured by the glasswork. The mast could fall off and the boat’s plywood completely rot away, but the chainplates would still be attached to the fiberglass. Besides, they’re made from very high-quality stainless steel.”

The bowsprit should be examined on the cutter rigs. Deck fittings should be inspected for leaks. The engine, too, should be closely checked for compression, fluid leaks, worn belts and cracked hoses.

Beauty and functionality describe the deck of the Annie 29, with strategically placed grabrails, protective toerails, appropriately located winches and genoa tracks and an adequate number of cleats. Boxed dorades offer ventilation in addition to the main hatch and companionway door. 

“I really appreciate ventilation aboard a boat,” Paine said. 

The mainsheet traveler is mounted aft of the cockpit where it doesn’t interfere with crew movement. Roller furling was in its infancy in 1980, or as Paine put it, “a novel idea at the time and a lot of owners didn’t believe in it.” As a result, furlers were not installed on the earliest Annie 29s and about a third had steering wheels. 

The elegant interiors were finished in teak or mahogany with masterful joinery. Some of the later models featured cherry wood, however, no two Annie 29s are alike.

“When these boats were being built in the early 1980s, the owners explained what sort of layout they wanted and Tom Morris was glad to follow those plans, with some recommendations,” Paine said. “Tom enjoyed making interior modifications.”

The V-berth sleeps two and has a privacy curtain. Most boats have a settee and a drop-leaf table that converts to an additional berth. The galley was usually located to starboard near the base of the companionway stairs and featured, a stainless basin sink, two-burner stove and top-loading icebox. 

“Refrigeration came much later,” said Paine. “If it’s on one of the Annies it’s a retrofit.”

The boat carries approximately 40 gallons of freshwater. Later models had 12-gallon waste tanks. 

Most Annie 29s received natural light from three or four portals on each side of the cabin and one forward, in addition to deck prisms. The head was installed either near the V-berth or farther aft in place of the chart table and dresser, depending on owner preference. A shower was optional and used freshwater engine cooling to heat the water.

The boat was designed with two-cylinder Volvo engine with 18 gallons of diesel. Paine noted there was no standard engine during the production phase of the Annie 29. 

Annie 29 is a heavy-displacement cruiser with a tall rig with a large sail area. It has a long keel with a cutaway forefoot and tends to track nicely. 

Most of the cutters had a boom on the staysail, while the yankee sail was hanked on. The mast was shorter on the cutters, but it carried slightly more sail area than the sloops.

According to Paine, the external ballast positively affects handling because it creates a stiffer boat. 

“With internal ballast, the center of gravity is higher up due to the way the lead is encapsulated inside the hull. There’s more up at the top and less at the bottom where it tapers, which can be a drawback,” Paine said. 

The Morris Annie 29 is a classic, compact, seaworthy keelboat capable of cruising offshore in style and comfort.

SAILING’s Value Guide  (5-sailboat rating system)

PRICE: The market price typically runs between $60,000 and  $90,000. 

DESIGN QUALITY:  Famed naval architect C.W. “Chuck” Paine designed the Annie 29 after gaining a solid reputation for his double-enders built by Morris Yachts in Maine. The Annie 29 was available as a sloop or a cutter.

CONSTRUCTION QUALITY: The late Tom Morris, who founded Morris Yachts in 1972, built most of the Annie 29s. Morris had already earned a reputation for quality construction.  

USER-FRIENDLINESS:  Owners report the boat is simple to reef and anchor, and easy to handle in a wide range of sea conditions. The boat exhibits heavy weather helm during a hard blow, according to Paine. The earlier models lacked roller furling so the foresails were laboriously hanked on. 

SAFETY:  The Morris Annie 29 has been described by owners as safe, sturdy and seaworthy and is known for its bluewater sailing capabilities. Plenty of external lead ballast helps keep the hull upright and provides a lower center of gravity. A dodger protects the small cockpit while high coamings keep the crew dry. Heavy-duty stanchions and lifelines add another measure of safety.

TYPICAL CONDITION:  Owners of Morris-built boats are typically proud of their investment and tend to have adequate resources to maintain the vessel in good-to-excellent condition. 

