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www.macnaughtongroup.com
Email if you can! But if you need a friendly voice call:207-249-5313
What's New
05/18/2026 - Recently we did a Concept Design for a client who wanted a true "Push Boat" to push one of our "Evening Song" 25 foot houseboat barges. You see big push boats with commercial barges on our intracoastal waterways and river systems. Distinctivie square bows distingusish them from "tug" boats. Many small push boats are cheap, limited life vessels scrapped in about 20 years. They are often essentially just ugly boxes. We gave this pushboat, named "Hercules, a carefully developed aesthetic, as well as making her maintenance straightforward. She'll last as long as people want, and with good resale value.
We are making good progress on doing podcasts on yacht design. We've purchased a "DJI Action 6" video cmera. This camera's capabilities are greater than we need. We've downloaded the free version of the "DaVinci Resolve video editing software, wihich is ample for podcast work. Even the professional "Studio" version is inexpensive, yet powerful enough to create today's highly graphics oriented movies. We are investigating software to do split screen interviews.
Right now, I'm writing scripts for the first 10 podcasts. I don't know how long this will take. We hope to do a podcast a week. These will cover yacht and small craft naval architecture in depth knowledge and the financial end of the business, which nobody ever seems to teach. We'll let you know when we start uploading the podcasts. These videos will be aimed at everybody interested in understanding yacht design, and will act as free supplements to our Yacht Design School lessons. A lot of students have asked for video content.
We are making good progress on doing podcasts on yacht design. We've purchased a "DJI Action 6" video cmera. This camera's capabilities are greater than we need. We've downloaded the free version of the "DaVinci Resolve video editing software, wihich is ample for podcast work. Even the professional "Studio" version is inexpensive, yet powerful enough to create today's highly graphics oriented movies. We are investigating software to do split screen interviews.
Right now, I'm writing scripts for the first 10 podcasts. I don't know how long this will take. We hope to do a podcast a week. These will cover yacht and small craft naval architecture in depth knowledge and the financial end of the business, which nobody ever seems to teach. We'll let you know when we start uploading the podcasts. These videos will be aimed at everybody interested in understanding yacht design, and will act as free supplements to our Yacht Design School lessons. A lot of students have asked for video content.
01/23/2026 - We've been having some trouble updating this page. Below you ahould see a photo of "Risvold" the first of the "Ha' Penny 20" liveaboard and voyaging yachts for one or two people. She's been featured in Cruising World magazine and we understand there is an article being prepared for Yachting World magazine. She is the latest design in our series of designs from 15 feet to 36 feet, which we call the "Coin Collection". She was built by Artisan Boatworks in Rockport, Maine. Alec Brainerd the head man at Artisan consulted with us on every detail, and she is extremely faithful to the details of the design. We will add a page to the site on this design as soon as we can.
01/01/2026 – It’s is hard to believe it has been so long since I updated this page. We have been so busy that it is difficult to find time. Hopefully this year we will be able to put in some revision time on the site as a whole every week.
We also have set up one wall of our library to provide a “set” for doing videos for a YouTube channel. These will cover what we teach in Yacht Design School, our MacNaughton Yacht Designs business, and answering questions about learning design, design options, living aboard, and voyaging. Hopefully at some point we will be able to include interviews with other designers, boat builders, and living aboard and voyaging people. Suggestions are welcome.
We also have set up one wall of our library to provide a “set” for doing videos for a YouTube channel. These will cover what we teach in Yacht Design School, our MacNaughton Yacht Designs business, and answering questions about learning design, design options, living aboard, and voyaging. Hopefully at some point we will be able to include interviews with other designers, boat builders, and living aboard and voyaging people. Suggestions are welcome.
