The Lobsterboat Influence

Introducing the Shelter Island Runabout
A Fast, Classic Poweryacht

by Art Paine

It's fair to say that a lobsterman's boat, though often a source of pride, easily could be compared to his utilitarian pickup truck. In fact, they share many of the same duties, and their designs are comparable. On each, the cramped shelter of the cab and the propulsion unit is forward, and the carrying bed,designed for stacking as many traps as possible, is aft. So how is it that a workingman's seaborne truck has lately become the hot nautical item? Actually, the lobsteryacht thing is pretty easy to figure. When lobster fishers switched from sail to power, they quickly devised a boat that was plenty fast (even with an old automobile engine), could go to sea under the worst winter conditions, and nonetheless looked good, with a proud bow and a sheer that swept low (at least in the time before hydraulic haulers changed everything). To Maine's summer yachtsmen, the qualities of great seakeeping and great looks left little more to be desired in a yacht. All that remained was to add a bit of brightwork. For about 30 years gentlemen commissioned lobsterboat hulls that used cedar from higher ground, Everdur screws rather than galvy nails, and brand-new marine engines. Bunker and Ellis probably perfected the type, particularly among bigger ones. In the early days of fiberglass, molds were taken off existing wooden boats, so their shape was still easy to drive; as narrow, sleek and lovely as their peers. In time, however, the styles parted ways. The invention of the hydraulic pot hauler allowed an increase in freeboard. Pressure to set more traps called for a larger, more commodious platform. Bigger boats required bigger engines, and with the tendency towards heavyweight diesel power, the work boat became too bulky-looking. So in recent years a newly designed lobsteryacht has come into being. It retains the appearance that first attracted yachtsmen, but no longer emulates a cargo carrier. The modern lobsteryacht is allowed the luxury of being lithe light and lively - it's configured purely for the sake of having fun! The larger of these newer lobsterboats still resemble the fishing type, with cuddy cabin, windshield and hardtop. Trouble is, under 32 feet they begin to look top heavy, the engine penetrates the cockpit floor and any serious accommodations disappear. Pressed for the seaworthiness and good looks of a lobsterboat, but admitting defeat in terms of exact duplication, designers of smaller models blended runabout styling with lobsterboat hulls. A few years ago Bob Lincoln built a sporty cold-molded 28, with engine built into a stern box. Able Marine stretched the other end of the runabout-lobsterboat envelope with their 44-footer WOLF. The type was epitomized by the Hinckley Picnic Boat, a success both aesthetically and commercially. It is to this genre that Doug Zurn's wonderful effort belongs. Doug Zurn came to Maine early in his career as a designer. He worked a year as a draftsman for Chuck Paine then with Able Marine in Trenton, before going off on his own. It used to be that an ambitious yacht designer went to Alden's in Boston or Sparkman and Stephens in New York for training at a state-of-the-art echelon. This is less true nowadays. The computer, fax machine and other components allow designers to live and work where they please. Billy Joel, the singer, had been scouting the waterfront for years. Most wharf rats know he had a boat built at Lee Wilbur's, and even wrote a popular song about it. Eventually the boat was sold and the piano man undertook a lengthy search for a new boat and a designer who met his exact needs. Joel thought it might be fun to try to create a commercial success in a small powerboat, and hanging around a boat shop might prove a pleasant counterpoint to the rat race of concert tours and agents. He worked on production ideas with Peter Needham of Coecles Harbor Boatyard on Shelter Island (NY), where the boats will be semi-custom built. His experience with the Wilbur lobsteryacht and three other Mainebuilt power cruisers had been extremely satisfying, so there was no doubt the boat would have a Downeast-style hull profile above waterline. His other desires, primarily speeds in the 40-knot range, suggest radical departures from any working fishing boat. Doug Zurn was the magician who pulled all the necessary rabbits out of his Sou-Wester. Long and narrow is the equation for speed in skis, ice skates and all sorts of missiles, including powerboats. This is especially true when power is limited, but remains true when it's not. The lobsterboat's skeg had to go - there's just too much friction to achieve those last few knots. Somehow, Zurn concocted a hull that will accomodate two 400hp inboard-outdrive en~ines in the stern. Not having viewed the lines plan, I assume this means a lot of "twist" as the vee modifies from bow to stern. It is a fast hull that will exhibit a soft ride up until the time it begins to skip airborne from wave to wave, which is what deep vees were created for. Deep vee stem to stern often sacrifices handling and fuel economy at all speeds except flatout, when, unfortunately, fuel economy is not to be had in any case. Because it is 38 feet long, the boat stretches out enough to provide a useful cabin. With the engine or engines right aft, the design provides enough cockpit space for fishing - even pulling a few traps. A final but significant Maine connection is that the tooling (manufacture of molds and such for construction) is in the hands of North End Composites of Rockland. This is one of the country's top producers of fiberglass molds, parts and structures. The company recently was bought out by Sabre Yachts, and will expand into the arena of ultra highstrength plastic/fiber technology. More to the point in terms of the Shelter Island Runabout, their ability to produce a fine, fair, polished finish will help elevate this little rocket into the yacht category. Inspired by lobsterboats, fun like a runabout, and certainly qualified for commuting at highway speeds. Won't this be a lovely way to fly? - Off the Drawing Board Main Boats & Harbors (April/May '96)