REFITTING:   The Morris Annie 29 is a relatively expensive boat, which translates to higher costs when refitting. And since only 16 were built, there is no warehouse of spare parts. At nearly 40 years old, the boats may require replacement of holding tanks and keel bolts and repair of deck delamination. 

SUPPORT: Morris Yachts was acquired by The Hinckley Company in 2016. Hinckley services Morris-built boats at its facilities along the East Coast from Maine to Florida.

AVAILABILITY: Only 16 Morris Annie 29s were built by Morris Yachts and they remain in demand. Four were on the market in the United States during summer 2019. Loomis Yachts of Maine later built three or four additional Annie 29s to the same rigorous standards imposed by Morris. 

INVESTMENT AND RESALE:  As with most Morris-built boats, the Annie 29 holds its value over time, with potential buyers putting trust in Morris’ reputation.

Principal dimensions: LOA 29’7”; LWL 24’6”; Beam 9’5”; Draft 4’6”; Displ. 11,027 lb.; Ballast 4,400 lb.; Sail area  459 sq. ft.

General Market Price Data

$75,000  1982  Maine; $79,500;  1983  New York; 1991 $89,000 Maine

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• Sailboat Guide

Morris Yachts

Morris Yachts P.O. Box 395 Grandville Road Bass Harbor, Maine 04653 Tel: 207-244-5509 Fax: 207-244-5866

Associations

• Francis 26 Site
• C. W. (Chuck) Paine
• David Pedrick

16 sailboats built by Morris Yachts

Morris 36 Justine

Morris 30 leigh.

Leigh 30 (Paine)

Morris 28 Linda

Leadership 44 (Uscg)

Apogee 50 (Paine)

Morris 26 Frances

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Morris Yachts Service

Family business, run by Cuyler Morris, in the heart of scenic Mt. Desert Island. Two facilities, in Bass Harbor and Northeast Harbor. Production of high-quality custom and semi-custom sail and power yachts. Complete service and repair, refits/upgrades of all yachts. 50t travel lift, mechanical, machinery & electronic service, varnish, Awlgrip spray paint bays, carpentry, rigging and specialty projects. Morris Yachts Service Yard has 31 moorings located just outside the entrance to Bass Harbor, on both sides of the channel, allowing options to get in the leeward side of a blow. Mooring stones available from 2,000 lbs to 17,000 lbs. Restrooms, showers, laundry, trash services onsite. Fuel, water and pump out facilities. Nearby are restaurants, provisioning services and tennis courts. The Island Explorer Bus stops at the yard, allowing full access to all of beautiful Mount Dessert Island! 

Tel: (207) 244 5511 Fax: (207) 244 9726 [email protected] www.morrisyachts.com

More about us...

Morris Yachts and Service 27 Ramp Road, Trenton Maine 04605 Family business, run by Cuyler Morris, in the heart of scenic Mt. Desert Island. Two facilities, in Bass Harbor and Northeast Harbor. Production of high-quality custom and semi-custom sail and power yachts as well as a full charter operation.  Complete service and repair, refits/upgrades of all yachts. 50t travel lift, mechanical, machinery & electronic service, varnish, Awlgrip spray paint bays, carpentry, rigging and specialty projects. Mooring and deep-water dock rental. Fuel, water and pump out facilities. Nearby are restaurants, provisioning services, laundry, tennis, showers. Tel:  (207) 244 5511 / Fax: (207) 244 9726 [email protected] www.morrisyachts.com

Morris Yachts Luxury Charters 14 Harbor Drive, Northeast Harbor, ME Morris Yachts Luxury Charters offers a wide range of sailing yachts that are well-suited for exploring Maine’s intriguing coastline, and their exclusive Northeast Harbor location provides easy access to the legendary attractions of Acadia National Park. Our full-service marina opens up to the heart of our stunning cruising grounds which include over 3,000 islands and the only fjord on the East Coast! The charter fleet is impeccably maintained to Morris standards. Tel: (207) 244 5511 [email protected] www.morrischarters.com

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