05/05/2024 – On the third of March we lost my dear wife Nannette after a long battle with dementia. She died without pain, and with me by her side. Her warmth, compassion, generosity and intelligence, were a major contributor to the trust and loyalty our clients showed toward us. Quiet and calm as she was, any group of people she was in were happier and had a better time when she was there. She handled all our routine business functions, and a lot of our communications. There were people all over the world who considered her a close friend just from her handling of their correspondence. We were married for nearly 54 years. We lived and worked together pretty much 24 hours a day for all that time. There cannot be many who’ve had as happy and close a marriage as we had. She was devoted wife and mother, a gourmet chef of incredible talent, a fine musician, sang beautifully, and was an artist whose painting were bought even by people who were famous painters themselves. It was nearly two months after her death before I realized that subconsciously I had never expected, despite her dementia, to out live her. I made no plans for life without her. I am grateful to the outpouring of support from friends, clients, and students, who have made it easier for me to continue to live, and the work my clients and students need from me gives me a sense of purpose, which is very necessary right now. Where Nannette was, there was my Eden.
I should have updated this before now, but I have been moving my personal office back to our main office/house. Our telephone number is still 207-249-5313. This is a smart phone which I keep with me all the time, and you should always be able to contact me. If you are visiting or sending us something, our office is at 35 Clark Street, Eastport, Maine 04631.
I must mention the support and companionship which I have received from my son-in-law Roberto Campos who is doing much to restore this 1780s Cape Cod house.
I have some major updates nearly ready for the web site. I will be trying to make them active at the same time this is uploaded. I hope they will work well. Even if they do, there will be a great deal more to update. Please bear with me as I continue to learn to work with the openElement web site development package.
As Nannette gradually required more and more care, I barely noticed that we were getting less custom work. I was almost grateful for a lesser workload which I assumed was due to economic uncertainty. However, after Nannette’s passing, I have discovered that our Custom Design Quote Request Form was not working. So presumably, a number of people submitted quote requests and were disappointed to not receive replies. I’ve created a new form, but I have no idea whether it will work or not. I will put it up on the site and test it. If anyone uses it and doesn’t receive a reply within a couple of days, for heaven’s sake email me.
I won’t be updating Yacht Design School lesson pricing with this web site upload. However, we definitely have to raise prices soon. We haven’t increased lesson pricing since 2015, and even when we do increase prices they won’t really have kept up with inflation. Now is a good time to acquire more lessons and save a bit.
In addition to the “CAD Course Certificate” and the professional degree in “Naval Architecture with a Specialty in Yacht and Small Craft Design” we will be adding a “Yacht Draftsman Associate Degree” for those who want a qualification oriented around getting them an entry level job with a design firm rather than a position as a fully trained yacht and small craft Naval Architect.
Again I would remind our readers that press of business makes it hard to update this site regularly. I will try hard to update it every month this year, but helping clients and students just has to take precedence.
I should have updated this before now, but I have been moving my personal office back to our main office/house. Our telephone number is still 207-249-5313. This is a smart phone which I keep with me all the time, and you should always be able to contact me. If you are visiting or sending us something, our office is at 35 Clark Street, Eastport, Maine 04631.
I must mention the support and companionship which I have received from my son-in-law Roberto Campos who is doing much to restore this 1780s Cape Cod house.
I have some major updates nearly ready for the web site. I will be trying to make them active at the same time this is uploaded. I hope they will work well. Even if they do, there will be a great deal more to update. Please bear with me as I continue to learn to work with the openElement web site development package.
As Nannette gradually required more and more care, I barely noticed that we were getting less custom work. I was almost grateful for a lesser workload which I assumed was due to economic uncertainty. However, after Nannette’s passing, I have discovered that our Custom Design Quote Request Form was not working. So presumably, a number of people submitted quote requests and were disappointed to not receive replies. I’ve created a new form, but I have no idea whether it will work or not. I will put it up on the site and test it. If anyone uses it and doesn’t receive a reply within a couple of days, for heaven’s sake email me.
I won’t be updating Yacht Design School lesson pricing with this web site upload. However, we definitely have to raise prices soon. We haven’t increased lesson pricing since 2015, and even when we do increase prices they won’t really have kept up with inflation. Now is a good time to acquire more lessons and save a bit.
In addition to the “CAD Course Certificate” and the professional degree in “Naval Architecture with a Specialty in Yacht and Small Craft Design” we will be adding a “Yacht Draftsman Associate Degree” for those who want a qualification oriented around getting them an entry level job with a design firm rather than a position as a fully trained yacht and small craft Naval Architect.
Again I would remind our readers that press of business makes it hard to update this site regularly. I will try hard to update it every month this year, but helping clients and students just has to take precedence.
