The Jana B plies the waters of The Gut in South Bristol during an initial sea trial on Tuesday, April 21. The vessel passed the formal sea trial the following day. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Farrin’s Boatshop launched its latest build into the waters of The Gut in South Bristol on Tuesday, April 21.
The Jana B took eight and a half years from concept to launch, with attention paid to every structural, mechanical, and aesthetic detail. Finding the right builder was the key. Farrin’s Boatshop took on the job 16 months ago.
“It’s plain but elegant,” Bruce Farrin Sr. said of the 40-foot Young Brothers custom sport fishing boat.
The vessel represents a new market for the Walpole builder. While Farrin’s boats can be found up and down the East Coast and California, the Jana B is destined for a berth in the Caribbean.
“It’s my build,” said Brian Farrin, Bruce Farrin’s younger son who worked with the shop’s small crew to capture the client’s very specific vision.
In Brian Farrin’s opinion it’s one of the top five prettiest boats the shop has produced in its 55-year history.
Brian Farrin, whose older brother Bruce Farrin Jr. also works at the shop, built the Jana B from a fiberglass Young Brothers hull with the existing square stern cut out and rounded into a tumblehome. A tumblehome is where the hull slopes inward from the center beam toward the stern, making the boat more streamlined while preserving room in the bow. Lobster boats tend to be wider at the stern to accommodate more traps, but the Jana B was made to catch larger, faster fish.
It also has a ducktail feature that elongates the aft section of the ship with a slight upward curl.
The Jana B has a D-11 Volvo 725 horsepower engine, with a 2 1/2-inch shaft, and a Nibral four-blade 30×30 propeller with a silicone finish to protect it from barnacles.
An Aquadrive thrust-bearing antivibration system helps limit engine noise.
That’s not an everyday thing,” Brian Farrin said of the Aquadrive. “Fish like it because they don’t hear the boat.”
Brian Farrin said all the interior and exterior wood, including the panels in the wheel house, was built at the boat shop using afromosia, a fine-textured hardwood similar to teak.
“It took two months just to get the shapes right,” he said.
The hardware is all bronze, a detail about which the client was adamant. The custom bronze rails were specifically designed to patina to green over time.
The center rigger and outrigger for catching sport fish are both made of bamboo and the deck is outfitted with an additional 13 rod holders and four outlets for electric reels. There are three tackle storage areas, one on the starboard side forward, another midship at the main bulkhead, and a third at the tackle station. The large fishbox with 4-inch insulation “would hold fish for a week,” Brian Farrin said.
The boat has a queen-sized berth forward with a 3-foot-by-3-foot escape hatch. The simple galley has a propane stove and cold water sink.
There is also a 200 watt solar panel and a Starlink Maritime internet connection.
The Jana B has tanks that hold 400 gallons of diesel fuel and 200 gallons of fresh water.
Another feature suggested by the client was the addition of bilge blowers contained in watertight Afromosia wood boxes in the engine room to facilitate the escape of heated air through the boat’s smoke stacks. Expelling the excess heat protects the engine seals and gaskets, improving performance and longevity.
As a small business, Farrin’s Boatshop sourced most of the parts and services used to complete the build from other small businesses in Maine and New England.
Brian Farrin said 80% of the wiring was done in house with oversight by American Boat and Yacht Council-certified Troy Benner, of Fairwind Marine Supply in New Harbor, who also set up the breaker panel and finished the job.
Sawyer & Whitten Marine, of Portland, supplied the electronics. The wood was sourced from Americas’ Wood Co. in Washington.
Custom bronze details including the bow rail, grab rails and hawse holes were crafted by Blue Water Fabrications in Warren. The cast bronze stanchions for the grab rails came from a foundry in Washington state and some of the bronze hardware, including the ports, came from Robinhood Marine Center in Georgetown.
Mike Dipippo, of Custom Marine Plastics in Bristol, R.I., made the doors and the tackle station. He also custom plated the sinks and the slam locks on the doors and cabinetry in bronze.
The engine came from Billings Diesel & Marine in Stonington. The shaft was provided by R.E. Thomas Marine Hardware in Hancock. And the Aquadrive came from Mack Boring & Parts out of New Jersey.
Brian Farrin (left), Bruce Farrin (center), and Bruce Farrin Jr. stand at the entrance to Farrins Boatshop in South Bristol on April 15. Bruce Farrin built the boatshop at this location in 1978 with the help of his wife and his sons grew up working in the yard. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
The Zipwake Dynamic Trim Control System and running lights came from Imtra Corp. in New Bedford, Mass.
IKS Transport, of Spruce Head, provided hauling and launching services.
“We went out and tried it quick,” Brian Farrin said of early sea trials. “We had 26 and a half knots, and 27 knots right in the bucket. And that wasn’t even messing around.”
Mike Paige, manager of neighboring Gamage Shipyard, took notice of the clean lines and high-quality details that mark the Jana B as something outside the norm.
“I said, “Bruce, when the world sees that boat, because it is a beautiful boat, you are going to have to beat the people off your door because everybody’s going to want one.
“That’s what boat building is right there,” Paige said of the Farrin family. “They produce a world-renowned beautiful product. They really do.”
But for Brian Farrin it’s the end of the day and the end of the build that brings satisfaction. And having the new owner smile and shake his hand and say “awesome job.”
(Bisi Cameron Yee is a freelance photojournalist and reporter based in Nobleboro. To contact her, email cameronyeephotography@gmail.com.)
