Sailboats - A Classic New York 40, Updated Below Deck

Sailboats - A Classic New York 40, Updated Below Deck

- Dennis Caprio

Marilee is one of six New York 40s still living, sailing and racing. The yachts of this class were the Duesenbergs of the sea, representing a high point in the Golden Age of Sail.Each remaining NY40 is precious. Each deserves all the love and care an owner can give. Marilee’s fate, however, significantly differs from that of her sister ships. Her owners, Marilee NY40 Racing LLC, commissioned Paul Waring of Stephens Waring Yacht Design to recast the interior in the modern idiom of an open layout — without sacrificing the classical ambience.

NY40s appeared on the yachting scene in 1916. These were the last in a series of one-design boats that members of the New York Yacht Club commissioned Nathanael G. Herreshoff and Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. to design and build. Their numbers indicate the half-load waterline length. The NY30s appeared in 1905, NY50s in 1913. Herreshoff built 14 NY40s, 12 of which launched in 1916 and two in 1926. Marilee was one of the latter.