A lobsterman goes up in size
“People will travel miles for a Calvin Beal boat,” says Stewart Workman talking about a fisherman from Alaska who would be coming to his boatshop, SW Boatworks in Lamoine, Maine, to talk with Workman about building him a new fiberglass Calvin Beal 34.
In early October, they were due to go up to Beals Island for a ride on a 34 built by Calvin Beal Jr., the boat’s designer.
In the meantime, Workman had sent a Calvin Beal 44 with a 17-foot 6-inch beam to South Thomaston, Maine, to be finished off as a lobster boat. SW Boatworks is also doing about two-thirds of the work on a new Calvin Beal 36 that’s to be a sportfishing boat in Martha’s Vineyard and is sending a Calvin Beal 38 to Farrin’s Boatshop in Walpole, Maine, to be finished off as a yacht for a West Coast owner.
Donny and Scott Rahkonen at Rahkonen Builders in South Thomaston are finishing off the 44-foot lobster boat for Shane Hatch. One thing that attracted Hatch to a boat designed by Calvin Beal is the way his boats look on the water.
“I’ve got a friend with a 38 and a friend with a 44. They really look awesome,” Hatch says.
His new 44-footer will also be able to carry a lot more traps and pack more lobsters than the 38-foot Jarvis Newman he is currently using. The bigger boat will also mean that Hatch and his two crewmen will be better able to handle the weather when fishing 60 miles offshore.
For power, Hatch will depend on a 700-hp Iveco. And, yes, with that power he does intend to race the boat.
