Photographs by Brian Robbins
Ask boatbuilder Jason Faulkingham of Dana’s Boat Shop on Westport Island, Maine, about lobsterman Shawn Murray of nearby Boothbay Harbor and he’ll grin and nod. “Shawn goes—and he goes hard,” he’ll tell you. “He’s a worker.”
And ask Murray about the boatbuilding talents of the Faulkingham family—Jason, his father Dana, and son Jordan—and he’ll grin and nod, as well. “You’re not going to find anyone easier to get along with who builds a boat like they do. They do great work,” Murray said.
That pretty well sums up why Murray’s new 42-footer, the Shelly Marie, makes his fourth boat built by Dana’s Boat Shop.
Dana Faulkingham, 75, grew up in downeast Maine, but didn’t get into workboat building until he was in his late 20s. At that point, well into what would turn out to be a 26-year career at Bath Iron Works, a letter he wrote to noted designer/builder Royal Lowell resulted in a meeting between the two. Faulkingham came away with the plans for a 30-footer. He lofted the design on plywood on the floor of his garage, and over the next six years—when he wasn’t on the clock at BIW—he was focused on building a wooden lobsterboat.
Launching that 30-footer in 1988 was the first step toward what would turn into a new career. The big leap came in 1995 when Dana, and his wife, Mary, broke ground on a new home and boat shop on Westport Island. Having raised three children, Dana was ready to “work for Dana.” He resigned from his position as ship superintendent at BIW; got serious at lobstering with his 30-footer; and opened up his own boat finishing and repair shop.
Faulkingham’s vision of the ideal working year was to put in a good summer/fall lobster season (eventually his wooden 30-footer was replaced by an Osmond 35 and then a 37, both of which he finished himself), then tuck into Dana’s Boat Shop for the winter and spring. The finish jobs—a wide variety of hulls from various builders ranging from basic lobsterboat projects to fancy sportfishing boats—were dovetailed with repowers and rebuilds.
His son Jason, 48, grew up a part of it all, sharing his father’s passion for a year split between working on the water and in the boatshop.
Jason readily acknowledges that he’s had a good teacher. “I’ve been lucky to be able to work side-by-side with my father,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from him; and we’ve done some nice work.
“The thing I learned early on is, Dad only has one way of doing things: right.”
Two years ago, Dana announced he was stepping back to let Jason take over the helm of the boatshop.
“If Jason needed me for something? Sure, I’d give him a hand,” Dana told me in the spring of 2023. “But where it used to be him asking me about things, now it’s me asking him.”
The Shelly Marie Takes Shape
Shawn Murray’s string of Faulkingham-finished lobsterboats began with a Libby 38 back in 2003. That was followed by an RP-40 in 2006 and then a Wayne Beal 36 in 2013.
“I’ve always liked and appreciated the way both Dana and Jason listen to you,” Murray said. “They build the boat you want instead of what they want—and make sure it gets done right.”
Murray was impressed by the 42-foot Wayne Beal the Faulkinghams launched for his buddy Jesse Gamage seven years ago: “Jesse pushed that 42 like I’d push my 36, only twice as hard. I decided that was what I wanted, only set up as a simple workboat—no split wheelhouse or anything.”
Murray’s 42-foot-by-15-foot-2-inch solid fiberglass hull and molded top from Wayne Beal’s Boat Shop in Jonesport went into the Westport Island shop this past winter, where a five-man crew went to work. Jason was the lead; Dana himself was on hand; Jason’s 22-year-old son, Jordan, joined in; Murray, who has always been hands-on with his boats, was on board; and Jesse Gamage was as well.
Jason Faulkingham said Murray’s 36-foot Suspicion set a high bar for the new 42: “Shawn loved that boat and basically wanted the new 42 to be a bigger version of that one. The 36 became the ‘Baby Beal’ when we talked about how to lay things out.”
The process included lowering the 42’s wheelhouse by 4 inches. “Shawn wanted that ‘squatty look’ of the 36’s windows,” Jason said. “The first good spring day, we opened up the shop doors to air things out and Shawn walked across the driveway to get a look at her. He was grinning: ‘You nailed it.’”
Toppin’s Diesel & Marine Service provided the project’s power package: a Scania DI13 086M (675-hp @ 2,300 rpm) matched to a 2.5:1 Twin Disc 5126A gear. R.E. Thomas supplied the 42’s 2.5-inch driveline.
Spinning a 34-inch-by 41-inch, four-bladed Michigan DQX from Nautilus Marine, the Shelly Marie tops out at 28 knots. Running at 1,750 rpm yields an easy 18.5-knot cruise with a fuel burn of 17.5 gallons per hour.
“She’s everything I wanted,” Murray said. “They did it again.”
✮
“Shelly Marie” Specifications
LOA: 42'
Beam: 15' 2"
Draft: 4' 8"
Power: Scania D113 diesel
BUILDER:
Dana’s Boat Shop
Westport Island, Maine
Phone: 207-380-3588 (Jason Faulkingham)
Brian Robbins’s past lives include years as an offshore lobsterman and as editor for Commercial Fisheries News.
