MON AMI

MON AMI, formerly TIME, is a “pocket cruiser” in the truest sense of the term. A perfect combination of manageable size and considerable capacity, she offers the comforts of a cozy cabin and inboard diesel engine in a traditionally built boat just 23 feet on deck.

Built in 2008 by the Apprenticeshop in Rockland, Maine, MON AMI is a Blue Moon yawl designed by Thomas Gilmer, who also designed Pride of Baltimore, Pride of Baltimore II, and Kalmar Nyckel. The story behind her construction was featured in Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, issue 106 (2009).

Built of cedar planking on steam-bent oak frames, she is 23 feet on deck and approximately 30 feet overall, displacing 7,955 pounds. Her teak decks, bright coachwork, and bronze fittings are of exceptional quality and beauty. In 2012 she was awarded first place for Professionally Built Sailboat at the 21st annual WoodenBoat Show in Mystic, Connecticut.

Her tanbark Dacron sails, made by Gambell and Hunter of Camden, Maine, include a gaff-rigged mainsail, main topsail, staysail, roller-furling jib, and lug-rigged mizzen. The sails, stainless-steel standing rigging, and three-strand Dacron running rigging are reported to be in good working condition. Sail covers are included.

Auxiliary power is provided by a Yanmar 2YM15 14 hp diesel engine with a 10-gallon fuel tank. Her 12-volt electrical system includes two battery banks, with both batteries replaced in 2025, and a ProMariner ProSport charger. Navigation equipment includes a Garmin GPS, VHF radio, depth sounder, and compass.

Below, accommodations include two cushioned berths, a galley sink with a freshwater hand pump, and a single-burner Thunder Range CL-201 butane stove. A Wilcox Crittenden manual head is connected to a six-gallon holding tank, and freshwater capacity is six gallons. Additional equipment includes a CQR anchor with chain and nylon rode, life jackets, fenders, and dock lines.

The Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors article described her as “seaworthy and tough,” tracing the Blue Moon design’s inspiration to the oyster boats of the Falmouth Estuary. These all-weather working boats were known for their handy sailing qualities and ability to drive to windward under shortened sail in a nasty chop.

A former owner described his first voyage aboard TIME in 2012, from Maine to Connecticut:

“Our first destination was Provincetown, MA, with a course set offshore, clear across the Gulf of Maine. Not a voyage I would recommend for most 23′ sailboats, though TIME is not a typical 23′ sailboat. After 37 hours sailing offshore with high winds and large following seas, cold and exhausted we reached Provincetown Harbor at 3:00 AM. During the entire voyage, TIME performed as a stoutly built little ship.”

MON AMI has been extensively sailed along the Maine coast for the past three summers and is currently stored indoors in Sergeantsville, near Brooklin.