As a principal specialist in engineering and finance at Pratt and Whitney in Connecticut, David Szewczul, 29, oversees financials for a team of jet propulsion engineers in commercial and military aviation. It’s an exacting, executive-level position with a lot of responsibility. You could say Szewczul (pronounced chef-shul) is a hands-on numbers guy. But he also has saltwater in his veins and tunas swimming through his dreams.
Szewczul has pursued bluefin tuna near shore and yellowfin and bigeye tuna in the offshore canyons from the center console boats he’s owned over the years, the most recent a 41-foot Sea Hunter. At the same time, he’s long had a reverence for traditional commercial tuna boats like those featured on the reality show Wicked Tuna. That interest drove him to strike out in a different direction: He made the decision to sell his production boat and build his own Downeaster. Little did he realize the project would require a couple of years of research, development, planning and financial discipline. But when the boat splashed last summer, Szewczul’s 46-foot Mussel Ridge became the envy of tuna fishermen far and wide.
