This is the lobster boat OUTER LIMITS in to be repowered and other upgrades at Mainely Boat in Cushing. They have removed a 600-hp Cummins and replaced it with an 815-hp FPT.
The 47 Downeast Cruiser designed by Will Sturdy and under construction at Brooklin Boat Yard in Brooklin is moving right along. The deck is down and the sides of the cabin are in.
The Young Brothers 45 MISS QUAHOG in at Farrin’s Boat Shop in Walpole to be repowered. They have removed a 700-hp John Deere and will be replaced with a 1,000-hp FPT.
Farrin’s Boat Shop, Walpole, ME
In the front bay they have a 40-foot Young Brothers, which is being finished out as a sportfish/delivery boat for a customer from the Caribbean. She arrived as a bare hull. Since her arrival they have finished off under the platform, put in her accommodations down forward, built a custom house and then began finishing off the main salon. Her accommodations include a queen-sized V-berth, head with shower and galley, which includes refrigerator/freezer and sink. Up in the shelter she has a three-person helm-seat, ice box, and a fish box with four-inches of insulation. Under the platform, besides her fuel tanks, is a 180-gallon water tank. She is powered with 715-hp D11 Volvo. This project is within a month of being finished. Once done, she will undergo her sea trials, probably mid-March.
In the back shop is MISS QUAHOG, a 45 Young Brothers lobster boat, which is being repowered. They have removed a 700-hp John Deere and will replace it with a 1,000-hp FPT. They have the old engine out and are cleaning up the engine room. They felt that this was going to be an easy transition. She was scheduled to be finished and back in the water the end of March.
Coming in next is an Ellis 28, which is receiving new tanks and platform, new windows, and having her hull painted. A T. Jason 25 is coming in to have her shelter repaired. Next will be a Mitchell Cove 35 in to be repowered followed by a Duffy 35, also in to be repowered and then some miscellaneous repair work.
Hewes & Co., Blue Hill, ME
They may not be a boatbuilder, but this company does a lot to support this industry. They do not just sell kit boats to the general public, they work from CAD drawings to produce station moulds or cut the wood or other building material for decks, interiors etc.
Recently they just delivered the hull moulds for a 51-foot powerboat, designed by Sam Chamberlain, under construction at Rockport Marine in Rockport. They also just delivered the hull moulds for an 18-foot launch being built at Brooklin Boat Yard. An interesting project was cutting the teak window frames for the 60-foot Grebe, which Richard Stanley is heading up at Yankee Marine in Yarmouth. These window reframes were a challenge as it has several bevels and then to hold them together they used 1/8-inch brass dowels.
They are also working with Custom Composites in West Bath on a catamaran plug. The question they were dealing with was what is the maximum thickness of foam they can cut with the 5-axis CNC machine.
Other works included sending out a Doug Hylan Beach Pea and looking at a deck job at the Henry Abel Yacht Yard on Mount Desert Island.
The big job they did over the last couple of years was on the 93-foot sailboat OUZEL, which was launched late last summer. They cut the hull’s station moulds, followed by the stations for the deck mould, then the overhead panels with v-grooves, and the wood for the deck. The deck mould was scarfed 18 mill plywood, foam, solid wood blocking and then another layer of 15 mill plywood on top. Carbon fibre was also used and that was all vacuum-bagged together. They also built the supports so that when they lifted the deck it would not fold in on itself.
My question was how much does this save in hours of construction? Gardner Pickering, who heads this department, said that he did not know, but expected that in some cases it would save a lot of man-hours. He said, “For Rockport, this was all generated by them. Not only is this double cut scarved plywood with nibs so they can’t slide past, all of this is scribed, so nobody’s out there with a tape measure guessing where the patches are. It is all right there. Things like this let them build the deck entirely off the hull. Take the cockpit plug for Rockport Marine, this let’s one crew build the cockpit while the other crew works on the boat. I think in addition to saving actual labor, it compresses the build time because now you have got different crews working on the same project.”
When asked how much they are going to do on the 50 underway at Rockport Marine, Gardner said, “I don’t ever know the answer to that question. Nobody draws it until the day they need it. They are not deciding until that day, is this a project worth drawing and machining versus handing it to a good carpenter? A lot of the smaller yards I talk them out of using CNC machining because it is not the cure-all. If it is the right tool, it’s the right tool. But, if it is something that a really good carpenter with a bandsaw is going to make before I can even draw it, then it doesn’t make sense. It is a system that works.”
Once they receive or draw the item in CAD, they can sometimes have the item delivered within the week.
