The Miss Quahog, a 45-foot lobster boat, left Farrin’s Boatshop in Walpole, Maine, this November after the completion of several renovations. “It was nothing major,” said shop owner Bruce Farrin. That said, the boat’s owner was extremely appreciative of one of those renovations, the new rubber decking.
The shop, which Farrin operates with sons Bruce Jr. and Brian, built the Miss Quahog on a Young Brothers hull 4 ½ years ago with a deck that was finished off with fiberglass and gelcoat. This year, the new rubber decking was laid out in 4-foot-wide strips and glued down with Tile Bond.
In early December, Farrin said the Miss Quahog’s owner came in and proclaimed, “What a difference! It’s not slippery. It’s easy on your feet. It doesn’t tire you out like standing on a fiberglass deck and it’s easy to keep clean.”
Other Miss Quahog renovations included remodeling the bait and fish tanks and redesigning the rope locker under the hauler. More deck space was needed, so the above deck-
mounted aluminum tanks were sent out to a fabricator and made about 100 gallons smaller. Adjustments were done to the rope locker, allowing the “rope to feed in better and go out better.” Incidentally, the owner named the boat Miss Quahog because that, said Farrin, “is where he made his money – quahogging. That’s what gave him his start.”
In January, Farrin’s will be repowering a lobster boat. No other major work on a fishing boat is scheduled until next fall, when the shop will get started on rebuilding a 35 Duffy. Like other Maine boat shops, Farrin’s hasn’t had as many requests for building new fishing boats, repairs or modifications since the covid-19 pandemic.
