The Eldredge-McInnis cutter PROWESS on the water with a tree-lined shore in the background.Benjamin Mendlowitz

The 47′ Eldredge-McInnis cutter PROWESS was launched at the Stockden boatyard in Detroit, Michigan, in 1947.

“Dad, what is that lovely boat parked in the yard of Belmont Boat Works on Maine’s Route 3?” daughter Kathy asked. “She’s spectacular!”

“Must be PROWESS,” I replied, “and thanks. She’s a perfect example of a classic that needs saving.”

The Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) accepted PROWESS as a donation a couple of years ago hoping that through use and subsequent sale she’d help fulfill their mission of establishing, promoting, and shepherding campsites along the Maine coast. After a single season of MITA sailing, she’s been in storage awaiting a buyer. Mostly, she’s been in a shed, but she was recently extracted and placed near the highway to pull in potential new owners.

This appears to be an exceptionally sound yacht save for cosmetics and chainplates. She’s less than half as old as her building date indicates, having been almost completely renewed in the 1980s by an owner who spared no expense. He hired, and spurred on, the very best Maine boatbuilders in the business, including Todd French, Peter Webb (before they formed French & Webb in Belfast), and boatshop owner Phin Sprague (before he set himself up as Portland Yacht Services). Besides replacing all the bad wood in her hull such as frames, floors, backbone timbers, and planking, they gave her an entirely new interior, deck frame, teak-planked deck, trunk cabin, systems, power plant, and rig.

Boat interior with galley and bench seating.Nick Parson

PROWESS’s interior was completely reconfigured during a refit in the 1980s.

Phin, who had sailed his Alden schooner MARIA around the world, incorporated what he learned on that voyage into PROWESS’s new layouts. Then, afterward, he sailed her a lot himself, claiming she sails like a dream. She surely looks like one under sail, on a mooring, or even hauled out. She’s a one-of-a-kind classy classic, for sure, and she was kept in first-class condition until her 2023 donation.

PROWESS’s lovely hull was drawn in the 1920s by Walter McInnis to become the Eastward-class schooner, and a number were built back then. PROWESS came later, rigged as a cutter to a sail plan thought to have been drawn by John Alden. She looks very different and sails much faster than the schooners. To my eye, the single tall mast harmonizes better with her sheer and profile.

You can learn way more via the Internet links below. You’ll discover a host of still photos and a recent half-hour video tour by Boatfools Sailing. Don’t let the posted prices scare you away: The latest survey reveals that chainplates must be renewed, which has dramatically reduced the asking price. Offers (even to charter before purchase) are encouraged, because MITA is eager to place her where she’ll receive the kind of care she truly needs

Hull of the cutter PROWESS dry docked.Nick Parson

The yacht now lies at Belmont Boat Works just west of Belfast, Maine.

PROWESS Particulars

  • LOA:  47′
  • LWL:  38′
  • Beam:  11′
  • Draft:  6′ 6″
  • Power:  55-hp Westerbeke diesel
  • Designed by Eldredge-McInnis
  • Built by Stockden, Detroit, Michigan, 1947
  • Official No. 950077

Article ends.

 

Maynard Bray is WoodenBoat’s the technical editor.

For more information or to inspect PROWESS, contact Jordi St. John by email at jordi@mita.org. See also East Coast Yacht Sales (search on the name PROWESS) and also www.bit.ly/Prowessvideo.