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Aaron Held Designs

Theatrical - Nautical: Engineering

A graduate of the Tufts University School of Engineering, Aaron applies his love of science and hands-on craft to both his work and hobbies. Aaron prides himself on engaging in all aspects of a project he takes on, from initial conception to planning to final execution. He blends modern tools and traditional techniques to enhance his craft.This website is a showcase of his design and construction projects.

Aaron has just made the jump from employment to self-employment, and started Octopus Yachts, LLC, combining many of his talents into a new venture. Octopus Yachts, LLC provides mobile marine electrical system service to New York City and New Jersey, focusing on yachts from 15-75' Find out more on www.OctopusYachts.com

Before founding Octopus Yachts, Aaron was currently the service manager for Waypoint Marine Group, Inc, a sail and powerboat dealership on the New Jersey shore carrying Hunter Sailboats, Eastern Powerboats and Hunt Yachts. In addition to performing yacht service, he is a NMEA and Raymarine certified marine electrician, specializing in the installation and diagnostic of marine electronics and electrical systems.

Theatre:

Aaron Held was the Master Carpenter for the George St. Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ for the 2006-2007 Season. Their production of "The Value of Names" by Jeffrey Sweet (Directed by James Glossman,Starring: Jack Klugman, Dan Lauria, Liz Larsen, Set Design by Michael Miller, Technical Direction by Sue Barr) is seen in the above photo.

Boat Building:

Aaron continues his design and construction work outside of the theatre into several avocations, including boat building. In the summer of 2001, he launched his second custom designed and built boat, Blue Heron, as seen in the above photo. A 14' center console powerboat, Blue Heron was constructed using the "stitch-n-glue" process that utilizes a plywood core encased in fiberglass. This process creates a fast, durable hull. Prior to building Blue Heron, Aaron and his father built Silent Dolphin, a 9' electric runabout in the 1995-1996 summers.

Automotive Customization:

One of Aaron's vehicles is a modified 1997 Mercury Mountaineer. Purchased his freshman year of college, the truck began as daily transportation that could carry friends, sheets of plywood, and tow Blue Heron. Since it's purchase, Aaron has made upgrading, modifying and maintaining the truck one of his core hobbies. He has photo-documented many of his projects and posted them on this website as well as "Explorer Forum," an internet gathering of Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer enthusiasts. The Mountaineer now sits on 33" tires and is a capable off road machine, yet remains street legal. His work truck is a 2000 Ford Ranger which he is also modifying to achieve over 30mpg on road.

Related Projects:

The above photo shows Aaron (center) with Tufts classmates Patrick Mangan (left) and Bryan Crabtree (right) with the "Four Wheeled Cello." A final group project for professor Paul Lehrman's Electronic Musical Instrument Design, the "Four Wheeled Cello" used four rotary encoders and a Kurzweill variable resistance ribbon control to simulate a cello's four strings. Aaron fabricated the mechanics and electronics.