This is the pilot boat for Eastport, which was having one of her gears removed at Deep Cove Marine in Eastport.
This is a Wayne Beal 43, which will be finished at Wayne Beal’s Boat Shop in Jonesport for a fisherman from Vinalhaven. Jeremy Beal hopes to have her done and in the water this November.
Bath Iron Works, Bath, ME
Julie Berry Joins General Dynamics Bath Iron Works as Vice President and Chief Information Officer
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works announced that Julie Berry is joining the organization as Vice President, Chief Information Officer. In that role, Berry is responsible for the Bath Iron Works Information Technology (IT) organization, cybersecurity and associated vendors and will be a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Berry worked for Steward Healthcare System LLC from 2011‒2021 serving as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer. Steward owns 33 community hospitals in nine states and has 30,000 employees. She worked at Maine’s largest hospital system, MaineHealth, from 2021‒2022. She then returned to Steward Healthcare in her most recent role as Senior Vice President where she oversaw Data Management and Predictive Analytics.
“Julie’s focus on strengthening IT teams and capabilities to enable business optimization will modernize Bath Iron Works’ IT infrastructure and processes to meet the demands of on-time delivery of our Navy ships,” said President Chuck Krugh.
Berry has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Suffolk University in Boston. She has served on several boards and advisory committees; as chair of the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium, she led efforts to advance data standardization and interoperability.
“I am beyond excited to be joining BIW,” stated Berry. “My family has a long lineage serving in various branches of the Armed Forces. I am honored for the opportunity to contribute to this valuable work that helps defend our nation by joining the BIW team and advancing information technology that will improve the infrastructure and processes in support of building ships for the US Navy.”
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Maine’s largest manufacturer, is responsible for new construction, maintenance and modernization of surface combatants for the U.S. Navy. General Dynamics is a global aerospace and defense company that offers a broad portfolio of products and services in business aviation; ship construction and repair; land combat vehicles, weapons systems and munitions; and technology products and services. More information about General Dynamics Bath Iron Works can be found at www.gdbiw.com.
Holland Boat Shop, Belfast, ME
There are two boats in the main shop. The first is a Holland 32, which is being finished out as a day boat for a customer from Southern Maine. Her only accommodation will be a V-berth. Gavin Holland added, “Basically, we’re putting the major pieces together right now. The top is on and we’re working on the side panels, shelter top and getting that ready to put on. She is basically in the assembly stage right now. Hoping to have that ready for the spring.
The other boat in the main shop is a Holland 38, being finished out as a well-appointed pleasure cruiser for a customer from California. Her engine is in placed as well as the running gear and her top should go on shortly.
As for 14s they have six or seven on order and they say as soon as they get a few done, another few are on order to be built. Four of those on order are for Crocker’s Boat Yard in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. As soon as two are delivered they order another two. Must of the ones on order are with center consoles, with the exception of one steered by the tiller on the outboard.
The Holland 20 is still outside and just needs to be brought in and faired so they can take a mould off of it. Gavin said that it will not take much more fairing to have her ready, thinking that a month or so would do it. They have several of these on order even though the only thing they can show a customer is the plug.
What is next? They have two 38s on order, both kit boats. Another 38 is on order and this one is probably a finish boat. As for 32s there are none on the books, but there is talk.
Newcastle Marine, Newcastle, ME
For those that run past Newcastle-Damariscotta on Route 1 you might have noted the changes at Newcastle Marine in Newcastle. There are a number of temporary buildings covered with shrink wrap and several wooden boats out in the yard. If the door is open on the main shop, you might have seen the Concordia 39, which is getting totally rebuilt for a New Hampshire customer. Rob Blood, owner of Newcastle Marine, explained, “Over the last five or six years we reframed her, put a new keel timber in her and we are finally getting around to planking her. We have got the ballast ready to go on, but we are waiting on the keel bolts to come in. Hopefully, another year or two we will have the hull done.”
This boat was originally started in Arkansas, where the owner was living at the time. Rob was flown out there, where he added all new floors, frames, and keel. She was then stiff enough to be moved. They loaded her onto a truck with her keel flush to the trailer’s deck and moved her to Maine.
