![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Osmond-2-18-1024x819.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/b>by Brian Robbins\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
BEALS ISLAND, ME \u2013 The thermometer was struggling to get above zero \u2013 and who knew what it was with the wind chill.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
You ought to ask boat builder\/designer Osmond Beal about the way winters used to be.\u00a0 He knows all about it.<\/p>\n
After all, he and his father Vinal built 14 boats together outside<\/i> years ago \u2026 that\u2019s what they did winters when they weren\u2019t fishing.<\/p>\n
And if the day was so bad that they couldn\u2019t work on the boat they were building, well, they\u2019d go clamming.<\/p>\n
A man still had to make a living, after all.<\/p>\n
On this day, however, we\u2019re sitting in the living room of Osmond and his wife Barbara\u2019s home on Beals Island, ME: Osmond and I are in comfy chairs facing each other; Barbara is on the couch beside my wife Tigger, asking her about the knitting project she\u2019s working on.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no boat to build this winter \u2013 inside or<\/i> outside.\u00a0 Osmond, who will be turning 87 a few days after our visit, suffered a stroke a couple of years ago and it has slowed him up about getting around.<\/p>\n
I know that not being able to work aggravates him, as a man who has kept busy all his life.\u00a0 But his spirits are good \u2013 and that smile of his is just as quick as I\u2019ve always known it to be.<\/p>\n
And when we get talking about boats \u2026 well, he\u2019s right there.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re talking about Osmond and his father having to shovel out whatever wooden boat they were building after a snowstorm before they could begin their day\u2019s work…<\/p>\n
To get access to the rest of this story\u00a0<\/strong>you’ll need to purchase the\u00a0FEBRUARY\u00a02018 issue of\u00a0Commercial Fisheries News. \u2022 BUY a Single PRINT edition of CFN that is delivered by MAIL.\u00a0PRINT EDITION<\/a> \u2022 Quickly enjoy ONLINE access with our Hi-DEF flip-book.\u00a0<\/strong>PURCHASE THIS ONLINE EDITION<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 \u00a0Shop the\u00a0Online ARCHIVE<\/a><\/p>\n (Read online flip-book immediately with purchased access key and download a copy for yourself to keep.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CFN-2_18-cover-243x300.jpg\")
\n<\/em>
\n<\/strong>Please\u00a0choose from the\u00a0following options:\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nNot sure if it works for you? Try a\u00a0FREE SAMPLE HERE<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n