Here is the keel of ROYAL outside being cleaned up by Megan and Joe Lowell and Bob Turcotte at Downeast Custom Boat Co. in Yarmouth.
At Samoset Boat Works in Boothbay they are finishing off this Mussel Ridge 28 as a Gentleman’s lobster boat.
Brooklin Boat Yard, Brooklin
When you walk through the door in the main shop you will find the stations set up for the new Eggemoggin 47. She will be 18-inches wider, 4-inches more freeboard, a longer cockpit and a shorter house. Her owner is a very experienced racer from Newport, RI and knows exactly what he was looking for. He sails 12 metre racers in Newport, but this is going to be a family racer. They added beam and a deeper keel, which added more stability. With all the stations up they are getting ready to put down the layers for her cold moulded hull. She is scheduled to be launched early this spring.
Next to her is a Wianno, Sr. from Cape Cod, which was T-boned by the owner’s nephew and suffered damage to her starboard side at the cockpit. They have made repairs to her sheerstrake, deck and toerail. This project will be done early in November.
The 91-foot cutter SONNY, the flagship for North Sails, has been in for several months. She has all new paint and varnish and they are now completing the new hydraulic refit so she can fly big kites when racing. In the middle of November she will be launched and taken to Front Street Shipyard in Belfast to have her new mast, currently on its way from Holland, stepped just after Thanksgiving. She will then head south to compete in the big super yacht buckets at St. Bart’s and Antigua. Then she will head to the Mediterranean to race there.
Up in the “Toy Box” they are working on a S & S motorsailer, which is being replanked. When SONNY leaves the main shop she will come down and be finished there.
In the Odd Fellows Hall at the head of the road they are finishing a Riva Aquaroma kind of replica for Michael Peters’ design office.
Besides the new builds there is plenty of repair work to do. A little cruiser they built in the 1980s will be in to be repower. The Botin 55, OUTLIER, is back and they will be getting her ready for the Newport-Bermuda Race.
Ellis Boat, Manset
The Ellis 36, which was being built for their charter fleet last year, was purchased by a customer before it was finished. So, they have another 36 under construction this winter for the charter fleet, unless a customer wants her. She will be laid up with a foam core, typical resins and a white gel-coat exterior so a potential owner that wants a different color can Awlgrip her. For accommodations she has a V-berth, head with full shower and galley. The last two they altered the galley so they could fit in a two seat bar with a touch-screen that can hook up to the Garmin electronics, which owners really liked. Shane Ellis, who is running Ellis Boat, said, “There is plenty of head room. We took out the plugs. We had plugs in our moulds for years and in the last three I took out the plugs. It now has 6-foot 6-inch head room through the whole boat including down in the cabin, nice and spacious. I think my dad didn’t like the trunk cabin looking quite so tall, but when you get somebody that gets on the boat that is 6-4 they appreciate the extra headroom and who knows who is going to end up owning the boat.”
These boats are all powered with a 440-hp Yanmar diesels, which makes it easy to stock up on engine parts so if something does go wrong you could be back up and running quickly. Shane added, “I think, maybe I will do the Cummins 8.3 or something in that liter range, but I keep going back to the fact that the 440 Yanmar is quiet, it’s a clean engine, it’s efficient, it fits nice and snug down in there with a lot of space around it. The max speed is 23 to 24 knots but you could cruise around in the high teens all day long. We have kind of reached our semi-displacement hull speed. It is at a point where you are trying to push so much water, you could put another 150 hp in and maybe gain 4 knots, but for how much fuel?”
Besides the new build they have several restorations to do, owners, new and old, just wanting to upgrade their boat. Some projects could not be completed last year so they are up first. Shane said, “One thing we did last year that was really cool was we extended the 24. We have an extension mould, which I know doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but it allows for a conversion from the stern drive to an outboard. It ends up being a bolt-on, but it is really nice and snug. I made it so it was a sort of a multi-step thing so it is easy to get out of the water, off a dock and you can fit one or two outboards on it. We put a single 250 on a cute little lobster yacht and it came out really nice. We were going to Armstrong over and over again to sort of get the outboards back there and extend the boat but it didn’t really extend our hull and it didn’t give it the extra buoyancy. Now I am thinking, let’s just take the 24 mould and make some new ones with the extension built right into it.”
This is the answer for many who find they want a small house to get out of the inclement weather when it happens. They are still trailerable, but the problem is they take a lot of hours to finish, so they are not cheap. When asked if this could be done on the 28, Shane said the hull shape is different and would not be as good with outboards. Don Ellis sold his Ellis 36 and he is thinking he wants one of these 26s.
Downeast Custom Boats, Yarmouth
There was a slight delay in getting the keel for ROYAL (1984, 36-foot Royal Lowell design and built), when it was discovered that the wood they planned to use would not work. Joe Lowell headed to New England Naval Timber in Connecticut and found what he needed. He said, “I was able to get everything outside of the heart, very few knots. The quality of the wood was really good. So, I came back and removed the keel and now I am making my patterns. After the patterns, I’ll start cutting out my timbers for the keel and putting it back together and bolting her up. Once I get it all bolted together, I will do the rabbet line, my rib notches and what not and then we will put it in place.”
With hunting season, most, if not all of the crew, will be heading out into the woods, however, they still feel that the keel will be in place just after Thanksgiving. Joe then hoped to have her re-framed by Christmas.
Johns Bay Boat Co., South Bristol
On the morning of 16 October with heavy rain showers John’s Bay Boat Co. launched their newest creation, the 46-foot split wheelhouse lobster boat TWILIGHT II, for her owner of Friendship, who was also the owner of the first TWILIGHT. She is cedar over oak with a 7-inch keel. She is powered with an 800-hp C-18 Caterpillar diesel, with a 2.6 kW Northern Lights generator. Below the platform she has a tank for about 3,000 pounds of lobster, two tanks, which hold 550 gallons of fuel and a rope locker.
