The restoration of Aphrodite

I don't often write about motor yachts but Aphrodite is a bit special.

Aphrodite is a 74' Long Island motor commuter yacht originally built in 1937 to ferry the industrialist, Jock Whitney from his home in Manhasset to Wall Street.  Beats the bloody train any day.

In addition to shuttling Whitney to New York, she was host to many of the gliteratti of the day, including Lawrence Olivier, Spencer Tracy - even a birthday party for Shirley Temple. During WW2 she was loaned out the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

In the 1960s she was donated to charity and was then passed from owner to owner and despite best efforts by her owners she fell into a state of dilapidation, almost beyond repair.  Fortunately, in 2003 she was handed over to Brooklin Boatyard who took the incredible task of restoring her to her past glory.

It was more of a reconstruction and her current owner thinks of her as a replica rather than a restoration. The process took 45,000 hours, painstakingly , taking her part, digitally cataloging every element of the boat, re-making every piece, including re-building her original white oak frames and replanking her in copper-riveted Philippines mahogany.

The only original pieces are some of the brass fittings like the window winders.

She was re-launched  in 2005 and is now kept by her new owner in Long island Sound.

Read on below for a more detailed and see some superb pictures of the reconstruction process. A joy for any boat nerd like me .

APHRODITE was built by the Purdy Boat Company and launched in May of 1937 for Wall Street financier and later Ambassador to the Court of St. James, John Hay (Jock) Whitney of Manhasset, Long Island.

Best described as a "Commuter Yacht", this elegant and sleek 74-footer would each morning whisk Mr. Whitney from his large two-story boat house westward down Long Island Sound and thru the East River to his Wall Street office. During the 45 minute commute Mr. Whitney would go up to the forward cockpit and read the Herald Tribune to catch up on the day's news.

APHRODITE'S guest list over the years reads like a "Who's Who" in the worlds of government, business and entertainment with such luminaries as Fred Astaire, Sir Laurence Olivier, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Henry Ford II, FDR advisor Harry Hopkins and Nelson Rockefeller aboard for summer day cruises down Long Island Sound. APHRODITE also once served as the site for a birthday party for Shirley Temple.

The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Whitney offered APHRODITE to the government for war service and she was commissioned in April 1942 as a Coast Guard auxiliary vessel (CGR-557). The boat spent most of its war-time career ferrying dignitaries up and down the Atlantic coast and transporting President Roosevelt to and from his home at Hyde Park on the Hudson River.

In the early 1960's Mr. Whitney no longer needed a boat of APHRODITE'S size and so donated the boat to Anthony Drexel Duke and Boy's Harbor, a summer program for disadvantaged inner-city youth which operated on Mr. Duke's estate at East Hampton, Long Island.

In the late 1960's or early 1970's APHRODITE was renamed MOONFIRE and under this name she went through a series of owners under which her condition quickly deteriorated to the point where she was parked ashore with weeds sprouting around her neglected hull.

Around 1977 Mr. John Pannell started a marine repair business (Harbor View Marine) on the site of the old Purdy Boat Company where APHRODITE was originally built. In 1983 Mr. Pannell was approached by a gentleman from New Jersey who told him he had just bought an old boat, would he be interested in a restoration project and added "she's got MOONFIRE on the transom but I think she's APHRODITE"!!!! The boat was launched and towed back to her original birth place where she was then hauled and restoration work begun.

The unexpected death of the man from New Jersey shortly after work was begun brought the restoration efforts to a temporary halt. Work began again in earnest when John Pannell accepted ownership of APHRODITE from the heirs as payment for work in progress.

After relaunching in 1984, APHRODITE could be seen traveling up and down the East Coast and in attendance at many classic boat events where she garnered many a prize.

In the fall of 2000 John Pannell sold APHRODITE to her present owner, a true classic boat enthusiast. Despite Pannell's loving attention to the boat, the new owner found that he could not stop the clock and retain the boats past glory. In the late fall of 2003 APHRODITE was delivered to Brooklin Boat Yard where a complete restoration of the boat is planned to bring her back to her original appearance and to bring her ship's systems up to today's standards.

