December 2017 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 5. O E P BHM 25 28
SEARSPORT – Over the years some of the builders have been playing musical hull moulds so at times it is diffi cult to fi nd the one you might want. Almost two years ago Travis Otis purchased the moulds for the BHM 25 and 28 and last June he launched a 25 and now he is getting ready to layup and fi nish out a 28 as a lobster boat. How did he fi nd them? Like anything
these days, on the Internet. He explained, “The opportunity presented itself late one night, kind of like a joke and kind of like a joke I responded. and it wasn’t a joke. I was very fortunate the way it worked out rather than having them go somewhere else and sitting out in the fi eld for a couple of more decades. It is almost like a homecoming for me, since my father (Keith) did so many BHM’s, the 25s, 28s, 31s and 36s. So I got the 25 hull mould, two 25 top moulds, the 28 hull mould, and a 28 top mould, and a visor mould.
One of the tops for the 25 is a com-
mercial one, and Travis believes the other is a cruiser top, which is a lot longer, but 10 inches lower. He thinks this one might be for a step down cockpit in a cruiser. He added, “The commercial top on the 28 is fairly long for what it is. It did originate from the 31 after all so why cut off 3 feet of the cabin if
you can actually use that at some point. So it may have actually worked out to the benefi t on the 28 for having that extra room. “The 25 was designed by David Mac-
Graw, who recently passed away,” continued Travis. He had the plug built, made a mould, and she became known as the ‘biggest little boat in the bay.’ I think he went from the 25 either to the 39 or the 36 and the 31 came later. The 31 became the 28 around a table with some beers, some whiskey, and a pair of scissors. When somebody says you can’t do it, that is the mother of innovation, ‘well hold my beer and watch this.” They cut up the drawings of the 31 and with some scotch tape made it 28 out of it. It doesn’t look like it came about that way. It looks like it was actually from the get-go made the traditional way.”
In the spring of 2016, Travis headed to
Cushing to pick up the moulds, which were being stored at Hutchinson Composite. They were laying up the hulls for Steve Law of Seaworthy Boats. “So David MacGraw had them at Flye Point, then he sold everything to Atlantic, who also owned Duff y & Duff y. The Duff y & Duff y had already been selling to a higher market so that is where they were going to double their eff ort. The BHM line still had good interest, but they pushed the
Nautilus Can Fill Your Tanks!
The BHM 25 launched by Otis Enterprises this past May.
Duff y’s and put the BHM moulds out into the fi eld. Steve Law, to the best of my knowl- edge, was the next guy with them. He made a bunch of them, but his market actually went towards something a little bit bigger. So he has been doing a lot of 32 Osmonds, from H & H Marine in Steuben, under the Seaworthy name.” The 25 Travis built last winter was
fi nished out as an outboard lobster boat for a fi sherman over on Vinalhaven. He said, “We did a lot of modifi cations to make it an outboard boat from an inboard boat, but I think it worked out very well. He stepped down from a Mitchell Cove 32 and actually had more usable deck space with the 25 then the 32, because he didn’t have the engine box. Engine boxes take up so much real estate, but if you can use them great, He was also surprised at how dry it was compared to his 32. When we deliver the boat we went right out fi shing with it and he took it over
somebody’s four foot wake and there were just two drops of water on the windscreen and that was it.” Since that boat went over, Travis has
had a couple of people bend his ear for a 25, “But nobody has reached back and grabbed their wallet yet,” said Travis. “So, we are going forward with the 28 and getting that resurrected. We are going to lay up one here pretty soon and go from there.” This 28 will be fi nished off as a lobster
boat, and will also do some racing. Right now Travis is getting the mould ready. He added, “I have got to go inside clean it up a little bit here and there and do a couple of little repairs. It is been awhile, it is a 40-year-old mould essentially. I have seen a lot newer moulds that haven’t had nearly as much time outside and they are just falling apart. If you are going to do something do
Continued on Page 19.
Nautilus Marine in Sullivan has added the ability to fi ll self-contained air tanks for
SCUBA divers and fi refi ghters. They discovered that there is no one from Harrington to Ellsworth with this capability. The compressor was put in in October and already they are doing more than 30 tanks a week. They also off er any itemsrelated to diving such as fi ns, mask, weight belts and tanks and if it is not in stock they can get it.
Bring your boat to New England’s most capable yacht yard for the care she deserves. Repairs, refi ts, storage and dockage available for vessels up to 200 feet and 480 tons.
Belfast,Maine 207-930-3740
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