Boatshop Reports
Captain Rick Franke's monthly Boatshop Reports feature news on new boat builds, maintenance, and boat restorations from area boatbuilders and shops across Maryland and Virginia.
June 7, 2018
First of all, my apologies to Bill Judge of Judge Yachts for my incorrect identification of his Chesapeake 36 in last month’s column (see below).
May 24, 2018
Perched on the banks of the Choptank River, Composite Yacht (CY) has a reputation for building strong, light, and fast boats.
May 10, 2018
Winter has finally retreated, the shrink wrap is coming off, and the boating season is beginning. Think spring!
April 6, 2018
Late winter in Chesapeake country can be a weather roller coaster: 70 degrees one day and thirty degrees the next.
March 8, 2018
Winter has not yet completely loosened its grip on Chesapeake country, but there are encouraging signs.
January 31, 2018
Winter definitely has Chesapeake country in its clutches. However, there are hopeful signs around us already. The winter solstice is well behind us, and the days are getting measurably longer.
January 5, 2018
Now that the holidays are behind us and winter has set in for real, the work in local boatshops has slowed somewhat to a less frantic pace.
December 8, 2017
The boat shows have come and gone, daylight savings time is over, the nights are frosty, and rockfish season ends shortly.
November 7, 2017
There can be no doubt; fall is here.
October 24, 2017
Lover’s Lane is a sleepy little lane in Deltaville, VA, where it appears as if nothing more exciting than the grass growin
September 29, 2017
This story originally appeared in the December, 2007 issue of PropTalk.
September 29, 2017
Fall has arrived in Chesapeake Country. With the cooler weather, area boatshops are finishing up summer work and planning winter storage and repair projects.
September 11, 2017
On the last weekend in August, a new boat was launched into the waters of the Miles River at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum; the draketail Pintail.
September 5, 2017
Summer is nearly over. The days are getting shorter, the nights a little cooler, and the first hints of autumn are in the air. It has been a busy summer for Chesapeake country boatshops.
August 8, 2017
As we enjoy the “lazy, hazy days of summer” and the recession vanishes into the realm of good riddance memory, some effects still linger.
August 2, 2017
This write-up gets personal; it is about a father-son relationship with a Boston Whaler outboard-powered boat, a boat brand that was integral in my relationship with my own son.
July 11, 2017
On a recent vacation on the west coast of Florida, I was driving to the beach when an electronic marquee sign caught my eye.
June 27, 2017
In last month’s custom boat building article we emphasized the importance of clearly defining the boat you want and iden