Maine Boatbuilders Show

[Bill NH]

Its time to start thinking about my annual pilgrimage to the Maine Boatbuilders Show.  Billed as "A gathering of the finest fiberglass and wooden custom boatbuilders on the east coast", they're pretty much right on.   For those who have never been before, I'd highly recommend heading over to Portland for a day - it's a most incredible gathering and exhibition!  This year's dates are March 19-21.  Details at http://www.portlandcompany.com/boatShow/index.html

[AdriftAtSea]

Hey Oldrig? 

You up for going to the show... If you drive, I'll pay for gas and lunch. :)

[Oldrig]

Sure thing, Dan.
I'm always interested in that show. It's the first sign of spring.
--Joe

[AdriftAtSea]

Yes, it is...and it means that the cold white stuff is soon going away... :)

[s/v Faith]

Yes, it is...and it means that the cold white stuff is soon going away... :)

..cold white stuff?


Like ice cream?

[AdriftAtSea]

Yeah, ice cream... evil...good for nothing... *#^%*!# . :D

Yes, it is...and it means that the cold white stuff is soon going away... :)

..cold white stuff?


Like ice cream?

[Bill NH]

Anybody else heading over to the show tomorrow?

[AdriftAtSea]

Joe and I are going up tomorrow AM.

[Jim_ME]

I hope that you all enjoyed the boat show. I didn't see your posts in time or would have made an effort to meet you while you were in my area.

[Oldrig]

Jim,
Too bad we missed you.
This was my eighth or ninth MBBS, and the third that I've attended with Dan.
--Joe

[Jim_ME]

Joe, Sounds like a tradition.

Hope to see you all at another occasion/event/trip.

[Oldrig]

Jim,

It started when I was an editor at the late, lamented "Offshore/Northeast Boating" magazine, when I could get reimbursed for the trip.

Now, I wouldn't miss the trip, even when I have to pay for it out of my own skinny pocket.

It's a chance to see real boats and talk with those who love 'em and build 'em.

Let's see if we can get together next year.

--Joe

[Jim_ME]

Joe, I often read Offshore Magazine (and may still have some issues saved in a box somewhere here). I enjoyed browsing the website for the show (which Bill_NH provided), and eventually followed it to the Brooklin Boatyard website. I had just begun reading "A Unit of Water, A Unit of Time - Joel White's Last Boat" by Douglas Whynott, which is set in that yard. The Opening chapter tells about the launching of two Center harbor 31s, which i was not familiar with, but was able to see at the website.

I do have some conflicted thoughts and feelings about the main boat in the book, Wild Horses, being 76 footer, and many of the current boats also being very large and expensive. In many respects this does seem counter to the small/modest boat ethic, as do some at the show. To some extent, "Yachting" has a history of being a means of the very wealthy to show and even flaunt that exclusivity and class position.

But there are several aspects to the story, and one is of the character of Joel White and of that part of Maine, and the large sailboats are seen by the author as an expression of success. Despite his talent and accomplishment, Joel White, is a modest character and that is certainly admirable, and the story is compelling.

I have just as much--if not more--admiration for a person or couple that restore a classic 25-footer and go cruising and live their dreams, as anyone else.

Look forward to getting together next year, if not sooner.



     

[Oldrig]

Jim,

I look forward to it.

I might get a chance to get Down East this summer to review some boats, if I can line up enough to justify staying overnight.

Otherwise, Dan and I will try to arrange to meet you at the show next March.

--Joe

P.S. Where in Maine do you live? I lived in Skowhegan for four years in the late 1970s--of course that was about as far from the coast as you could be. Still, I'd visit friends on Casco or Penobscot Bays to sail when I could.

[Jim_ME]

Joe, Pardon the delay in replying... I live in Southern Maine, West of Portland. In the early 80's I worked in Skowhegan, and for awhile lived in nearby Anson. In the mid 80's I moved to Way Down East Maine, until the end of 2000 (except for a few years in the mid 90's). I still have a mooring there, and hope to eventually get a boat back in that scenic region, and make trips up there. My older sister and her family lived in Steuben and Sorrento, and that gave me extra reason to get there. However, they have since moved to Ojai California, and so that motivation for traveling Down East is now sadly missing. 

Where will your reviews of the boats (that you mentioned) be published? Is it another boating magazine (similar to Offshore), or maybe an online one?

Perhaps we will be able to meet for lunch when you are passing through? The Kennebunk/Saco/Portland area is not far for me.

Jim

[Oldrig]

Hi Jim:

I've got a review online now at www.madmariner.com, and they'd love to have me write more.

However, the pay is much less than the print magazines used to pay, so I'd want to do it as much for the joy as for the income. Since they won't pay travel expenses, I'd have to set up a bunch of reviews before it would be worth driving Down East.

As for Skowhegan, I left there in 1980, after struggling for four years as editor/publisher of the local weekly newspaper-cum-print shop. The region was already in decline, with the collapse of the shoe mills. Now that Scott Paper has shut down, things must be really grim--although I saw a story in the NYTimes recently that said that most of the East Coast's winter tomatoes come from huge greenhouses in Madison.

The few folks I was close to in the region have mostly passed away or moved on, and I haven't been back to that neck of the woods in many years. But Maine's a great place; folks are generally terrific--unpretentious, tolerant and eager to do a good job. Unfortunately, it's also a tough place to make a living.

Anyway, I'll let you know when or if I'm heading Down East.

Best,

--Joe