Bell Laboratories helped build a boat?
Yes, from 1914 to 1917 the Labs helped build the 55' yawl Elsie, a gift from Alexander Graham Bell to his daughter Elsie and son in law Gilbert Grosvenor. Now fully restored and updated, the boat cruises the beautiful waters of Bras d'Or Lakes of Cape Breton,.Nova Scotia. That's near Baddec where the Bells had their favorite home. The boat has a web site since it is available for charter. Wouldn't that be fun? Here's some information from the site:
"After three long years of restoration and eighty years after her launching, "Elsie" still reigns as Queen of the Bras d'Or Lakes.
"Built by Walter Pinaud at Bell Laboratories on Beinn Bhreagh and launched in 1917, the sleek 55' yawl is a striking example of the boat builder's art.
"The world renowned naval architect George Owen of M.I.T. using data collected by Bell, drew the lines especially for the wave and wind patterns typically encountered on the lakes. His interpretations were perfect. Elsie could not be better suited to her environment. Elsie is stiff and stable yet as fast and nimble as most modern cruisers/racers. In fact, Elsie was still winning races at Bras d'Or Yacht Club well into the 1980's. . . . http://www.baddeck.com/ElsieCharters/about.html (link now dead, use Google.com at top of page to search)
Class: C
Rig: yawl
Length: 54' LOA
Tonnage:
Built: Bell Boatyard, Baddeck, 1917
Crew:
Distinctive features: red sails, slim white hull, low varnished deckhouses
Comments: Built by Alexander Graham Bell as gift for son in law, longtime fixture on Bras d'Or Lakes, Cruising Club of America was founded onboard.
Name Origin: Alexander Graham Bell's daughter, Elsie. Sources: Cruising World, March/April, 1975; North American Yacht Registry, 1979
The photograph and information from this table is from this site:
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/tallnotes.html