Even before TWILIGHT II was out the door, they had begun lofting a new 47-footer, but with just a 14-foot beam. John William owns the KHRISTY MICHELLE, which is a 44-footer with less beam and burns substantially less fuel. This boat is for his nephew, but he opted to go a little longer due to the size of his traps. Peter Kass, owner of John’s Bay Boat Co., explained, “When he first came, he said he just as soon get a boat like Uncle John’s. Then he said, ‘I got to thinking about the way I stack traps, and if we made her a little longer I’d be okay with it.’ Then he gave it some more thought and he said I think really 47-feet. Because he has 54-inch traps he needs a little bit more room per tier so she’s stretched all the way to 47-feet. Like John’s boat, 44 x 14-feet with a 9 liter Cummins, he steams 16½ knots and he can go 20 if he wants to. He’s got a good cruise and burns less than half the fuel that the 44 x 16-footers with 800 to 1,000 hp engines. This is also a $50,000 engine instead of one costing $130-140,000.”
Pete said they could not use the old moulds, because they were slightly damaged and opted to build new ones. The transom is framed and Pete was cutting the rabbet line into the stem, which he figured would be done the following day.
This boat will be done the end of next summer and then they will start on a large pleasure boat, which they are now working out the details for. This will be followed by a 34-foot pleasure boat.
There is also a lot of repair work that is on the schedule. The first TWIILIGHT will be in to have her platform replaced. With the platform out, they will change her exhaust from dry to wet and add water tanks. Her new owner will not fish her, but does not want to completely change her into a yacht, just make her more comfortable for cruising.
They also have two repowers. One on a 41-footer that they built for a customer from Massachusetts. She is powered with a 3306 Caterpillar and that will be replaced with a Scania. A 42-footer from York will be coming in to have her Lugger with over 20,000 hours replaced.
There will also be several others coming in for their usual annual maintenance and cosmetic work.
Mainely Boats, Cushing
Getting near completion is a Calvin Beal 34, which is being finished off as a sportfisherman for a customer from Massachusetts. For accommodations she has a V-berth, head to port, and a hydraulic and electrical room. Up in the shelter is a simple galley with refrigerator and sink and a bench seat. In the centre of the cockpit she has a big tuna tank and live well. She is powered with a 500-hp Cummins. She should be done the end of November, but with the windows not arriving until January, she will be shrink-wrapped and put outside.
Next to her is a Calvin Beal 44, which is being finished off as a lobster boat for a fisherman from Vinalhaven. They are just finishing up the last of the glass work and fairing as she will be Awlgripped inside and out. Under the platform she has four live-well tanks, 600 gallons of fuel and a generator. For accommodations there are four berths, galley to starboard, an electrical/hydraulic room and a large compartment near the companionway for a toolbox. She is powered with an 800-hp MAN. She will also be fitted with a rubber deck, tailgate, trap rack, and big light stand.
Next, they have an Osmond 42, which has been stretched to 46 feet, widened to 17 feet and had 6-inches added to the sheer. She is being finished off as an offshore lobster boat powered with an 800-hp Scania. The engine is in-place as well as the bunks, but they will really begin work on her when the other two are done.
After this they have a Wesmac 38 coming in to be finished off as a spartan charter sportfisherman for a customer from New York. This will be followed by a Northern Bay 38, powered with a 1,200-hp MAN going to Massachusetts as a well-appointed sportfisherman. Lastly, they have a Calvin Beal 34 coming to be finished off as a sportfisherman for a customer from Massachusetts. This will keep them busy right through 2022.
S. W. Boatworks, Lamoine
They have just finished laying up a Calvin Beal 36 hull and top for Calvin S. Beal, which will be shipped to his shop on Beals Island to be finished off as a lobster boat. Another Calvin Beal 36 is heading Downeast to be finished off by her owner as a lobster boat. Now being laid up is a Calvin Beal 38 hull and top, which will be heading Downeast to Feeney’s Boat Shop in Cutler to be finished off as a lobster boat for a Mount Desert Island fisherman. Next, they have a couple of Calvin Beal 42s and a Calvin Beal 44 to lay up.
In the finish shop they have a Calvin Beal 36, being finished off as a walkaround sportfishing powered with a 750-hp Scania. She is about a third of the way done and presently they are working on putting the cabin sides up and making sure it is right. Stewart Workman added, “This is the first one and it is challenging. Things have to be symmetrical, it’s got to look good. It’s got a big engine and the hull is taller. It’s going to be pretty comfortable. I had drawings done because I have no room for any variants because everything just barely fits. I would not want to do a walkaround on anything smaller than 36, because you would not be able to use the forecastle.”
Down below she has a V-berth, head with a stand-up shower and a third bunk down the side. Stewart said, “The V-berth is a little challenging. The only challenge is where that deck steps down because that is right where your V-berths are. You may have to sleep with your feet forward to make it a little bit more comfortable. On paper it looks like it’s going to work.”
Another Calvin Beal 36 is in bay #2 and that is going to finished off as a sportfishing boat.
Across the street in the bigger finish bays they have two Calvin Beal 42 sportfish yachts underway. These will take a lot of time to complete.
Just launched was a Calvin Beal 48 split wheelhouse lobster boat for Harold Poole. Down below she has a V-berth and a couple of work benches. Up in the wheelhouse she is finished off with oiled teak. Under the platform she has three fish holds, sprinkler system, 600-gallon fuel tank and a genset. She is powered with a 1,000-hp C-18 Caterpillar diesel and reached a top speed of 24 knots even though she was under wheeled. Since she will get heavier, as all boats do, they decided not to change the propeller.
