January 2005

Dear friends,

I recently had a surprising conversation with a Trumpy owner. He was under the impression that Moores Marine was some slick, high-priced outfit that he couldn't afford. He got this idea because of all the material he has received over the years: postcards, shirts, letters, etc. I was pretty taken aback.

I send out letters because I like getting them. I like to stay in touch because there's not too many of these boats left and I want everyone to know what's happening with them. Also, I'm incredibly proud of the kind of work we do to preserve these boats. There are about 89 Trumpys left. Add a few friends, it's still means a small mailing list.

If you have ever had a chance to come down to our store, you will definitely see that we love what we do. There's Trumpy photos, artwork, parts, etc. everywhere. We must say the word "Trumpy" hundreds of times a day. The men wear shirts with drawings from the Trumpy yachts they've restored.

I've visited other operations, and I know we're a great value. Particularly since our master marine carpenters are absolutely second to none. We don't consider a marine carpenter a master until they have at least 12 years of wooden boat experience.

An example of the kind work our guys do is the Emma project. They refastened her bottom with 6,000 screws, installed new ribs, new floor timbers, rudder blocks and rebuilt the shaft logs, installed running gear, repainted the boat, stripped and re-varnished, refit the teak deck and installed new headliners.

Our guys accomplished all of this in three months, despite weeks of storm-related power outages. Most importantly, the work stayed on budget. We delivered the finished boat in time for Emma to attend Ocean Reef's Vintage Weekend. I've enclosed a copy of Emma's placard from the show. The original now hangs in my shop so I guess you could say we're proud of it.
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Right now, we have Trumpy yachts everywhere, in boat yards and in the water. At the boat yard, Zarya, Mimosa and Eleanor sit side by side. Nearby, Emma and Blue Moon are in the water. Jacqueline is still at the shop.

John Bermingham just brought Eleanor down from New York to get some work done on her bottom and a new paint job. We are doing some refit work on Zarya. Mimosa is not our project, but it's neat to see all three boats lined up together and see the evolution from three decades of design. I'll try to put a photo on the web site soon.

And, if you don't mind, I'll keep sending out letters, cards and T-shirts to stay in touch. If you're ever in the neighborhood, please stop in. We'll be happy to show you around.


Until next time,
Jim Moores