Artisan Boatworks launches Uncas
Rockport — A lingering fog over Penobscot Bay did nothing to deter the enthusiastic spirit at Rockport Marine Thursday, Aug. 2, as Artisan Boatworks launched Uncas. The boat belongs to Jim and Chris Newton of Cape Elizabeth.
Chris Newton said she was "over the top" excited about the launching. She said she and Jim have made the journey from Cape Elizabeth to Rockport almost weekly since December to watch the progress on Uncas. She said it was "just spectacular" to watch the craftsmen at Artisan Boatworks work "everything by hand" in the building process.
Chris Newton said the boat's moniker is derived from "Last of the Mohicans," and said the Newtons also had a beloved Labrador retriever named Uncas.
"That name just resonates with our family," she said.
Jim Newton said he has been talking with Artisan Boatworks owner Alec Brainerd for several years about the project. Originally Jim Newton envisioned a fish class boat but said the design evolved to accommodate the couple's three small grandchildren. He said Uncas will reside on a mooring at the Newton's home on Linekin Bay.
"I'm like a giddy schoolgirl," Jim Newton said as he snapped photos of Uncas while crews from Artisan Boatworks prepared for the launching.
"Watching the [building] process has been almost as exciting as this day," he said.
Uncas is a Buzzards Bay 18, the design was original to Herreshoff in 1903. She measures 29-feet on deck and 18-feet on the waterline, according to the Artisan Boatworks website.
With Brainerd and Jim Newton on board, Uncas will join a legion of wooden sailboats for the annual Eggemoggin Reach Regatta on Saturday, Aug. 4.
Courier Publications reporter Jenna Lookner can be reached at 236-8511 or by email at jlookner@courierpublicationsllc.com