Another interesting project they have done recently was for Brooklin Boat Yard, which is a sand box for the Brooklin Consolidated School. They extracted some lines from one of Doug Hylan’s little rowboats. The interns at Brooklin Boat Yard put it together and when the weather warms up it will go over to the school and then be filled with sand.
What is next, they really never know, but they are always busy, if not with work from a boat yard they are cutting items for one of the houses the company is building. They just finished up 100 custom interior doors for a house under construction in Massachusetts.
Mainely Boat, Cushing, ME
In the main shop they have an Osmond 40 lobster boat, which is getting repowered. They have removed a 600-hp Cummins and are replacing it with an 815-hp FPT. They are also replacing all the hydraulics, new generator, some wiring, replacing the single ram steering with a dual ram system, new boxes, new shaft and refinishing the topsides. This project will be completed and out the door early in March.
Next to her is a Wayne Beal 36, which is bring finished out as a lobster boat for a fisherman from Kennebunkport. This is a simple boat, with only a V-berth down forward, open wheelhouse, a single fuel tank, which will be above the platform, and a 12 volt electrical system.
In the side shop there is a Mitchell Cove 35, which used to fish out of Port Clyde. Several years ago, they switched her over from port to starboard haul and now she is in to be repowered with a 480-hp FTP. Also being done will be all new hydraulics, new shafts, and some cosmetic work.
Then there is some repair work coming in. One needs the side of the wheelhouse repaired, some electrical, new radar stand, new hauling rail, and a rubber deck. A couple of the other repair jobs are just small, which is good as spring is coming and time is running out.
In March and April, they will be heading over to Rockland to do a couple of projects at Journey’s End Marina.
The phone has been ringing, and a couple of calls was to finish off two Coombs Cove 29s.
Samoset Boat Works, Boothbay, ME
There are two 42 Mussel Ridge hulls in each of the work bays. In the far shop they have one that is nearing completion and should be in the water sometime this summer. She is being finished out as a charter boat for a customer from North Kingston, Rhode Island. Down forward she has a V-berth, a single berth to starboard and an enclosed head with separate shower. Up in the main salon there is a full galley and helm on the starboard side, custom dual settees, raised bench seat at the bulkhead for passengers, and a wrap around L-settee. She is powered with a 1,150-hp D-16 Scania diesel. Under the platform there are two fuel tanks, each with about 380 gallons. There is also a 94-gallon water tank and an 8½-foot insulated tuna coffin. Up on deck are two in deck live wells, a transom live-well, electrical outlets on both the port and starboard side for electric reels under the wash rails, a hydraulic bandit reel, a green stick, tuna door, and an outside steering station with hauler and davit.
The forward cabin is in putty and paint and the joinery in the main salon is built and just needs to be fitted and tabbed in. Next, they will work on the L-shaped settee.
The other 42 is being finished out as a pleasure cruiser for a customer from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has similar accommodations, with the exception that the head/shower is all one. This is located on the starboard side just in front of the utility locker. On the portside there is a larger lower berth with a smaller upper berth. She also has a tuna door, on deck live well, tuna coffin, solar panels on the shelter top and a water maker. This boat will be powered with a 900-hp Scania. She will be used mostly for cruising, hopefully all the way to the Bahamas, and do a fishing tournament here and there. This one will not be launched until the summer of 2027.
There is talk about finishing off a twin-screw 54 and several others are talking, but nothing definite as yet.
Strouts Point Wharf Co., South Freeport, ME
One of the big projects this winter is on a 28-foot Crocker V-drive powerboat named DELILAH built in the early 2000s. She is structurally sound, but her finish needed a total upgrade. They stripped this completely down and repainted and revarnished.
One of the regular customer’s Concordia, will be repowered. They are removing a Yanmar and replacing it with a Beta 30. The owner also wanted to increase his solar charging capacity, and he is working with Ocean Planet in Edgecomb, who specializes in solar power. The boat has also been having her regular winches upgraded and will get all new running rigging this year.
They are working on a Herreshoff 12½. The owner remembers sailing one of these with her father and she found that boat for sale and purchased it. It has been restored in Massachusetts but now stores here. They will replace a couple of frames, install a boom tent, upgrade some rigging, add a swivel cleat for the mainsheet, and then paint and varnish.
An Alerion 26 came in to have her rotten balsa core replaced. This is located in the deck around the cleats and chainplates. Because the affected area is pretty flat, they are replacing the balsa with Coosa and then glassing it in place.
The Bruno 35, which had a major refit done to her last winter, returned for more work. Last year they went from the head to the main bulkhead and gutted her and replaced all the countertops. This year they are working on the head.
A Duffy is in for a new coach roof and to have her brightwork redone.
Honda outboard had a very good deal last year and they have done half a dozen repowers over 150-hp. They had introduced new models for 2026 and thus the 2025s were given special pricing.
