Talkin’ Boats With Steve White

Steve White is president of Brooklin Boat Yard in Brooklin, Maine, a full-service facility on Eggemoggin Reach between Blue Hill and Penobscot bays that specializes in wooden boat design, construction and repair. White’s father, designer Joel White, became sole proprietor of the business in 1960. White learned the business as a boy at his father’s knee. Today, he directs a world-class crew of craftsmen who produce some of the most interesting boats plying waters around the globe.

Tell us about the custom work at Brooklin Boat Yard. We’ve always been a custom builder. We’ve never done a production boat of any type. We’ve produced over 120 custom boats since the company was founded, and we launch two to three boats per year.

 We’ve never catered to one or the other. Back in the early days, when dad ran the yard, most of the work was powerboats up through the late 1970s. Then it turned