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One of our most popular and reader-requested annual features for a number of years, we suspended publication of the Year of New Boats review in 2008.<\/p>\nChristmas may have come and gone, but that\u2019s not stopping us from giving readers a little something extra in this issue.<\/p>\n
As the cover \u201cteaser\u201d promises, this issue marks the return of our popular Year of New Boats review.<\/p>\n
This special 12-page supplement recaps 2014 new boat launches from the pages of Commercial Fisheries News<\/i>.\u00a0 It\u2019s like welcoming back an old friend.<\/p>\n
One of our most popular and reader-requested annual features for a number of years, we suspended publication of the Year of New Boats review in 2008.<\/p>\n
You probably know why.<\/p>\n
There just weren\u2019t many boats being built.<\/p>\n
For the next several years, most commercial boat builders and finishers in the region struggled just to keep the doors open \u2013 and, sadly, a number of them didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
We did features during that period on some of the alternative projects our builders turned to \u2013 sportfish\/utility boats\/pleasure boat projects \u2013 that kept the bills paid and the lights on.\u00a0 But there weren\u2019t many new fishing boats to cover.<\/p>\n
Slowly, however, commercial boat building crept back \u2013 probably riding on the back of record lobster landings, as much as anything else.<\/p>\n
In Maine, we watched as SW Boatworks built up their stable of molds to offer, adding the well-known Young Brothers models and Ernest Libby\u2019s hulls to their range of Calvin Beal designs.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, H&H Marine expanded their own lineup by widening and lengthening a number of their existing Osmond Beal-designed models.<\/p>\n
South Bristol, ME\u2019s John\u2019s Bay Boat went from having no wooden lobster boats to build for a while to being booked out for several years.<\/p>\n
And the custom finish shops started to fill up as well: with bigger hulls; bigger engines; more workroom on deck; more tankage and storage under the platform.<\/p>\n
At the same time, renewed strength and prosperity in the big boat scallop fishery prompted a modest, but fairly steady, stream of new construction projects for the New Bedford fleet.\u00a0 That activity continues.<\/p>\n
Truthfully, when it comes to boat launches, we can\u2019t be everywhere, of course, and so we don\u2019t claim to catch every new boat that hits the water.\u00a0 But we try.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, we encounter a boat owner or builder who\u2019s on the shy side and prefers not to be written up.\u00a0 But there are other times when we simply just don\u2019t know about a particular boat project.<\/p>\n
Rest assured we\u2019re just as interested in what\u2019s floating along the coast as you are.\u00a0 So don\u2019t hesitate to give us a heads-up when you see, or are a part of, a project that we can feature.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve been listening when you\u2019ve come up to the CFN booth at shows and festivals and told us you appreciated our coverage of the news (both good and bad) and the politics (both bad and not-quite-as-bad) of fishing.<\/p>\n
But we\u2019ve also heard what else you said:<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u00a0How about more about boats, gear, and people?<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u00a0Your new boat pieces helped me when I was thinking about having one of my own built.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u00a0How about more product briefs and reviews? You guys get around and see a lot of stuff.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u00a0Loved your feature about so-and-so.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u00a0Last month\u2019s Bearin\u2019s\u2019 column made me laugh.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u00a0Last month\u2019s Bearin\u2019s\u2019 column put a tear in my eye.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u00a0Great cover shot! Did you get wet?<\/p>\n
Just as CFN has worked hard to help you navigate the treacherous waters of fisheries politics over the years, and will continue to do so, we want to help you make decisions about the new boat\/gear\/engine in your future.<\/p>\n
We want to let you know what others have done; what works; what\u2019s on the horizon.<\/p>\n
Just as importantly, we want to entertain you \u2013 make you grin; make you laugh; and, yes, occasionally put a tear in your eye in the best of ways.<\/p>\n
So enjoy this issue\u2019s return of the Year of New Boats review \u2013 and the return of our good friends at Furuno as sole sponsor of this year\u2019s supplement.<\/p>\n
Keep watching the pages of CFN for even more great coverage of both the news you need<\/i>, and the news you want<\/i>, in the months ahead.\u00a0 \/cfn\/<\/b>
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Read the rest of this month’s stories in the February issue of\u00a0Commercial Fisheries News<\/em>. \u00a0Buy this issue or\u00a0Subscribe<\/a>. [add_to_cart=5908]<\/strong><\/p>\n (Read online immediately with access key and download for future reference.)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Christmas may have come and gone, but that\u2019s not stopping us from giving readers a little something extra in this issue. As the cover \u201cteaser\u201d promises, this issue marks the return of our popular Year of New Boats review. This special 12-page supplement recaps 2014 new boat launches from the pages of Commercial Fisheries News.\u00a0 … <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"