Page 14. MAINE COASTAL NEWS January 2016 Boat And Ship Yard News
At Six River Marine in North Yarmouth they are fi nishing the planking on this cruiser.
For the last couple of years Maine boatbuilders have enjoyed good years and this year is shaping up to be the same. The industry fell on extremely hard times when the economy took a turn for the worst in 2008. Some builders, mostly fi nishers, dis- appeared, some probably never to return. We also had a few new builders or repairers to join the ranks. The times are good, but they must be able to cash in on it.
There are several hull builders that have sizable back-logs, some two years out. One of them is SW Boatworks of Lamoine, who has turned to Front Street Shipyard in Belfast
to help lessen the load. They have realized a buyer is not willing to wait two or more years for a boat so they go somewhere else. So instead of losing the customer or customers they decided to let Front Street lay-up some of their hulls. I am surprised others have not opted to go the same route.
Having a lot of boats to build or repair is a good problem, but it certainly has cre- ated another problem and that is the lack of an adequate workforce. This is also not just a problem in Maine, but all over New England and not just in the marine industry. It has been interesting talking with boat-
At Brooklin Boat Yard work is progressing on the 72-footer.
builders and boat yard owners for what they think would help. There is no question the educational system has failed the people. Something needs to change, but the answer I am fi nding may be a little more compli- cated than one would think. The state does not have the answer; they seem to be part of the problem. My feeling is that it is up to the industry to address the issue and fi nd a solution.
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Rumery’s in Biddeford has a good amount of work this winter.
In 2012, they completely went over a Sabre 452, which was going to the Medi- terranean for awhile. Well, she is back and in need of some repairs and maintenance. They will be going through her mechanical systems, standing and running rigging, mast paint, cosmetics, and redo the varnish. A Grand Banks 34 was in last year for some mechanical work and this year they will be adding a bow thruster. A Hinckley Pilot is in for a new fuel
tank.
A Bristol 38.8 is in for varnish and cosmetic work. A Duffy 35 is in for a gen-set, air con- ditioning and cosmetic work.
Over the next 18 months they will be adding another 20 slips under a boating infrastructure grant they received. They will also be adding a bath house, which is similar to the style the use in Europe.
Then they have all their storage boats
to get ready for next year so it is going to be a very busy year.
Casey Yacht Enterprises in Freeport
has just fi nished a complete restoration on a 1975 Contessa 26. This project was started last April and the whole boats has been gone through and made to look like new. First he replaced the wet-core, refi nished the wood- work, put on new hardware, chromed some of the old hardware, new bulkhead, stripped and painted the mast, the bottom was stripped and painted and then the topsides were faired and Awlgripped. They were just putting on the fi nal touches, which included rewiring and adding new instruments. She truly did look a new boat.
In the other bay was a Calvin Beal 22, which had some glass repairs done and Awlgripped. A BHM 28 will be coming in for shaft
log/skeg modifi cations and a lot of custom glass work.
This will be followed by a Mussel Ridge 28 coming in to have her bottom stripped, lots of varnish work, adding a teak wind- shield, remove and repair wet core issues, and then Awlgrip.
In Falmouth at Handy Boat has a full yard of storage customers and a lot of winter work ahead of them. They have also made some changes to the main building giving them more inside storage for boats and masts. They also added another launch, which is a 26-foot Crosby. The other two they use are Crosby 21s.
They are repowering a Columbia sail- From winning races to
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boat. They will be removing her Yanmar and replacing it with a Beta. A Morris yacht is in for storage, but fi rst they will be painting her deck. The fi rst MJM 40Z is in for full service and some minor upgrades. They also have a full winter’s worth of
varnishing.
They have expanded their rigging de- partment and one of their new employees is Jim Marchant, who has been in the business over 20 years. They also have become a distributor for Marlow.
In St. George Clark Island Boat
Works has every bay full, some new builds and some repair work. In one bay is a Wesmac 46, powered with a 1,000-hp Caterpillar, being fi nished out as a lobster boat for a fi sherman from Stonington. She has a split-wheelhouse, with V-berth, galley and enclosed head below. She also has lobster tanks and a rope locker. She is scheduled to be launched in
Continued on Page 18.
Photo Ann-e Blanchard
Photo Ann-e Blanchard
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