In one of the temporary sheds is a 1959 Hodgdon 29 power cruiser, which is having repairs made to her keel and forefoot for a customer from South Portland. They had already all new floor timbers and repaired the frames as needed. Rob said, “We are actually putting the skeg back together right now. We have the horn timber out of her as the whole shaft log needed to be replaced. There is the new horn timber and half the shaft log, which just got bolted onto the keel. This half of the shaft log will get drifted on to the top of the other one. Then we are going to the forward end. We are going to open up some of the planking there and see…I think this is mostly just dried out, but I suspect it needs to be re-bolted and rebedded. Then a new rudder and hardware and I will probably reach out to R. E. Thomas for that. For her age, she is really fair and most of the planking is in great shape. She’s just dried out, that is all. She will be a fun boat when she is done.”
In the next shed they had four boats in there waiting for repairs. They have a Penn Yann runabout in there and she is getting some minor repair work done. Behind her is a Norse boat and next to her is a Thistle. The Thistle was restored by Rob five or six years ago and given new spars. She gets varnish every year and paint every other year. This boat has a cold moulded hull, glued together with resorcinol, which was baked to cure when originally built in Michigan in the fifties. She has an issue with her centreboard and this will be dealt with. Rob added, “The mast was actually really fun to build. It is the same shape on the inside as it is on the outside. There is no actual track, it is part of the mast where the boltrope slides up. I had to shape the whole inside to exactly the same profile as the outside. The original one was delaminated so I was able to split it apart perfectly and look at how they did it. They made theirs 3/16ths of an inch wall thickness and I could not stomach it. I made it 5/16ths. If you get in the middle of it, it weighs nothing, it is lighter than an aluminum mast would be.”
As to the Chris Craft, they will be replacing her engine hatch this winter. This year her owner only covered the cockpit and you can see how the weather affected the varnish and deck. They are hoping the owner opts to do more varnish as it would help keeping her in good condition.
In the next shed is the Sparkman & Stephens designed 44-foot BLUE HERON, built in 1934. She is kind of up in the air as to what her owner wants to do this year. He purchased a Concordia and is putting his money into her. The hull is close to being finished and they have a lot of pieces already made but have not yet been put into her. The owner has an estimate but has not yet decided what he wants to do.
Out in the yard is a 1953 Sparkman & Stephens designed 52-foot yawl built by Abeking & Rassmussen in Germany. She is owned by Rob but would love someone to step forward and totally rebuild her. He explained, “She needs everything and that is going to be a big project. There is a lot of good still. I mean a lot of the frames aren’t that bad. The keel timber needs to go, the horn timber probably needs to go, the stem might be okay, pretty much all the planking is going to have to come off to do the work. Some of the planking maybe could be saved, but I don’t think it would be worth it. Then we have to build a new rig. Both masts are cut into small sections, but we have all the hardware on them still. You are better off to just do what we are doing to the Concordia. I know that I am likely not ever to have the time or the money to do it. We could make her into a hell of a boat but meanwhile we are going to put a cover on it and wait.”
Like any yard there is always some maintenance or upgrades that needs to be done on the facility. Rob said that they are putting $30,000 into groundwork, drainage. He said, “We are trying to keep our feet dry this winter. There will be drainage on both ends of the storage building draining into the drainage ditch. Then we are putting a gravel pad in where it is all mud right now and putting more big boats over there in sheds. We have to go from three sheds to seven and by putting them in sheds it allows us to work on them in the winter.”
They are working on solar too. There are grants and low interest loans available and with a roof nicely facing the sun it makes sense.
Wayne Beals Boat Shop, Jonesport, ME
In the back of the shop, they have a 42 Wayne Beal hull being finished out as a lobster boat for a fisherman from Vinalhaven. Her engine, a 730-hp MAN, is in and the floor framing for the platform is done. They have installed the piping for the steering and now they will put down the platform. They hope to have this boat completed and launched by the end of November.
Last April they launched a hard chine Wayne Beal 36, which was finished off as a sportfisherman for a customer from Martha’s Vineyard. She developed a severe engine issue and was brought back to her builder to remedy this problem, which meant replacing a piston and liner. This is being done by Toppin’s Diesel in Columbia Falls. While she was sitting in the shop Jeremy Beal decided to give her a little paint and buff the topsides.
Shawn Alley’s LITTLE GIRL has been sitting in the shop the last three years waiting for her engine. They could not find head studs and it was going to cost a lot of money and months to get so Shawn is said to be switching to a 565 cubic inch Chevy motor. Other than the engine all that needs to be done is swell her back up as she has dried out.
Next up is a Wayne Beal 46 for a fisherman from Vinalhaven followed by another 46 for a fisherman from Spruce Head. The first one will go out as a kit and the second will likely be finished before leaving the shop.
