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Magic is was designed by Aage Nielsen, and built by Paul Luke E. Boothbay in 1961. She was the sixth and final Neilsen "Gumdrop Yawl" Maynard Bray and Tom Jackson's passage from Neilsen's biography sums up the "Gumdrop" nicely:
"For a designer of one-off custom yachts, one sure sign of a winning design is the number of times its is built, with relatively minor alterations to suit new clients. Measured by this standard, GUMDROP and her five successors constitute the single most successful custom design Nielsen ever did. Measured by longevity, the design proves its strength once again: all six of the boats are still sailing."
Neilsen had experimented a lot with centerboard yawls during his time at Sparkman and Stephens, drawing boats for customers who cruised the shoal draft waters around Cape Cod. The CCCA rule, by not counting bronze centerboards as ballast or fully penalizing mizzen sail area, helped promote this highly practical and seaworthy design. These boats were surprisingly quick for their size, on and off the breeze, and rated (and continue to rate) well. They're well built, easy to sail and have roomy well thought-out interiors.
The "Gumdrops" are from the golden era of cruiser-racers and still perform very well on both counts. Magic has been very well taken care of, as evidenced by a 2017 survey (available on request) and is ready for her next owner. She's currently in the water in Newport, RI and ready for showings.
1903
Classic
Friendship Sloop
1961
Classic
Brownell/Eldredge McInnis
1933
William Hand
motorsailer
1914
Herreshoff
Buzzards Bay 25
1947
Eldredge-Mcinnis
47' Cutter
1970
Pete Culler
Ketch
P.O. Box 203
1 Main St.
Rockport, ME 04856
United States
