Over the years it has been my great good fortune to watch and photograph boat construction projects here in the Boothbay region and beyond. What a terrific learning experience for someone who never stepped into or onto a boat until probably age 20!

My father did have some boating experience, I think perhaps due to his Marine Corps airplane training. I remember an Old Town canoe with sail that was covered by hay in our barn loft. I never used that. My canoeing experience with my father almost ended in disaster on the West branch of the Susquehanna River when I stood up in the bow and tipped us over. Dad got tangled up in some boat gear and dragged under. Fortunately I was able to grab him and the canoe and get to shore. It was pretty fast water in the spring with an upstream dam release. We managed but it wasn’t pretty.

In Maine, I have been far less involved with the actual operation of boats and way more involved in recording them. What an incredible journey. Here is a bit of a share of some of my adventures.

One of my earliest photos was with the Victory Chimes hauled out at Sample’s Shipyard. It seemed like an aircraft carrier to me, or a beached whale. So large and fascinating out of the water. Quite a swarm of crew to perform the much needed repairs. Goudy & Stevens took me on with years of photographing projects there. The O’Hara dragger(s), Seabank longliners, a trio of boats for Snelling Brainard in Connecticut, the Bowdoin repairs, and general maintenance for a variety of vessels. The crew there worked hard in some tough conditions. Reminded me a lot of folks I had worked with growing up. Different tools, similar skills.

Washburn & Doughty was a neighbor of Goudy & Stevens. They built a state ferry, Hustler (a dragger) and even an earlier project at their yard in Woolwich on the Kennebec. Ray Cronk helped me manage photography back then. He was interested in images for trade shows and ads and was quite ambitious. I photographed a bunch of launches of Moran tugs at W&D from Winslow tugs, and spent time with Eliot and David and crew at BIW, too.

Hodgdon Yachts was the icing on the cake, with projects like YOREL, Liberty, Antonisa and Scheherazade. Those were some fancy projects. I remember Mr. Natuzzi coming to visit from Italy to see how things with Antonisa were going, pipe organ and working fireplace, et al. John Doig worked with the yard and the owner. He helped me understand that “Basta!” in Italian was not a curse word, nor directed at me. What a ship! Chip Haggett and Neal Jones were quite a team.

Most recently, documenting the Ernestina-Morrissey project and a Boothbay Harbor One design rebuild at Bristol Marine have kept me busy. Going with a crew from start to finish is a very gratifying and fulfilling experience. I will forever be grateful for all the wonderful people I have met.

Today’s photo is from 2008 for some folks who hired me to photograph their sailing yacht, the name of which I don’t recall. It reminds me of the collection of beauties that will grace our harbor this coming weekend for the “Shipyard Cup.” Maybe I can gather some new experiences when they race. It’s been quite a ride!