WoodenBoat Show Debut
Mystic Seaport Museum, June 27–28, 2025 — This year’s 33rd annual WoodenBoat Show in Mystic, Connecticut will be host to a special story—one not just of craftsmanship and history, but of connection, legacy, and rediscovery. Making her public debut in the main basin on a floating dock near the Artisan Boatworks booth (the company responsible for her build in Rockport, Maine) will be Whirlwind II, the 26-foot catboat that bridges maritime tradition and modern innovation.
For Yarrow Thorne, her owner, the driving force behind Whirlwind II is it’s the living embodiment of a family story he’s been piecing together for years. Though he grew up hearing fragments of his family's maritime past, including tales of a majestic J-boat named Whirlwind built by his grandfather, his childhood had little direct connection to sailing. “It was very much folklore,” he says. “It was always in my blood to go to sea and to learn how to sail.”
That seed of curiosity became a passion. Yarrow dove into archives, hunting for information on Whirlwind and his family's place in sailing history. Though many details remained elusive, a photograph of a catboat sailed by his maternal grandfather led him down a new path—one that converged with a name from the past: Gil Smith.
Gil Smith was a legendary Long Island boatbuilder who began crafting boats in 1876. Originally designed to ferry oyster and clam tongers across the bays of New York, his catboats were known for their speed, elegance, and broad beam. By the turn of the century, they’d become prized racing yachts for New York elites. But they were not just workhorses—they were works of art.
Fascinated, Yarrow teamed up with yacht designer Ezra Smith, a friend from his days at the Rhode Island School of Design. Together, they began an ambitious project to bring one of Smith’s masterpieces back to life. They focused on Miriam, a catboat Gil Smith built for himself, named after his wife. With no formal drawings—Smith worked from half-hull models—the duo tracked down the original half-hull at the Suffolk County Historical Society and turned it into a digital model.
Realizing the scope and artistry required, they brought in Maine-based boatbuilder Alec Brainerd of Artisan Boatworks. Alec lofted the design using traditional methods, ensuring that wherever the computer model fell short, the craftsman's eye could guide the way. “In wooden boat building, there is a ton of that,” says Ezra. “It’s part of the magic.”
While much of the boat honors 19th-century techniques, Yarrow and his team embraced modern innovations where they made sense. For instance, Whirlwind II features a carbon fiber mast, fabricated by Moore Brothers Company in Bristol, Rhode Island—run by Oliver and Sam Moore, fellow sailors and friends of Yarrow. This decision, while non-traditional, makes the boat significantly easier to sail, especially with its tabernacle design that allows the mast to be stepped without a crane.
“It’s a mixture of tradition and innovation,” says Oliver Moore. “Gil Smith was using the most advanced technology of his time. In a way, we’re honoring his spirit by doing the same today.”
The sail, too, is being made in the old-fashioned way, without computer modeling—another nod to the boatbuilding artistry of the past.
The project also drew in Tim Fallon, who had previously built and sailed a 28-foot catboat based on a historic design. Fallon understood the unique challenges of staying true to the essence of a vintage boat while integrating modern materials. “They wouldn’t have built it cold-molded 100 years ago,” he notes. “But Gil Smith would have used the best tech of his day—so why shouldn’t we?”
Now, after years of research, planning, and building, Whirlwind II will finally be unveiled to the public on June 27 and 28 at Mystic Seaport Museum. Visitors to the Wooden Boat Show will find her docked proudly near the Artisan Boatworks booth.
At the Mystic Wooden Boat Show, Whirlwind II won’t just be another pretty boat—she’ll be a floating story, a symbol of what happens when legacy meets imagination, and tradition sails forward into the present.