Small boats lend elegance to grandeur Redwing design graces waves at Rockland festival

ROCKLAND – There were grander boats than Steve Bussiere’s Redwing, named Louise, at the WoodenBoat Show this weekend in Harbor Park.

Huge sailing vessels, with cabins that would put a condominium to shame.

Sleek, wood-strip kayaks and canoes that would look as pretty hanging on a wall in some fine home as they would on the water.

Long, curvy powerboats with gleaming expanses of polished wood, the kind a pre-Fiberglas-era James Bond might favor.

But it’s hard to imagine a more comfortable boat than Bussiere’s pleasant-looking little launch, docked just off the city landing, with million-dollar yachts on either side.

Bussiere owns The Little Boat Shop in New Bedford, Mass., where he builds from three to five Redwings each year, occupying a small and not-very-trendy niche in the boat-building trade.

And that seems appropriate, given the quiet, relaxed enjoyment of the water these boats seem to lend themselves to.

The Redwing was designed in the early 1900s by Howard Chapelle, Bussiere said.

“It was like a camper,” he said Saturday, sitting in a canvas deck chair, sheltered from the sun under the boat’s flat canopy.

Mirroring the rising middle-and upper-classes’ recreational use of lakes and bays, the Redwing lent itself to a genteel enjoyment of the water, with its flat deck, shallow hull and small motors.

“It’s a fair-weather boat,” Bussiere said, one not designed to plow through the heavy chop Penobscot Bay can kick up but more than adequate to explore harbors and coves.

The Little Boat Shop builds some Redwings with a deeper “V” hull that would perform better in waves, he said. The sizes the shop offers range from 18 feet 6 inches to 26 feet, and custom amenities include small cabins.

The classic design was updated by Karl Stambaugh, Bussiere said, and features wood and epoxy hulls. The Louise has a Honduran mahogany exterior, and teak “sole,” or deck.

One feature several passers-by wanted to get a closer look at was the boat’s engine. A small outboard, hidden from view by a hatch, provides the equivalent of 8 horsepower. But instead of a noisy, internal-combustion gasoline type, this outboard is powered by eight 6-volt batteries.

Bussiere ran the motor briefly, and people had to hold their ears close to the stern to be able to hear it above the conversation on the dock.

The batteries provide six to nine hours of cruising at 4 knots, he said, and are easily recharged by being plugged into a 120-volt power source overnight.

Earlier that morning, Bussiere said he piloted Louise to the outer part of Rockland harbor to enjoy his coffee while watching the sunrise. On Saturday afternoon, he gestured to a stainless-steel blender that he planned to fire up later to prepare the evening’s drinks.

Those who purchase the Redwings, which run about $34,000, tend to enjoy the quiet pleasures of putt-putting around or even just anchoring, rather than the thrills of speed or long-distance cruising, Bussiere said.

Buyers have come from Canada to Florida, he said. One boat show attendee from Boston seemed serious about ordering one for his visits to Maine, Bussiere said.

Final attendance numbers were unavailable Sunday afternoon, but show organizers expected 10,000 to attend over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Approximately 160 exhibitors were on hand, showing wares and services in tents and alongside floats in the water, along with demonstrations of boat-building skills.

In addition to the boat show, the Atlantic Challenge contests were under way over the weekend. Hundreds were lined up along the park’s bulkhead to see teams from France, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and the United States compete in 38-foot rowing and sailing gigs.

For more information on the Redwing, see www.littleboatshop.com.