Only in New England
Rockport Harbor, Maine
New England Home July / August 2008
Inside those red barns at the harbor’s edge, home to Rockport Marine, some of the world’s finest woodworkers are crafting the kinds of custom yachts that have become unofficial standard-bearers for the entire New England building industry. When you learn that a Maine shipbuilder moonlighted to make the cherry wood kitchen cabinets you’re admiring at a friend’s house, you feel a little shiver of recognition, an unmistakable sense of their quality. Just consider the craftsmanship that shapes a yacht’s cabin. Joe Kovak, Rockport Marine’s master interior dovetailer, hand chisels every tail (or “outie”) and every pin (or “innie”) of the dovetail joint. One might wonder about the efficacy of using metal fasteners instead of all this time-consuming, expensive joinery. “The aesthetics just wouldn’t be the same,” says Kovak’s supervisor, Maria Simpson. “Metal fasteners eventually corrode in moisture and can discolor the wood. “And how, one wonders, would our kitchen cabinets look then?
Text By Louis Postel ï Photography By Brian Vanden Brink