By age 6, most children here are taking a turn at the helm of their father's fishing boat. Standing on a tote, or a 5-gallon bucket, they peek out the side of the pilothouse and practice steering a straight line. They're learning to row, too. Many would happily trade a Tonka truck for a toy boat slapped together from pine scraps and string picked up from the floor of a boat shop.
On Beals Island, however, that deep love of the sea and boats of all sizes extends far beyond the joys of childhood.
Lobsterman Brian Smith, 40, whose home is on adjacent Great Wass Island, is one of many residents who have taken toy boat building to an entirely new level over the years. In the winter, on days when it's too cold or stormy to fish, Smith spends his time constructing intricate models of fishing boats in his woodworking shop, housed in a modified plastic greenhouse in front of his blue single-story home overlooking Alley's Bay. He's built half a dozen so far, measuring up to 52 inches long.
''If I'd been born 50 years ago, I'd have been a boat builder," said Smith, a descendant of island settler Mainwaring Beal Jr.
Smith spent much of his childhood watching fishing boats being built in local shops. The old-time wooden-boat builders and their distinctive designs and construction methods made a big impression. ''I get the lines out of my head. It's all by eye," he said of his model work.
It's all part of the seafaring tradition on Beals Island and in the Jonesport area, which are known for commercial boat design and the construction of wooden lobster boats. ''This is where most lobster boats were designed and where lobster boat racing began," Smith said proudly.
Smith's creations will be among those on display April 17, when several hundred islanders and marine enthusiasts from all over New England gather for the Sixth Annual Model Boat Show at the Beals Island Elementary School gym. Presented by the Beals Historical Society, the show will feature dozens of finely detailed models of working boats and pleasure craft. Sloops, schooners, seiners, sardine carriers, , lobster boats, pea pods, and dories -- some built recently, others decades ago -- will all be represented.
