One of West Head Boatbuilding Ltd .’ s completed builds this year is affectionately named the Dustin & Kieara after owner Kevin Mailman ’ s two children . After two months in the build phase at West Head , the 34 ’ 11 ” x 16 ’ Dustin & Kieara was launched on March 29 , 2022 . Launch day provided an introduction of the SeaDuck hull , finished in black fibreglass and trimmed beautifully in white .
As is common among the fishermen in the area at the time , Kevin got out of school when he was 14 years old and has been fishing ever since . Fishing as an occupation is commonly regarded as a generational one , and the Mailman family is no different . Kevin is a secondgeneration fisherman and is joined on the boat by his son , representing the third generation of fishermen in the family . They do some halibut fishing , but mostly they fish lobster . Located right in Liscomb , Nova Scotia , about two hours east of Halifax , they fish out of their local area . Typically on board the boat , there are three fishermen : Kevin , his son Dustin , and one other .
When looking to have a boat built , Kevin went with West Head Boatbuilders Ltd . in Clark ’ s Harbour , Nova Scotia , as he had heard about SeaDuck hulls for years and the company came highly
recommended . After two months in the shop , with launch day in March the Dustin & Kieara has now been in the water for over six months , and Kevin is more than pleased with the finished product . Working with West Head , Kevin dealt mostly with Dana and Blair in the shop , which he visited about a half-dozen times during the build , a distance more than 430 kilometres from home .
Dana and Blair at West Head were very good to work with , Kevin says , and he would , for sure , recommend West Head to others . “ Everything worked out well . You know , it ’ s the same as building a house . There ’ s always something to be done . They were really good to talk to , and anything that needed to be done , they got done . And it was done the way I wanted it .”
When asked if there were any extra or special features included in the build , Kevin says it was not really customized , it was just a plain build . “ I just wanted a fishing boat , nothing extra ,” he stresses . What they were already building with the SeaDuck plans was exactly what he wanted , and it turned out really well . Kevin now has that fishing boat that he wanted , with nothing extra but the smile on his face !
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