The 62nd annual Boothbay Harbor Windjammer Days will take place on Sunday, June 23 through Saturday, June 29. This year we will celebrate our local boatbuilders and shipwrights. Please visit boothbayharborwindjammerdays.org for the full schedule of events.

I never really had an interest in boat building in my younger years, but growing up on Long Island, New York I was always interested in boating and fishing. When I was a kid I loved working with my hands, building model boats, planes and cars. When I was about 15 years old I sent away for a shaped foam surfboard blank which I finished with polyester resin and fiberglass boat cloth so I guess that was my first boat building experience.

In 2005 I was unemployed and saw an employment ad for help at Southport Island Marine which I applied for. I had little experience, but was hired right way. I’ve now been building boats, parts, and doing repairs for 20 years and I’ve enjoyed those years. Doug Goldhirsch, who hired me and owned Southport Island Marine, taught me more than anyone about boatbuilding and repairs. He also gave me chances to learn new products, like Awlgrip spray painting, varnish, gelcoat applications and much more. Frank Chandler, my supervisor at North End Composites and part of the Sabre and Back Cove Yachts family, was another individual who taught me a great deal about building fiberglass parts. He taught me a great amount about fiberglass hand layup and fiberglass infusion techniques, and mold making. Too many people have taught me valuable information for me to list here.

At this time I’m not involved with any projects, but some of the projects I’ve worked on are: The Southport 30, a fiberglass Handy Billy 21, the Southport 21, the Southport 13, Hurricane Island 30 and molds and
parts for Sabre 48 and 66. Out of all the projects I’ve worked on the Hurricane Island 30 for the Outward Bound organization stands out as my favorite. We worked closely with the designer and employees from
design to completion. The boat was an open sailing boat, and I believe we made five of them. It was a beautiful boat and fun to build. The last boat project was with Samoset Boat Works, building a Mussel Ridge 42.

I was working with Matt Sledge and his crew on the tuna fishing boat. I regret that I had to leave Matt due to an allergic reaction to epoxy. I wanted to be a part of building the boat to completion, and I look
forward to seeing it completed. I still have a lot to learn about boat building with new products and procedures, but I’m learning all the time. Right now I’m semi retired and hoping to get back working on boats.