Maine lobstermen have remained independent enough to retain for themselves a precious service in this industrial age--the privilege of commissioning the individually tailored building of their own lobster boats.

Professional, traditional boatbuilders provide this service, although it may not survive much longer because of the growth and increasing sophistication of fiberglass boatbuilding for the workboat market. Presently, however, there remain approximately fifty boatbuilding shops on the coast of Maine whose primary business is the construction of wooden lobster boats. It is to these craftsmen that most lobstermen prefer to turn for their work boats. The lobstermen, through experience and custom, have come to require certain characteristics of boat performance. They demand seaworthiness under varying weather conditions, durability, maneuverability, adequate speed, working comfort, sufficient carrying capacity, and, perhaps most compelling, economy. They want boats which achieve these performance requirements in time-tested ways.