The state of Maine has a long boat-building tradition. Ralph Stanley has spent most of his eighty years designing and buildings boats in the town of Southwest Harbor, Maine. RALPH STANLEY: “Takes a lot of skill to work with wood, to build a boat out of wood. Those skills are something that have been acquired over thousands of years and passed on to people. And, if somebody doesnt keep on building out of wood, it will be lost.” Stanley is retired from boat-building. But he worries that many builders are using materials like fiberglass to make copies of the boats hull, or body of a boat. RALPH STANLEY: “Fiberglass came along and I thought about going into fiberglass. But if I did, I would have to have a mold and I could never change that mold. And every boat Ive built I see something I would like to change on the next one.” Stanleys son Richard also builds boats. Richard Stanley says wood is able to take up the full energy of shocks. He says fiberglass is thicker and beats back the shocks. Kerri Russell is head of Maine-Built Boats. The group provides support for the states boat building industry. She says many boat-builders have good reasons for using use fiberglass. Russell worked for a company that makes boats with fiberglass. She says it strengthened the hulls, weighed less than wood, and required fewer repairs. CUYLER MORRIS: “This boat sails away for three hundred eighty-five thousand dollars.” Cuyler Morris is head of Morris Yachts, an award-winning builder of sail …
