Last week, when we sat down with East Boothbay’s Tim Hodgdon, he reflected on the super fast yacht Comanche that was born in the boat shed just outside his office. He shared the amazing story of an amazing boat.

In 2015,  Comanche — built to win races — had one of the greatest years ever in the history of deep water yacht racing, winning not only the Fastnet race in England, the Rolex Sydney Hobart in Australia but also setting the world record for monohulls sailing 618 nautical miles in 24 hours. That works out to an average speed of almost 26 knots per hour. While Comanche is a smashing success, he mentioned he had been blessed to be associated with a series of successful projects. That goes for the company that has been a fixture in our region for 200 years.

Beginning in 1816 when Caleb Hodgdon built a 42-foot-long pinky schooner, there have been more than 400 vessels pushed overboard by the family.

Of course, we all know about the famed arctic explorer Bowdoin, an 87-foot-long schooner built in 1921 for Adm. Donald B. MacMillan. Today, she is the official vessel of the state of Maine and the flagship of the Maine Maritime Academy vessel operations and technology program.

During World War II and the Korean Conflict, Hodgdon in partnership with the former Goudy & Stevens, built two dozen wooden minesweepers and transports.

Tim Hodgdon’s dad, George I. (Sonny) Hodgdon, a legendary craftsman, built a succession of noted sailing vessels for well known designers such as John Alden, L. Francis Hereshoff, and Sparkman & Stevens.

When Tim took over in 1979, as the fifth generation to run the family business, he moved the company from traditional wooden construction into modern practices involving carbon fiber and cold molded epoxy. These techniques led to spectacular vessels, like the 84-foot-long power yacht Yorel now named Kizbel (1989),  Antonesia, 124-foot long sailing yacht (1999), Scheherazade (now Asolare), a 154-foot long luxury ketch in 2003, and Windcrest, 98-foot-long luxury sailing yacht in 2006.

One of the most unique vessels went over in 2008. Dubbed MAKO, it is an 83-foot-long experimental high speed technology demonstration craft for use by the U.S. Navy SEALS.
In recent years, his yard has turned out a dozen modified jet water rescue skis for the defense department And, at a facility in Damariscotta, they are building two luxury tenders for use by owners of huge yachts.

Along the way, the Hodgdon family has provided jobs for hundreds of skilled craftsmen from East Boothbay and surrounding communities that have helped to cement the region’s well earned reputation for building high quality vessels.

Tim Hodgdon, still calls himself a boat builder, although he admits it has been a long while since he whacked his thumb with a mallet. In reality, he is the chief executive of a boat building enterprise that competes for business against the great shipyards in the world. Many of his potential customers are Europeans. While his reputation is well known all over the world, it means he must not only keep up with the latest high tech construction and electronics techniques, but also keep abreast of international economic conditions. This includes keeping a close eye on the strength of the U.S. dollar vs. the Euro, and working as a diplomat dealing with well heeled customers and their entourages.

While he is the face of the company, he is quick to assert that his success is due to others, including specialized experts ranging from painters,and engineers, along with designers, electronic technicians and other craftsmen.

This summer, August 26 to 28, the Hodgdon yard will again host the Shipyard Cup, an international regatta for sailing yachts over 70 feet long. And, to celebrate the company’s 200th birthday, he has issued an invitation to all owners of Hodgdon built boats to come back home for a gala birthday party.

“We are still working out details, but it will be a great show,” he said.

Hinting of things to come, he said many as three J-Class Yachts, the huge and sleek 130-foot-long racers who competed in the America’s Cup in the 1930s, might attend. One of the new J-Class yachts, Hunuman  is owned by Jim Clark, the founder of Netscape who is also the owner of Comanche.

As for new projects, Hodgdon, as always, is very, very cautious about letting the cat out of the bag. After all, it is a competitive business. But he smiles as he points to a drawing of a speedboat he says might be capable of racing at more than 100 mph.

Is that the next project on his plate?

“It is just an idea we are sort of kicking around,” he said with a smile.