Spindrift II was built in 1929-30 by the Elco Works of the Electric Launch Company for Harold R. Medina, then a practicing lawyer in New York City and a professor at Columbia Law school, who later became a United States District Court Judge of the United States Court of Appeals.

Judge Medina owned the boat for more than 31 years. She was subsequently owned by, among others, Richard N. Cook  1968-1973) and Captain William R. Morrow 1974-1980). Between 1968 and 1980 she was known as Phoenix II.

Spindrift II is 46 feet in length with a beam of 11’ 6”. She is a variant of the 42-foot motor yacht built by Elco in the late twenties. At least half of the additional length is in the after deck with smaller amounts added to the aft cabin and to the bow rope locker, making the forward cabin somewhat wider. She is believed to be the only 46-foot twin screw ever built by Elco.

Both the interior and exterior of the boat are substantially unchanged. The principal change was the conversion from gasoline engines to diesel engines. The galley has had some renovation, but the appliances are presently in the same location as the original design.

Spindrift II has been the subject of several spectacular mishaps.  In the 1938 hurricane, she was carried to the twelfth green of the Westhampton Country Club. In 1950, as the result of a failure of a light at the entrance to Nantucket Harbor, she ran onto a submerged jetty and sank. In 1961, while at anchor in Moriches Bay, she was struck by a runabout, lost three feet of her bow, and sank.  During the winter of 1980, while she was in storage, the shed collapsed from the snow load, destroying the after-canopy, and crushing the air horn on the cabintop. The horn was restored by the instrument repair specialist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Spindrift II is truly a well-preserved piece of history. Her owners annually make repairs, renovations, and restoration to maintain her seaworthiness as well as her originality. Spindrift II spends summers in the 1000 Islands on the St Lawrence River.