Coming in next will be a Sabre 42 for brightwork and her regular annual maintenance. She will be followed by an Arundel 28, an inboard/outboard boat built by the Landing School. The owner thinks he would like a hardtop installed.
One type of boat they have seen several of, is the Banks Cove, which they have done several repowers on.
Woodman Boats, Kennebunkport, ME
The 1924 Chris Craft is getting closer to completion. The hull is done and they are now working on the deck and interior.
They did their best trying to save the original hull planks, which they were pretty successful doing. Richard Woodman, owner of the shop, said, “What you see from the sheer to the waterline are 102-year-old original planks. We did a lot of repair work on them, as many of them were split. The keel, chine and stringers are new. The bottom is done. We did it the same, two layers like Chris Craft did, except we did it in epoxy when they just did it in bedding and canvas. It is an inter-diagonal fore and aft mahogany. The new tanks we are fitting those in. They are the same shape as the old original ones, which were either steel or Monel, but these are aluminum.”
As for the framing, they had to replace about 75 percent of it, mostly in the open spaces. Rich explained, “Sometimes we only saved an upper frame, chine to the sheer with chine to keel new.”
The original decking that they were able to save, and they saved a lot, Rich is currently putting down. He said, “I am getting the deck on so that I can get the coamings and covering boards on. The whole deal now is that the coamings have to go on before the raised engine hatch area because it is framed right up around those. I have got some beautiful South American mahogany milled up and ready to go for that part of the project.”
The owner has been working on getting the transmission ready. The engine, a Curtis OX5, is sitting to the side of the boat all ready to go in. Accutech is getting the shaft and propeller together.
All the deck hardware was sent to a place in Gorham/Shapleigh area and replated in nickel. They have returned and look as good as new.
Rich only has until the April to get his portion completed before he needs to switch over and get his 55-foot cruising schooner ELEANOR ready for taking people out this summer. He added, “I really only got another five weeks of time before charter season gets going. I want to be done so the owner can be playing with instrumentation and the dash. I think we will be close. There is not much of an interior. There is a little bit to be done with the engine hatches, little intricate.”
On the second-floor mezzanine they are doing some repairs on an Old Town canoe for the same person who had repairs made on a Morris canoe last year.
What is up for next year? The engine for the 36-foot Elco came back last fall and that needs to be installed. The Chris Craft will come back and be completed. As for the lobster boat MELODY, she is sitting in storage beside the shop just waiting for Rich to have a little time to get back on her. He spent time this winter helping his son set up a machine shop for working on guns, which already has customers.
* * * * *
Last year, the last week of June, Rich was returning to Kennebunkport with ELEANOR when he was struck amidships by a powerboat. What was impressive was the help he received from Dwight Raymond and Performance Marine enabling ELEANOR to be ready for sea in just over a week’s time.
Rich said, “Dwight Raymond, Performance Marine, right here in the Kennebunk River, literally called me while some of my passengers were still getting cleared medically. He said, “What do you need?” I said, “Well, we are cut to the waterline, so I guess we need to come out at your convenience.” I already saw that he had a boat up in his slings and I said, “The next day or whatever.’ He goes, “No, we are getting that boat in, we will haul you tonight.” So, he hauled us that evening. We got the insurance adjuster down there the next day, which was a Friday, and I started pulling the woodwork out of the way that day. Dwight started work on Saturday. He had a guy in there with a grinder, and it was the last week of June and the next week I think it hit 100° on a couple of days. Those guys worked starting at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning. They made sure every day that the next step got done. It was 10 days and we were fairing up the hull, and I was getting some paint on. I finished the wooden rails and some of the life rails in the water.”
The boat that hit them went 18 inches into the deck, slicing through the hull down to a half an inch below the waterline. Rich explained, “The good side was it was right in between bulkheads and the only interior thing I had in there was my cooler that we keep water and refreshments in so it was assessable from the inside. We didn’t have to do a lot of stripping out.”
Another plus was that the damage to the hull did not expand out very far from the impact. Dwight had built the hull back in 1998. She was a fiberglass with a ¾-inch Corecell core, and the deck was built using ¾-inch fir plywood core. Rich thought that the way the boat was constructed it absorbed a lot of the impact and that is why the fiberglass was not fracture far from the impact area. He also said that when the boat hit at an estimated 10 knots the boat did not lurch and throw passengers around. He said it was like a catch’s mitt.”
Rich was able to get several coats of primer, puttied and faired fairly well, before they put a final coat on just before going over after the accident. He thinks he might go back over it again and put down a good two-part Epifanes paint just on that side.
ELEANOR will be ready for cruising right around Memorial Day.
