Moose_Island_Design Review

Moose Island Design is a small firm that creates both modern and traditional yachts. Sven Oftedal, Edward Scott and Michael Chudy make up the design team at Moose. Oftedal learned his craft with the help of Tom MacNaughton of MacNaughton Group. Scott studied at the Westlawn School of Yacht Design and Michael Chudy has taught CAD design courses at Yacht Design School in Eastport. The design process at Moose Island involves a sit down with the customer to discuss their new yacht. They present initial drawings to the client and continue to guide them until customizing is complete.

The company offers a portfolio that currently includes the Molly T 23. The Molly T is a 23 foot 7 1/2 inch self-righting coastal cruiser. The fuel range for this vessel is approximately 800 to 1,000 miles. The interior includes a small galley and saloon with double berths. This is a small company with limited projects. The team at Moose also designs marine electrical and electronic systems with component specification, onboard computer networking and electrical power distribution.

One of the more impressive yachts by this firm is the Sea Troll 33. Originally designed for wood construction, the Sea Troll 33 needed to accommodate a double chine hull and wider beam. The design team scraped the wood version and moved to steel in order to compensate for the extra mass of the superstructure. Described as having a large amount of living space in the interior, this boat even includes a small engine room with a sit-down bench.

Pricing

This small company works strictly on custom boats. The pricing is dependant on the specifications of the yacht. Moose Island Design is a new company and does not have a used yacht market at this time.

Pros

• The small nature of this company can work in the client’s favor. They are eager to please.
• High tech CAD design software
• All three designers have good backgrounds and educations.

Cons

• Very small company and very new to the industry. There is nothing in the way of customer reviews or boat tests. There is no history or reputation yet.

Featured Models

Molly T 23, Shibumi 60, Narraguagus 62, Sea Troll in Steel

Conclusion

Without much history to build on, only time will tell what designs will come out of Moose Island. The company is eager to please with a design team that is willing to put together the necessary components for their client’s boats. They use state of the art design software that provides good representations of their concepts. If you want to go with a smaller firm, Moose Island is a company to consider.