Here we see the Belford Gray sailing out of Great Cove on Wednesday morning, June 16. She’s a small Friendship Sloop, the iconic type of Maine fishing boat used primarily in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.
These highly maneuverable sloops were conceived and built in and around the Maine Town of Friendship in the Muscongus Bay area; they then were evolved by boatbuilders along the entire Maine coast.
The boats typically have sharp clipper bows with breathtaking sheer swoops back to low deck areas and overhanging transoms (stern ends). The low aft portions are designed to make it easier for one or two fishermen to haul nets and traps out of the water. Here’s an archive image that will give you a better idea of her lines:
Leighton Archive Image
Nonetheless, the Belford was created by WoodenBoat School students and launched in 1992 to serve mostly as a wonderful sailing classroom. She’s a little more than 28 feet long; her beam (widest part) is nine and one-half feet, and she’s built with northern white cedar on white oak frames. Her name honors Belford Gray, a WBS instructor who was a highly regarded wooden boatbuilder.
(Brooklin, Maine)