The Higgins Family – Wooden Boat Show

The Higgins family, Wes, Betsy, Zack, Tessa, and Finnegan, welcomed me aboard their     schooner “Defiance”. Defiance, a Murray Peterson design, was built by Paul Luke (East Boothbay, Maine) in 1960; Captain Pete Culler was the owner’s representative during the project.

Defiance is a 46’ centerboard coasting schooner built of mahogany over oak. She carries a gaff topsail, draws 7’ 4” with the board down, has a 100 hp diesel auxiliary engine, and sleeps 8 in 3 cabins.

Wes Higgins and his family have owned Defiance since 2005. During that time they have done a beautiful job of restoring much of the topside woodwork amidships aft and will do the same amidships forward in years to come.   The tender, which Wes built himself, is the Iain Oughtred dinghy design “Guillemot”.

During my time onboard, Wes said to me “a few years back I realized that a two hour commute twice a day and a workday full of big city headaches is not what I wanted out of life”. He quit his job as a bond trader, went into the woodworking business, and has been messing about in boats ever since.

by Nate Carey