Boating in fresh air may be invigorating, but there’s nothing like settling into a cozy cabin at the end of the day. It soothes the spirit and is one of the great pleasures of being out on the water.
VERA LEE—née FANCY STUFF—is one of a handful of Bunker and Ellis–built wide-body lobsterboats. She was transformed into a luxury powerboat. Built in 1974, FANCY STUFF was restored and re-outfitted by Jarvis Newman and Ed Gray at their boatshop on Great Cranberry Island, Maine.
Because of careful attention for six decades by Dr. George Gilbert, her only previous owner, the 1954 Newbert & Wallace lobster yacht ALBATROSS only needed deck, cabin top, and cockpit sole resheathing when she came to a new owner last year.
KATIE MACK is a 46′ bridge-deck cruiser built in British Columbia and launched in 1932. She was a rumrunner originally. Today, she cruises New England waters as the summer retirement home of Pam and Hugh Harwood.
Like many wooden boat owners, the author kept expenses down by doing as much of the restoration work as she could on her own, taking advantage of the fact that Port Townsend’s Boat Haven facility permits maintenance by owners.