Category: Feature

SW Boatworks: A full stable of Beals Island designs

By Brian Robbins LAMOINE, ME – The year was 2008. The economy was soft. Lobster prices were down. It seemed that the last thing anybody was thinking about was having a new boat built. So what did Stewart Workman, owner of SW Boatworks (who up to that point had been a custom finisher of other …

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A visit with Osmond Beal: Corned Hake & ginger cake

by Brian Robbins  BEALS ISLAND, ME – The thermometer was struggling to get above zero – and who knew what it was with the wind chill. It was a Saturday, the end of a week that reminded you of what winters in Maine used to be: cold with plenty of snow. You ought to ask …

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Truly one of a kind

Whether you’re talking about multi-talented NJ fisherman Bruce Klawunn or his 50’ C Rae, the term applies By Brian Robbins KEYPORT, NJ – I’m not a betting man, but if I was, I’d wager that you’d be stumped trying to guess the pedigree of New Jersey lobsterman Bruce Klawunn’s 50’ C Rae. Even if you’d been …

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New scalloper Kodiak joins Vinjerud’s New Bedford fleet

NEW BEDFORD, MA – Lars Vinjerud’s new scalloper Kodiak has joined the Oceans Fleet Fisheries stable here. And once word gets around, there’s likely to be more than a bit of interest in this new arrival.  That’s because Kodiak isn’t just another new scallop dragger – she’s Vinjerud’s first scalloper built specifically to freeze scallops …

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Wayne Hamilton: “Believe in what you’re doing”

by Brian Robbins SEARSPORT, ME – There are two really good reasons to include a feature on Wayne Hamilton in this issue of Commercial Fisheries News. First, his Searsport, Maine-based Hamilton Marine is celebrating its 40th birthday. And second, this is the annual Boat Building Focus of CFN … and if you’ve had a boat …

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Heather Thompson: “I love what I do”

By Brian Robbins HARRINGTON, ME – It was something to watch: a living, breathing version of a well-oiled machine. I was doing my best to stay out of the way with my camera as the 36’ Gold Digger made its way through a string of lobster gear.  The skipper and the one-person crew were making …

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Tom Peacock: wrenches, engines, and many miles

by Brian Robbins FREEPORT, ME – For someone who spent the biggest part of his working career on the roads of Maine, Tom Peacock is looking pretty comfy at home these days. Oh, don’t worry: he’ll jump behind the wheel in a heartbeat if there’s a good reason to … you can take the man …

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There & Back III: Benny, Tommy & the Donna Marie

by Brian Robbins  JONESPORT, ME – We’ve written about a lot of boats in Commercial Fisheries News over the years: small boats; big boats; real big boats. Wooden boats; fiberglass boats; steel boats. New boats hitting the water and ready to begin their working careers; older classics that have been refurbished, rebuilt, and ready to …

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New scalloper Orion joins New Bedford fleet

NEW BEDFORD, MA – The 101’ big steel scalloper Orion is the latest newbuild to join the fleet at the Eastern/Nordic Fisheries/O’Hara docks here. Like her sister ship Monomoy, (see CFN May, 2016) Orion was built on a standardized John W. Gilbert Associates design.  A few tweaks here and there, but overall the Gilbert design …

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A Wednesday with Rusty Wallis

BARRINGTON, RI – It all began with piss oak, actually. Back in February of 2013 I received an e-mail out of the blue from a fellow named Russ Wallis, writing in response to a Bearin’s column I’d written about long-ago smells of winter.  It read as follows: “Hi Brian, “I am a fourth (and final) …

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