Rockport Marine Builds 50-Foot Fontaine-Designed Sloop

Rockport, Maine - Rockport Marine is in the early stages of constructing a 50-foot custom wood composite sloop from the drawing boards of Fontaine Design Group. Designed for New England cruising and daysailing, the new yacht measures 50.3 feet overall with a waterline length of 36.6 feet and a beam of 12.7 feet. The Fontaine 50 is a carefully considered blend of wood and composite construction, with a wood composite hull, teak deck and wood composite cabintop. The finished yacht, which will launch in summer 2014, will draw her performance and durability from the fusion of these diverse construction methods.

Rockport Marine’s team of builders is constructing the yacht’s hull of wood over laminated frames, laminated ring frames and composite bulkheads. The yacht will have one ½-inch layer of Alaskan Yellow cedar, two ⅛-inch layers of Western Red cedar, and one ½-inch layer of mahogany under a 10-oz fiberglass cloth. Currently the yacht’s hull is in the final stages of the building process. The main deck will be constructed of two layers of plywood laid over laminated deck beams and covered with natural quarter-sawn teak. The cockpit will have painted sides and the cabintop will be built of teak over plywood and cedar.

“This is the second Fontaine-designed yacht in a row we’ve built here at Rockport Marine,” said Taylor Allen, president of Rockport Marine Inc. CARY ALI, a Friendship 36, was launched this fall. “Our own designers and builders have developed a strong working relationship with Fontaine Design Group and our shared clients.”

The Fontaine 50 is a fin-keel sloop with a displacement around 28,400 pounds — 11,134 pounds of which is ballast. Her masthead sail plan includes a 115% genoa, 154% reacher, and fully battened mainsail by North Sails. Her carbon spars, which include an in-boom furling system, will be built by Offshore Spars. She will sail comfortably in a range of conditions.

Rockport Marine will chronicle the Fontaine 50’s construction process through photos and narrative online at www.rockportmarine.com, on Facebook, and through video on YouTube.