Tag Archives: Wesmac Custom Boats

Engine shortage slows pace of boatbuilding

Seated behind the desk in his office, boatbuilder Stewart Workman seemed pretty relaxed for a businessman with a big problem that seems to be growing worse.,, Over the past couple of years, as more of the lobster fishery has moved into deeper waters far from land, Workman’s customers have been looking at the biggest boats he can build, but he is finding it difficult to satisfy their needs. The reason is simple. “There are no engines available that are big enough to safely operate our (biggest) boats offshore,” Workman said recently. Fishermen are the customers who are feeling the pinch. The new emission rule exempts non-commercial vessels. >click to read<19:48

Backstabber hopes to make waves on tournament fishing circuit

Boatbuilder Steve Wessel seemed relaxed last week, at least by his usual high-energy standard, as he showed Backstabber, the latest creation from Wesmac Custom Boats, to a pair of enthralled sportsmen. He had a lot to be relaxed about.,,,Backstabber is a big boat, 54 feet long overall with a beam of 17 feet 6 inches and a 6-foot draft. With a cored superstructure, and solid fiberglass hull, her design displacement is 54,000 pounds. A boat that heavy needs plenty of power if it’s going to go after big fish and Backstabber has it. >click to read<11:55

Market Price is a whopper

There may still be some small fishing boats being built along the Maine coast, but they seem to be few and far between. WESMAC Custom Boats’ latest surely isn’t among them.,,, Built for commercial scallop fishing, lobstering and gillnetting, Market Price will be homeported in Point Pleasant, N.J., and fish off the mid-Atlantic coast up to 100 miles offshore. With that service in mind, the Pot Luck Lobster Co. chose a big, rugged hull, built in this case to meet American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) construction standards, for its newest vessel. click here to read the story 08:07

The History of the Downeasters at Wesmac Custom Boats

Downeasters, aka lobsterboats, are renowned for their seakeeping ability and classic, thrifty, Yankee good looks. Bred in Maine a century ago, they serve as cruisers, sport-fishers and workboats of all types around the world. Like any good idea, though, lobsterboats haven’t remained static. They have evolved into subsets of successful local hull forms as developments in propulsion and the needs of boaters have changed. Right now, we are on the cusp of a new evolution of Downeasters. Just what is the history of the Downeaster? What characteristics have made it so enduring? And how has it changed? To find out, we headed to Wesmac Custom Boats, a premier Downeast boatbuilder in Surry, Maine, that is creating a new “hybrid” design that takes what might be the most venerable and recognized boat type in the world to the next level. Read the rest of the story here 13:28