Professional BoatBuilder

Renewable composite materials remain some of the elusive unicorns of the boatbuilding industry. As we aspire to moderate our environmental impact while still building some of the most durable manufactured consumer goods, boatbuilders are persistently trying out new chemistries that allow for the separation and reclamation of fiber and resin materials from a composite matrix at the end of a boat's useful life.

Navigation lights, the best protection against nighttime collisions, are worth getting right. In my work inspecting boats, I routinely encounter noncompliant navigation light installations on new and preowned vessels. Often, when I bring this to the builder's attention, they are defensive.

What it takes to keep pace in the race for commercially viable autonomous vessels "This one is painted in something called Dazzle," says Matthew Ratsey, managing director of ZeroUSV in the U.K. "It's a throwback to World War I, when they painted the frigates in dazzle camouflage effect to confuse attacking U-boats. We thought it'd be a bit of fun, and that it might appeal to our defense customers." We are standing on the quay at Turnchapel Wharf in Plymouth, Devon.

The afternoon before the first coat of topside paint went on a 100' (30.5m) sloop, the crew of applicators at Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, gathered to talk through the spray plan. They prepped their tools, surveyed the plastic tenting, and documented the products to be used. Thirteen containers of an off-the-shelf shade of red acrylic paint were stacked inside the tent; the hull would take roughly six gallons per coat, with two full coats planned.

Making boats and their systems more serviceable for boat owners and technicians should be a priority for everyone in the industry It is easy at a boat show to be drawn into the excitement of what is new; after all that's largely why we are there, to learn about our industry's latest innovations.

Boatbuilding lost another fine craftsman when Joe Berkman, 64, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, died on Feb. 5, 2026. While Joe's name will be added to the annals of boat- and shipbuilders in the Boston area stretching back to the 17th century, his life is a story that needs to be recalled by the boatbuilders across this country who make up his second family. Joe grew up landlocked in Brookline, Massachusetts, in a household with plenty of love, but short on cash.

Sometime around 2010, German boatbuilder Friedrich Deimann built his first flax-fiber composite boat, a two-person kayak, as a project to qualify as a master boatbuilder. In the ensuing 16 years, the art of building boats with natural-fiber composites has come a long way.

Additive manufacturing, more commonly known as 3D printing, first appeared in the boatbuilding industry more than 15 years ago, primarily as a tool for prototyping. Especially when building components or hardware remotely, it was expedient to confirm the designed dimensions were compatible before producing the actual parts. We also saw a spate of fragile plastic model hulls and accommodations details used as sales and design refinement tools.

Generator installations, variations, and optimizations We continue our series on selecting and installing appropriate onboard generators from Generator Know-How, Part 1 in Professional BoatBuilder No. 213. Installation The mechanical installation of a generator is similar to that of a propulsion engine. You need a solid engine bed, and there are similar cooling-water, exhaust, and fuel-system requirements, though on a smaller scale.

Stator connectors for a six-phase generator. Selecting the Right Onboard Generator Technology I am not a fan of installing stand-alone generators on boats, but there are situations where they make sense and some where they’re the only option. This is most commonly the case on boats with high electrical loads—energy requirements that exceed the reasonable capabilities of alternators, batteries, and solar panels.