Frank C. Paine (1890-1952) was a yacht designer and shipbuilder in the Boston area. A Harvard graduate, he designed seaplanes with W. Starling Burgess before forming the yacht design firm Burgess, Swasey & Paine in 1921. Paine continued in yacht design for the rest of his career, late working as Paine, Belknap & Skene and Paine & Belknap. In 1930, he acquired a controlling share in the George F. Lawley Corp. shipyard in Neponset, Massachusetts, and was heavily involved in the shipyard until the end of World War II.

This collection contains a portion of Frank C. Paine’s yacht design archives. These include designs from his firms, Burgess, Swasey & Paine and Paine, Belknap, & Skene, and designs from his collaborators, including A. Loring Swasey, Francis W. Belknap, Charles G. MacGregor, Norman L. Skene, and L. Francis Herreshoff. Material primarily consists of plans, with specifications, building contracts, half models, and photographs available for some vessels. Most designs are for sailing yachts, but there are also plans for steamers, motorboats, rowing boats, and hydroplanes. A majority of this collection is not yet digitized.

Title: Frank C. Paine Collection

Creator[s]: Frank C. Paine

Dates: 1921-1939

Extent: 2,300 plans, 1 linear foot archival material, and 100 photographs

Language: English

Repository: MIT Museum, Hart Nautical Collection

Access: Open for research by appointment. Some material is available online.

Copyright: No known restrictions

Credit: Hart Nautical Collection, MIT Museum

See more detail in the [Finding Aid]