Guildive is a 56-foot 1934 motorsailer designed by William Hand Jr. that was built at the Wheeler Shipyard in Brooklyn, New York.
The boat has had an exciting life: It is a veteran of sailing routes from Canada down to the Caribbean and back with several owners, it saw service as a patrol boat during World War II on the Long Island and New Jersey shores, and it was the foundation of a charter tour business in the 1960s that was operated by John Mason of the Virgin Islands.
Kate Kana and Zander Parker purchased Guildive in 2008 and transformed the motorsailer into a charter-tour business.
Kana and Parker initially operated in Maine during the summer season and spent winters in the Chesapeake. They would invite customers to come along as crew, and Kana said the passengers would be asked “to participate as much as they [feel] comfortable, anything from chopping veggies to standing watch in the middle of the night.”
Now the family lives year-round in Castine, Maine.
Kana and Parker live aboard Guildive part of the time and offer chartered tours of Penboscot Bay out of the Searsport harbor in Castine. Charter a tour with Kana and Parker here.
Soundings published a story about Guildive in its September issue, and you can read it here.
