National Fisherman

June Spotlight

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Boatbuilding

The F/V Element at the dock in Homer, Alaska, ready to make the trip across Cook Inlet to Westport, from there by land to Lake Iliamna and then down the Kvichak River to Bristol Bay just in time for the sockeye salmon season.

Boat of the Month: Element

Paul Molyneaux

Powered by a Cummins 8.9-liter engine and an AWT JT342 jet, Wadsworth’s amphibious skiff can reach a top speed of 30 knots and is equipped with bunks and a small galley. Photo courtesy of Ray Wadsworth

Keeping up with Ray Wadsworth

Paul Molyneaux

Nelson's Railway's downstairs shop and upstairs living quarters caught fire in February 2026, but commercial fishing boats have continued to be hauled regularly. Photo courtesy of Larry Chowning

Larry_Chowning

Fire at Nelson’s Railway does not stop hauls

Larry Chowning

The crew at Wesmac Custom Boats will be the first to install a Tier III, 1000-hp exempted engine in a New England lobster boat. The limit for Tier III is 803 horsepower, but the EPA promises flexibility going forward. Photo courtesy of Wesmac

EPA promotes flexibility for Tier IV implementation

Paul Molyneaux

Freeport Diesel & Marine shop in Freeport, Maine. Photo courtesy of FDM

Freeport shop built by mariners, for fishermen

Carli Clancy

Gene Mafucci bought the Vivian in 1985 and made repairs and replaced the engine with help from his father, Gene, seen with the boat in front of their home on Tomales Bay, California. They used the tide to do things like paint the bottom. Photo courtesy of

At Marshall Boat Works, Gene Maffucci keeps his wooden boat afloat

Paul Molyneaux

British Columbia spot prawn fisherman, Mark Urwin, has brought Australian boat design to North America with his new boat, the Kaitiaki. “It means, ‘guardian’ in Maori,” says Urwin, who originally hails from New Zealand. Photo courtesy of Toura Boat Craft

Canadian prawn boat breaks barriers in vessel design

Paul Molyneaux

The Twin Disc hybrid transmission allows vessel operators to switch from diesel to electric power, or combine both. Photo courtesy of Twin Disc

Twin Disc turns to hybrid

Paul Molyneaux

MotionInfo of Orleans, Massachusetts, manufactures the StationKeeper, an AIS transceiver that receives AIS information from vessels and can be used to send those vessels whale alerts and other safety and navigation information. Photo courtesy of MotionInf

Saving whales and mariners, MotionInfo expands the uses of AIS

Paul Molyneaux

The Inuksuk II in Igaluit, Nunavit, Canada, for its official christening on July 29, 2025. The vessel had arrived in Newfoundland months earlier, but had to wait for the ice-out in the north before it could finally make it home. Photo by Tattuinee

Canada’s biggest boat starts fishing in the north

Paul Molyneaux

Members of the Skipteknisk team use advanced Revit autocad software to produce 3D models that enable them to give potential clients a virtual walk through of the proposed vessel. Photo by Skipsteknisk

Skipsteknisk designs fishing vessels for the future

Paul Molyneaux