APHRODITE'S REBIRTH

The “Aphrodite” was a complete restoration using the original boat as a template from which to create what would become the reborn “Aphrodite”.

The first stage of this project was to extensively catalog all aspects of the boat for later reference. Once this historical documentation was completed, forms were placed into the boat to retain her hull shape. Next the job of disassembly began in earnest with the removal of the deck, superstructure, bulkheads, all interior accommodations and ship’s systems leaving only the hull in place.

Reconstruction began with the replacement of the original backbone, stem, floors and the reframing of the intricate curves of “Aphrodite’s” signature torpedo stern. Next on the list was the removal of the original hull planking and the fastening of temporary ribbands to the original frames. After all planking was removed, new white oak frames were fabricated and steam bent into position and the original frames were removed.

On September 2, 2004 the final original frame (last wood of the original boat) was removed marking the transition from old to new.

Once the all important structural framing work was completed the hull was then replanked as originally built with double-planked, copper-riveted Philippine Mahogany. With a new hull in place the work of engine and systems installation went forward along with the reconstruction of the interior accommodations spaces, new deck construction and the crafting of Aphrodite's distinctive cabin and superstructure.

On a crisp clear October day in 2005, with a huge crowd made up of Aphrodite's owner's, the crew of Brooklin Boat Yard and families and friends from both sides of the project on hand to wish her well, Aphrodite slipped into the waters of Center Harbor Maine to begin her new life.

Comments

[Bunty]

She is a BEAUTY! It has always been one of my ambitions to renovate a classic wooden motor boat - a Riva type boat perhaps - nothing big like Aphrodite. I just think these classic motor boats look so special on the water. I am not a motor boat person either, but boats like these are special.

[Adam Turinas]

That's a great ambition. My rich Italian uncle had a Riva on the Amalfi Coast. What a magnificent boat. 30 foot long with two enormous engines. All mahogany and varnish.

[will vandorp]

wow! thanks for writing about this.
will

[Captain Kirk Reynolds]

It is great to see such interest in the "Old Black Lady".
As captain and the restoration project manager for the owner, I can truely say she is a most remarkable yacht. Aphrodite has undergone several periods of neglect, a couple of referburishes, 2 restorations and finally a rebuild.
A credit the original builders to have made her strong and used the finest of availible materials of the day.
Thanks to the Purdy brothers and to a man with vision, Jock Whitney, who in 1936 had a dream and desire to go faster than his brother- in-law, and to another man with vision, Chuck Royce who understands the need to preserve history and undertook this salvage project.
Special thanks to all of the Brooklin Boat Yard crew for a spectatular job.
Aphrodite was a complete "rebuild". Though completely dissassembled she was always unmistakeably Aphrodite during the rebuild, with that sumptuous stern and clipper bow.
True, all off her wood was replaced,(she does still carry a few wooden pieces) her hardware was restored and replaced and most of all her soul remained.
Aphrodite lives on.

Captain Kirk Reynolds

[Tony Thorne]

I saw this queen at her berth in Watch Hill today and was blown away by her beauty. My hat is off to the owner of this vessel. If it were not for good folks with their extraordinary passion for these old boats they would have been lost to time and weather... a big understatement I know!! Kudos Chuck !!!

[Jon Ayers]

When she cruises Fisher's Island sound, Aphrodite's sound and presence can be felt and seen miles away. We also know when she is present with all her beauty. She was the bell of the ball at the Wooden boat show at Mystic Seaport and the most special entry in the wooden boat parade down the Mystic River. We are proud that she is part of our community in Southeastern Connecticut and Little Narragansett Bay, RI.

[jon]

i was a deckhand on this boat. the interior is even more amazing than the exterior

[jon]

i was a deckhand on this boat. the interior is even more amazing than the exterior

[jdw3rd]

She's my favorite boat!!! I’ve seen her a few times rounding Watch Hill light with her twin 1000hp Cat’s purring… What a BEAUTY!!!