Physical Dimensions
Length Overall: 84 feet
Length on Deck: 57 feet
Length at Waterline: 51 feet
Beam: 17 feet
Draft: 7 feet
Height of Main Mast: 64 feet
Sail Area: 1,867 square feet
Power: 2 John Deere, 4-cylinder,
PowerTech 4.5L engines
About Maryland Dove
Architect
Iver C. Franzen Maritime, LLC, an Annapolis-based firm specializing in historic vessel naval architecture services, has been chosen by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum to design the newest iteration of Maryland Dove.
Principal architect and firm founder Iver Franzen’s 40-year maritime career has included work both as a naval architect and captain. He became a licensed captain in 1980, and now has a 500-ton Master’s License, with endorsements for auxiliary sail and 1600-ton OSVs. After earning his Bachelor of Arts from Union College in 1974, Franzen worked many years as a charter and delivery captain, and many more as a commercial passenger vessel captain, throughout the East Coast and Caribbean.
Franzen has worked in naval architecture since 1987, starting with an intensive five-year apprenticeship with Professor Thomas Gillmer, becoming a member of Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers in 1992. He’s been involved with the design of tall ships such as Pride of Baltimore II, Kalmar Nyckel, and USS Constitution, among others. Franzen opened his own practice in Annapolis in 1996, and continues to work as a sailing, power, tall ship and commercial vessel designer, USCG certification consultant, writer, educator, public speaker, and, when an interesting situation comes along, as a captain.
Maryland Dove is Historic St. Mary’s City’s floating ambassador and one of its most popular exhibits. The ship design is based on the original Dove, a 17th century trading ship that sailed to the Maryland colony with Ark in 1634. Dove was a small ship used in shallow waterways along the coast while the first colony and capital were being established.
Construction began June 1, 2019, and launched in August, 2022. All work was done in full public view, allowing the public to experience every stage of the project.
At Historic St. Mary’s City waterfront, visitors can climb onboard Maryland Dove, chat with the ship’s crew, and learn the hardships and benefits of life aboard a trading vessel. Discover how sailors navigated by the stars, what they ate during a long voyage, and how the concepts of colonization affected the land, people, and culture in the region.
Maryland Dove is owned by the state of Maryland and operated and maintained by the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission.