Marjorie is a McCurdy & Rhodes 56 custom built aluminum cutter with an encapsulated keel, skeg hung rudder, and carbon mast/aluminum boom & rod rigging. She has significant tankage for water, diesel, & propane and has large freezer and refrigerator for extended, self-reliant voyages to high latitudes. With an insulated hull, she is also fitted with a Espar D8 forced air heater, engine waste heat heater for voyaging into inhospitable climates. The 260 gallons of fresh water tankage is augmented with a 30 GPH watermaker.
In keeping with this mission, she is outfitted with gear such as: exposure suits, immersion suits, Spinlock 5D lifejackets, shore ties, oversized anchors, storm sails, flooding control kit. and a full complement of tools, supplies, and spares.
The hull was constructed by Merrick Machine, Inc. in Ohio to meet or exceed ABYC standards and initial fit out and commissioning occurred in Maine. There is no HIN on the hull found. Documentation lists the hull number as 1001.
The vessel is USCG Documented, documentation number: 698187. Documentation number is painted on the hull in the engine room, port side.
General Arrangement Plan
Specifications
| Lightship (Imperial) | ||
| Hull | LOA | 56.5 |
| DWL | 41.3 | |
| LWL | 44.2 | |
| Eff. WL | 47.5 | |
| Beam | 14.8 | |
| Draft (DWL) | 6.5 | |
| Draft (Bootstripe Lower Edge) | 7.2 | |
| Air Draft | 76 | |
| Displacement (Lightship | 44750 | |
| Keel | 17600 | |
| Rig | I | 67.4 |
| J | 22.5 | |
| P | 59.3 | |
| E | 20.1 | |
| LP | 22.8 | |
| SA Upwind (100% Foretriangle) | 1436 | |
| SA Downwind | 2324 | |
| Main | 673 | |
| Jib | 814 | |
| Staysail | 302 | |
| Storm Jib (staysail stay) | 136 | |
| Storm Trysail | 151 | |
| S2 | 1650 | |
| Ratios | D/L | 252 |
| Effective D/L | 203 | |
| SA/D Upwind | 17.2 | |
| SA/D Downwind | 27.8 | |
| Capsize Screening | 1.59 | |
| Tanks | Fuel Tanks (Gallons, 2) | 290 |
| Water Tanks (Gallons, 2) | 260 | |
| Holding Tank | 20 | |
Identifiers | USCG Documentation Number | 698187 |
| Sail Number | (none) | |
| MMSI #: | 368342920 | |
| FCC Call Sign | WDP3169 | |
| Engine | Engine | Perkins M92B |
| Year | 2010 | |
| Serial No. | 30850 | |
| Horsepower | 86 | |
| Propeller | MaxProp 22”Dx16”P RH |
History
The M&R56 hull was fabricated by John Merrick or Merrick Machine, Inc. in Ohio in 1985/86. Originally designed as a ketch, Jim McCurdy modified the rig design as a single mast cutter. After the hull was completed, she was trucked to Maine for outfitting, including the cherry interior in 1987.
| Years | Owner | Name |
| 1986-1987 | John Merrick (hull builder) | Surnage |
| 1987-1991 | Scott Teas | Abbie Haymaker |
| 1991-2021 | John Harries | Morgan’s Cloud |
| 2021-2023 | Hamilton Carter | Aspy Rose |
| 2023- | Whitall Stokes | Marjorie |
Then named Abbie Haymaker, Scott & Mary Beth Teas circumnavigated South America, including beating to windward down the west coast against the Humboldt Current and rounding Cape Horn.
Over 30 years, John & Phyllis Harries sailed her well over 100,000 miles, including four trans-Atlantics and multiple voyages to the northern high latitudes, including Greenland, Baffin Island and Svalbard. Much more detail about their ownership here: https://www.morganscloud.com/voyages-morgans-cloud/
Then known as Morgan’s Cloud, she won her class (doublehanded) twice in the Newport Bermuda race. In 1994 she had the fasted corrected time in the Newport Bermuda fleet, including beating all the fully crewed racing boats.
Hamilton Carter owned Aspy Rose for approximately 2 years; stored on the hard in Cheticamp, N.S. for much of his ownership period.
The author of this manual purchased Aspy Rose on June 23, 2023 in Cheticamp, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. She was renamed Marjorie and imported into the US in September, 2023. Maine Yacht Center conducted a refit during 2024. In 2025 Marjorie ventured to the Bahamas, the Chesapeake, New England & Maine, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.