cyclonite
26.04.2021 12:51:28
Ted Hood, besides being the founder of Hood Sailmakers which, at one time was the worlds largest, was a successful racing skipper, founder of Little Harbor Yachts, and an innovative marine inventor and yacht designer.
See full version: Ted hood designed little harbor 54
Ted Hood, besides being the founder of Hood Sailmakers which, at one time was the worlds largest, was a successful racing skipper, founder of Little Harbor Yachts, and an innovative marine inventor and yacht designer.
As an inventor, Hood was the first sailmaker to weave his own Dacron cloth. He is also credited with early designs for grooved headstays, jib roller furling, as well as the Stoway mast and the Stoboom. More than 6,000 of his Little Harbor yachts, from 35 to 75 feet, are sailing today. But perhaps the most famous of his vessels is the 60 foot "American Promise", in which Dodge Morgan set a solo circumnavigation record of 150 days in 1985-86; it was the last Hood boat to be built in Marblehead before Hood's design and building facilities moved to Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
During the 1990's Little Harbor Marine grew to be the best and largest yacht service facility in the Northeast. Little Harbor Whisperjet sales were strong as well, and Hood's yacht brokerage and yacht design divisions also did well.
Legendary sailor and designer Ted Hood has created a larger version of his 48-foot motorsailer and is building it on a custom basis at the TeKad facility in Tuzla, Turkey. While many of the belowdecks features are similar to those of Hood’s well-known Little Harbor 54 and 60 designs, the waterline on this yacht is far longer, the freeboard is much higher, there is a flush deck, and, of course, there is much more interior space. The rudder has a foil that can be lowered to provide more precise steering when under sail. The board can be retracted easily when not needed and will kick up if it should hit something.
Over the ensuing four decades, the family of five would sail up and down the East Coast from the Bahamas to Maine and back again more than 20 times, first on the 46-foot Caroline, then on Snowhawk, a 54-foot Little Harbor yacht designed and built in 1989 by legendary boatbuilder Ted Hood (see below), which Pete bought in 1991. On the water, where the ever-changing home base and delicate dance between wind and sails proved a true test of the family’s flexibility, Caroline’s “go with the flow” marriage mantra became a whole new way of life for the Slosses.
Although they learned to love the serendipitous twirls and dips along their voyages, the Sloss sisters also came to crave the slow-dance sway that governed their days. “We would read and nap and eat and drink and visit and watch the sunset and stargaze and learn to be quiet together, soaking up the peaceful beauty of our surroundings,” says Cathy Sloss Jones, the eldest daughter. more
After nearly 30 summers spent on Snowhawk, the Sloss family called on Janie Jones and Elizabeth Miles, principals of Birmingham design firm Hundley Hilton Interiors, to refurbish the yacht’s interiors. Despite having only three cabins, a main saloon with a large dinette, a small galley, and two heads, reoutfitting the yacht was no small feat.
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When he bought his own, Caroline knew the only way she and her three young daughters would be able to spend weekends and summers with Pete would be to get on board. So get on board they did.
After nearly 30 summers spent on Snowhawk, the Sloss family called on Janie Jones and Elizabeth Miles, principals of Birmingham design firm Hundley Hilton Interiors, to refurbish the yacht’s interiors. Despite having only three cabins, a main saloon with a large dinette, a small galley, and two heads, reoutfitting the yacht was no small feat.
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An army vet and merchant marine turned Birmingham, Alabama, real estate developer, Pete has been drawn to the water since childhood. “As a boy, I would hollow out logs to make them into boats. Then as a young man, I was always hanging around the marina, and the yachting magazines would stack up around my house,” says Pete. “I suppose you could say I’ve been dreaming about boats my whole life.”
Still, Jones and Miles point out their mission was simple: “to complement the beauty of the boat’s original craftsmanship,” says Jones. Below deck, the juxtaposition of ivory leather upholstery and rich teak wood surfaces highlights the yacht’s construction. A spectrum of blues, found in textiles, nautical paintings, and a few accessories, plus polished chrome lighting and hardware, energize the interiors with crisp, understated elegance. [links]
“Everyone had a role. Once our parents trusted us at the helm, they became the nappers on the boat,” says Corra. While each night may have been different, every year was the same. “We would stop at the same ports and restaurants each year and see the same friends,” she adds.
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When he bought his own, Caroline knew the only way she and her three young daughters would be able to spend weekends and summers with Pete would be to get on board. So get on board they did.